DE102012217360A1 - Household appliance e.g. cooking appliance has processing unit that is adapted such that audio or video data of network service units are accessed through interface and are outputted through output unit - Google Patents

Abstract

The household appliance (101) has a processing unit (102) that is connected with an output unit (104). An interface (106) is connected to a network (107). The processing unit is adapted such that the audio or video data of network service units (108,109) are accessed through the interface and are outputted through the output unit. An independent claim is included for a method for retrieving network service by household appliance.

Description

The invention relates to a household appliance, can be spent on the network services and a method for outputting network services on a household appliance.

Household appliances often have different display units (displays) that can display various types of information (text, images, etc.), sometimes in high resolution and / or in different colors.

Services are known, e.g. be provided via a communication network such as the Internet and are retrievable. For example, media content (e.g., audio and / or video content) is transmitted as data streams (so-called streams) from the Internet and played on standalone devices (e.g., Internet radios). Also, there are universal devices, e.g. Personal computers, smart phones, tablet computers used to display different data from the Internet, e.g. News or weather information, suitable and furnished.

The object of the invention is to flexibly expand the functionality of household appliances.

This object is achieved according to the features of the independent claims. Further developments of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims.

• – mit einer Ausgabeeinheit,
• – mit einer Verarbeitungseinheit,
• – mit einer Schnittstelle zu einem Netzwerk,
• – wobei die Verarbeitungseinheit derart eingerichtet ist, dass über die Schnittstelle Daten eines Netzdienstes abrufbar und auf der Ausgabeeinheit ausgebbar sind.

To solve the problem, a household appliance is specified,

• With an output unit,
• With a processing unit,
• With an interface to a network,
• - Wherein the processing unit is arranged such that over the interface data of a network service can be retrieved and output on the output unit.

It is advantageous that the network service no additional device in addition to the household appliance is required.

In particular, a large number of network services can also be called up by the household appliance.

The home appliance may be a large household appliance (e.g., a cooking appliance, a laundry treating appliance, a refrigerator, etc.) or a household small appliance (e.g., a toaster, a coffee maker, etc.). The cooking appliance may in particular be an oven, a steam cooker, a microwave oven or a combination thereof, for example an oven / microwave combination appliance.

A development is that the network service is a service available over the Internet.

• – ein Nachrichtendienst,
• – ein Wetterdienst,
• – Internet-Radio,
• – ein Streaming Dienst umfassend Audio und/oder Video-Inhalte,
• – ein in einem lokalen Netzwerk bereitgestellter Dienst.

Another development is that the network service is one of the following services:

• - a news service,
• - a weather service,
• - internet radio,
• A streaming service comprising audio and / or video content,
• A service provided on a local network.

Also several network services can be used in combination of the household appliance or retrieved.

In particular, it is a development that the data include audio data and / or video data.

It is also a development that the household appliance is designed to be configurable, the data being retrievable from the network based on the configuration.

The configuration can alternatively be carried out manually. Furthermore, it is possible that the configuration is read from a storage medium. Also, it is an option that the household appliance is powered by an external device, e.g. a laptop computer or a smartphone. In particular, the user interface of the external device can be used for the configuration of the household appliance.

Furthermore, it is a development that a configuration file from the network is loadable.

For example, the home appliance may load a configuration file from the Internet; In this case, by identification of the household appliance and / or by specifying customer-specific wishes regarding the network services already a configuration file can be loaded, which is suitable for the household appliance or can be spent on this and / or consider the customer's wishes.

• – einen Lautsprecher, insbesondere mehrere Lautsprecher,
• – eine Anzeigeeinheit,
• – eine Leuchteinheit, insbesondere eine Lampe, eine Signalisierungseinheit, eine LED, eine OLED.

In the context of an additional development, the output unit comprises at least one of the following components:

• A loudspeaker, in particular several loudspeakers,
• A display unit,
• - A lighting unit, in particular a lamp, a signaling unit, an LED, an OLED.

A next development is that the household appliance has an input unit.

• – eine Tastatur,
• – ein berührungsempfindliches Eingabefeld,
• – einen Schalter,
• – einen Taster,
• – ein Mikrofon.

An embodiment is that the input unit comprises at least one of the following components:

• - a keyboard,
• A touch-sensitive input field,
• - a switch,
• - a button,
• - a microphone.

An alternative embodiment is that the input unit comprises means for directly selecting a particular network service.

For example, by selecting a key (this may also be a virtual key or a menu item that is being selected), weather information may be retrieved and another key may retrieve current messages. The user can pre-set keys with those network services that he would like to retrieve and often (quick access keys).

A next embodiment is that the interface to the network is a wireless and / or a wired interface.

For example, the household appliance can be connected to the network via a line. Alternatively, the home appliance may be connected to the network via a wireless interface (e.g., WLAN, Bluetooth, mobile communication).

• – bei dem über eine Schnittstelle zu einem Netzwerk Daten des Netzdienstes abgerufen werden und
• – bei dem die Daten auf einer Ausgabeeinheit des Haushaltsgeräts ausgegeben werden.

The above object is also achieved by a method for retrieving a network service by means of a household appliance,

• In which data of the network service are retrieved via an interface to a network and
• - In which the data is output on an output unit of the household appliance.

The above statements concerning the household appliance apply accordingly to the method.

Embodiments of the invention are illustrated and explained below with reference to the drawing.

It shows:

1 a schematic arrangement of a household appliance with a processing unit, a configuration file, an output unit, an input unit, an interface to a network and the network with network services.

A household appliance is proposed, which has means by means of which access to network services, in particular to Internet services, is made possible.

Preferably, the home appliance is flexibly configurable to retrieve such network services. In particular, it is possible for the home appliance to access configuration data, e.g. loads from the network and then retrieves the network services based on this configuration data. The configuration data can also be entered manually or by another medium, e.g. a storage medium.

• – einen Lautsprecher (insbesondere mehrere Lautsprecher, um z.B. Stereo- oder Raumklang-Ausgaben zu ermöglichen),
• – eine Anzeigeeinheit (ein Display),
• – ein Mikrofon.

The household appliance has output units by means of which the network services can be output. Such output units comprise at least one of the following components:

• - a loudspeaker (in particular several loudspeakers, eg to allow stereo or surround sound outputs),
• A display unit (a display),
• - a microphone.

Also, the home appliance may include at least one input device (e.g., a keyboard, a touch-sensitive input panel, switches, or buttons) to set, select, or interact with (e.g., with these network services) the network services.

• – Internet-Radio,
• – einen Streaming-Dienst mit Audio- und/oder Video-Inhalten,
• – die Bereitstellung aktueller Informationen, z.B. Nachrichten und/oder Wetterdaten,
• – einen in einem lokalen Netzwerk bereitgestellten Dienst.

A network service may include in particular:

• - internet radio,
• - a streaming service with audio and / or video content,
• The provision of up-to-date information, eg news and / or weather data,
• - a service provided on a local network.

The household appliance can be set up so that it can perform at least one network service. Optionally, the user may choose from a variety of network services and / or adapt the particular network service to their needs (e.g., tune the radio station of interest in an Internet radio).

The domestic appliance can support different variants regarding the network services. For example, the household appliance can To provide content on demand by the user and / or to provide live streaming. The protocols and mechanisms required for this, in particular the different media and container formats, can be implemented in the household appliance.

It should be noted that network services provided by the Internet are only examples. Other network services are possible. In particular, network services may be provided over a local area network.

The home appliance may have a wired or a wireless (radio) interface to be connected to the network services. In particular, the household appliance may be equipped for this purpose with a wireless network interface (WLAN: wireless LAN). It is also possible that the household appliance has an interface for connection to a telecommunications network. For example, the domestic appliance may have a suitable SIM card for this purpose, which may possibly be administered by a manufacturer or a service provider (for example, enabled or disabled for certain services).

For example, different network services may be provided by different providers. It is also possible that a network service (e.g., "web radio") may be offered by multiple providers and a user may choose an offer that is appropriate for them.

In particular, it is possible to have preconfigured lists for the network services, e.g. Radio stations or news services with the respective settings in advance to integrate into the household appliance and / or perform this changeable or reconfigurable for the user.

A configuration of the network service may be made directly to the home appliance or to an external device which may be coupled to the home appliance via a wireless or wired interface. For example, the home device and the external device (e.g., a laptop computer or a smartphone) may both be coupled via a WLAN interface. It is also possible that a wired connection between the device and the household appliance is made.

Another option is that certain configuration files, e.g. from the Internet (e.g., depending on the particular household appliance) and can be used to configure the household appliance. Such configuration files may be loaded by the home appliance or by the external device. In the latter case, the external device transmits the configuration file to the household appliance, possibly after it has been adapted in advance to the needs of the user.

1 shows a schematic arrangement of a household appliance 101 with a processing unit 102 , a configuration file 103 , an output unit 104 , an input unit 105 , an interface 106 to a network 107 as well as the network 107 with network services 108 and 109 , The household appliance 101 can continue to data with an external device 110 exchange, for example, the external device 110 a laptop computer that is the household appliance 101 for the network services 108 . 109 configured.

The processing unit 102 is in the example of 1 connected to the configuration file 103 , the output unit 104 , the input unit 105 and the interface to the network 106 , The network 107 includes, for example, the Internet or a local area network. the interface 106 may be a wired or a radio interface as described above.

For example, it is possible that different types of keys exist that allow the user to access the desired network service. Thus, different keys or different menu items for different network services may be provided: For example, by selecting a button (this may also be a virtual button or a menu item that is selected) weather information and another button, current news can be accessed. The user can pre-set keys with those network services that he would like to retrieve and often (quick access keys).

An advantage of the approach presented here is that no output device is needed in addition to the household appliance for the performance of the network service.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

101

 household appliance

102

 processing unit

103

 configuration file

104

 output unit

105

 input unit

106

Interface to the network 107

107

 network

108

 network service

109

 network service

110

 external device (e.g., smartphone, laptop computer, etc.)

Claims (12)

Household appliance ( 101 ) - with an output unit ( 104 ), - with a processing unit ( 102 ), - with an interface ( 106 ) to a network ( 107 ), - wherein the processing unit ( 102 ) is set up in such a way that via the interface ( 106 ) Data of a network service ( 108 . 109 ) and on the output unit ( 104 ) are dispensable. The home appliance of claim 1, wherein the network service is a service available over the Internet. Household appliance according to one of the preceding claims, in which the network service is one of the following services: - a news service, - a weather service, - internet radio, A streaming service comprising audio and / or video content, A service provided on a local network. Domestic appliance according to one of the preceding claims, in which the data comprise audio data and / or video data. Domestic appliance according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the household appliance is configured configurable, wherein the data is retrievable from the network based on the configuration. Household appliance according to claim 5, wherein a configuration file from the network is loadable. Domestic appliance according to one of the preceding claims, in which the dispensing unit comprises at least one of the following components: A loudspeaker, in particular several loudspeakers, A display unit, - A lighting unit, in particular a lamp, a signaling unit, an LED, an OLED. Domestic appliance according to one of the preceding claims, having an input unit ( 105 ). The household appliance according to claim 8, wherein the input unit comprises at least one of the following components: - a keyboard, A touch-sensitive input field, - a switch, - a button, - a microphone. Domestic appliance according to one of claims 8 or 9, wherein the input unit comprises means for direct selection of a particular network service. Domestic appliance according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the interface to the network is a wireless and / or a wired interface. Method for retrieving a network service ( 108 . 109 ) by means of a household appliance ( 101 ), - in which via an interface ( 106 ) to a network ( 107 ) Data of the network service ( 108 . 109 ) and - in which the data is stored on an output unit ( 104 ) of the household appliance ( 101 ).

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