DE102019125673A1 - Method for regulating or controlling a household appliance, household appliance and system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for regulating or controlling a household appliance (2), in which a further household appliance (2) sends a message to the household appliance (2) before an event occurs that causes a change in its operating state; and the household appliance (2) when and / or after receiving the notification changes its operating state as a function of the notification before the event occurs. The invention also relates to a household appliance with a processing unit which is designed in such a way that it sends a message to another household appliance (2) before an event that causes a change in the operating state of the household appliance (2). The invention also relates to a system comprising a device network with at least one such household appliance (2) and at least one other household appliance (2) that is connected via a network.

Description

The invention relates to a method for regulating or controlling a household appliance, a household appliance and a system.

From the DE 10 2017 105 584 A1 a data management system and a method for regulating or controlling a household appliance by means of a data management system are known. The data management system has a communication module which is designed to communicate with a plurality of household appliances, and a regulating or control unit which is designed to regulate or control at least one of the plurality of household appliances, and an interface, wherein the data management system is designed to communicate wirelessly via the interface with an electrical input device via which the regulating or control unit can be configured. Several household appliances can be regulated or controlled by means of the data management system. It is possible for the data management system to send a regulation or control command to a household appliance as a function of a status message that it received from another household appliance when its operating state changed, or for the regulating or control unit to determine an operating state of the household appliance regulates or controls depending on the operating state of the further household appliance.

By means of the known method, however, it is only possible to regulate or control the further household appliance on the basis of a current operating state of the household appliance. As a result, if the household appliance is an extractor hood, for example, it is only controlled or regulated when emissions from a current cooking step of a stove as a further household appliance have already occurred. As a result, for example, cooking odors can arise that are undesirable. There is therefore a need for an improved control or regulation of the household appliance.

The invention thus presents the problem of providing a method for regulating or controlling a household appliance, a household appliance and a system which provide improved regulation or control of a household appliance.

According to the invention, this problem is solved by a method with the features of claim 1, a household appliance with the features of claim 8 and a system with the features of claim 10. Advantageous refinements and developments of the invention emerge from the following subclaims.

The advantages that can be achieved with the invention are, in addition to simultaneous or predictive regulation or control, that the user does not have to worry about regulation or control of the household appliance, but that this is user-independent. Furthermore, energy can be saved if only as much power is called up for the household appliance as is required, depending on the further household appliance.

• - ein weiteres Haushaltsgerät vor einem Zeitpunkt vor Eintritt eines Ereignisses, das eine Änderung seines Betriebszustand hervorruft, einen Hinweis an das Haushaltsgerät übersendet; und
• - das Haushaltsgerät bei und/oder nach Erhalt des Hinweises seinen Betriebszustand in Abhängigkeit des Hinweises ändert.

The invention relates to a method for regulating or controlling a household appliance in which

• another household appliance sends a message to the household appliance before an event occurs that causes a change in its operating state; and
• - The household appliance changes its operating state when and / or after receiving the notice as a function of the notice.

The notice preferably contains a command for the household appliance to change its operating state immediately or at a predetermined point in time. The predetermined point in time is preferably before the point in time at which the event occurs and / or its occurrence is predicted. The change in the operating state can be brought about by activating the further household appliance and / or changes during a process that the further household appliance carries out and / or continues to carry out.

The notification is preferably sent wirelessly. The household appliance and the further household appliance are preferably designed to communicate wirelessly and bidirectionally.

The method can be used to regulate or control more than one household appliance, for example two, three or four household appliances. Furthermore, one or more other household appliances can send the household appliance a message about the change in its operating status at the same time or one after the other. The household appliance and the further household appliance are preferably part of a device group and are designed to communicate bidirectionally and wirelessly, so that each device that is part of the device group can represent the household appliance or the further household device in relation to another device in the device group.

In a preferred embodiment, the household appliance changes its operating state when and / or after receiving the information as a function of the information, before the event occurs and / or the occurrence of the event is predicted. As a result, the household appliance continues to take preventive action Adjusted to the circumstances after the occurrence of the event.

In a preferred embodiment, the further household appliance sends the information directly to the household appliance. Alternatively, the further household appliance preferably sends the information to the household appliance via an intermediary. The mediator can be a passive mediator or an active mediator. A passive intermediary is an intermediary who mediates without user interaction. An example of a passive switch is a router. An active intermediary is an intermediary who has an electrical input device that can be operated and / or programmed by a person such as a user or customer service. An example of an active agent is a cell phone or a computer such as a tablet or laptop. The active agent is preferably a smartphone. The active agent preferably has an app. The intermediary is preferably designed for wireless communication. It is also possible to send the information via a cloud service as an intermediary.

In a preferred embodiment, the further household appliance sends the notification to the household appliance when a value that predicts the occurrence of an event is read out and / or sensed on the further household appliance. The value or values read out and / or sensed are preferably selected from the group comprising device parameters and / or operating mode of the further household appliance and / or sensor values that are sensed on the further household appliance and / or actions or functions sensed on the further household appliance such as door open and flap control, which can be represented by values. Device parameters are, for example, process parameters such as a process duration and / or process temperature of a process that is carried out by the further household appliance, an operating duration and / or a remaining time of the process. The operating mode is, for example, a power level of the further household appliance set during the process and / or an automatic program selected by the user for the further household appliance that carries out the process. By reading out one or more values such as device parameters, operating mode, functions such as the flap control for rapid cooling and one or more sensor values such as humidity and temperature of the other household appliance in the form of an oven, an expected event such as expected cooking / Baking vapors can be closed and their amount can optionally be determined and the household appliance such as an extractor hood can be regulated or controlled accordingly simultaneously or in advance. Information from automatic programs such as "Please pour the roast over", or remaining time, as well as from a proximity sensor and / or door contact switch of the other household appliance can be used individually or in combination as a source of information for controlling or regulating the household appliance.

The read and / or sensed value preferably predicts the event if it is equal to a stored and / or stored empirical value that predicts this event and / or is equal to a learning value determined by means of machine learning that predicts this event. The stored and / or stored empirical value can be stored and / or stored in the further household appliance.

In a preferred embodiment, the value is based on a device parameter, a sensor value, a user input, a recipe stored in the further household device and / or a change in the switching state. The device parameter is preferably the temperature and / or the time that the further household device provides for the process. The sensor value is preferably the temperature and / or the humidity that are sensed in the further household appliance when the process is carried out. A user input is preferably switching on the further household appliance and / or selecting the program of the further household appliance to carry out the process. A recipe stored in the further household appliance can be a cooking or baking recipe, for example. A change in the switching state can be, for example, a door and / or flap opening of the further household appliance.

The event is preferably a door opening, a flap control, a start of a process process, a parameter change during the process process, a sensed change in temperature and / or a sensed change in humidity. The process process can be a cooking process, a washing process, baking process and / or a drying process. The process process is preferably a cooking process and / or a baking process.

If several other household appliances can send a message to the household appliance at the same time or offset in time to the household appliance before an event occurs that causes a change in its respective operating state, the method can provide, in a preferred embodiment, the various other household appliances as a function to weight one or more properties. The other household appliances can be categorized into different classes. If the household appliance is, for example, an extractor hood, the other Household appliances, for example, can be categorized into different emission classes. A hob of a cooker, for example, can be assigned a class with high emissions, while an oven, depending on the type, is categorized in a class with medium emissions, with a catalytic converter or in a class with high emissions without a catalytic converter, and a steam oven, for example, categorized in a class with low emissions will.

The household appliance preferably changes its operating state when and / or after receiving the information by changing its power level.

The term “household appliance” includes an electrical device that can be used in a private household or commercially. In particular, it is an electrical kitchen appliance, i.e. a device that is usually used in a kitchen. The household appliance can be a cooktop, an extractor hood, an oven, a steam cooker, a fully automatic coffee machine, a pizza oven, a pizza drawer, a stove, a microwave, a kettle, a dishwasher, an automatic washing machine, a drying machine and / or combinations thereof act. The further household appliance can also be a hob, an extractor hood, an oven, a steam cooker, a fully automatic coffee machine, a pizza oven, a pizza drawer, a stove, a microwave, a dishwasher, an automatic washing machine, an automatic drying machine and / or combinations thereof . The household appliance and the further household appliance are preferably different from one another.

In a preferred embodiment, the household appliance is the extractor hood. In a preferred embodiment, the further household appliance is an electrical appliance which, when used, generates an emission such as water vapor. The further household appliance is preferably the hob, the oven, the steam cooker, the fully automatic coffee machine, the pizza oven, the pizza drawer, the stove, the microwave, the kettle and / or combinations thereof. An operating state of the extractor hood can be optimized based on the operating states of the hob, oven, steam cooker, fully automatic coffee machine, pizza oven, pizza drawer, stove, microwave and / or kettle, so that its intended use is optimized. In particular, unpleasant smells and / or the presence of air humidity is reduced. For this purpose, the extractor hood is advantageously located in the same room or adjacent to the other household appliance in order to be able to develop its effect. During or even before they occur, the method actively prevents or at least reduces cooking odors or the occurrence of fumes by means of the automatic control of the extractor hood in accordance with the amount of fumes.

The extractor hood is preferably part of a device network that includes the household appliance and the other household appliance, and is used in accordance with the cooking or cooking equipment. Device activity regulated or controlled. The cooking time, cooking temperature and other device parameters, as well as operating mode and sensor values, detected actions such as door open and flap control and, if applicable, selected automatic programs, especially of all cooking devices in a kitchen, influence the regulation or control of the power level of the extractor hood during a cooking process according to the expected amount of vapor. The air volume of the extractor hood is regulated or controlled by the operation of all networked devices that generate emissions. Vapor-intensive events such as door opening and flap control, especially in the case of a cooking appliance, are triggered in anticipation before the event and regulated or controlled according to the expected amount of vapor. The noise pollution caused by the fan operation of the extractor hood is thus reduced to a necessary minimum when cooking and / or baking. The cook or cooks can concentrate on the cooking process and do not have to worry about regulating the extractor hood. The regulation or control of the extractor hood can also result in an energy-saving effect, since the extractor house only ever calls up as much power as is actually required for the cooking process.

The invention also relates to a household appliance with a processing unit which is designed in such a way that it sends a message to another household appliance before an event that causes a change in the operating state of the household appliance. The household appliance and the other household appliance are preferably selected from the group described above.

One or more programs that can be executed on the household appliance and that contain one or more commands that are output to the other household appliance in the message are preferably stored in the processing unit. The stored program can have an automatic program and / or a recipe, for example.

The invention also relates to a system having a device network with at least one household appliance according to one or more of the embodiments described above and another household appliance that is connected via a network. They are preferably connected to a central control or regulating device.

Advantages and embodiments described for the method apply accordingly to the household appliance and the system and vice versa.

• 1 eine skizzenhafte Darstellung eines Geräteverbunds, das mehrere Haushaltsgeräte aufweist;
• 2 eine skizzenhafte Darstellung eines Geräteverbunds, das mehrere Haushaltsgeräte und einen Vermittler aufweist;
• 3 ein Ablaufdiagramm eines erfindungsgemäßen Verfahrens zum Regeln oder Steuern eines Haushaltsgeräts;
• 4 ein Luftvolumen des Haushaltsgeräts des in 1 oder 2 gezeigten Geräteverbunds in zeitlicher Abfolge; und
• 5 einer Leistungsstufe des Haushaltsgeräts des in 1 oder 2 gezeigten Geräteverbunds in zeitlicher Abfolge bei vorausschauender Regelung oder Steuerung.

An embodiment of the invention is shown purely schematically in the drawings and is described in more detail below. It shows schematically and not to scale

• 1 a sketchy representation of a device network that has a plurality of household appliances;
• 2 a sketchy representation of a device network that has a plurality of household devices and an intermediary;
• 3rd a flowchart of a method according to the invention for regulating or controlling a household appliance;
• 4th an air volume of the household appliance of the in 1 or 2 device network shown in chronological order; and
• 5 a power level of the household appliance of the in 1 or 2 shown device network in chronological order with predictive regulation or control.

1 shows a sketched representation of a device network that has several household devices. The device network 4th has several household appliances 2 on. All household appliances 2 are designed to communicate wirelessly and bidirectionally. An extractor hood 24 is a household appliance 2 and is above a steamer 21 , an oven 22nd and a stove 23 than other household appliances 2 Arranged so that they emit emissions from the steamer 21 , of the oven 22nd and the hearth 23 can suction if necessary.

When operating one or more of the other household appliances 2 send the other household appliance (s) 2 a point in time before an event occurs that causes a change in its operating status, a message to the extractor hood 24 , and changes the hood 24 on and / or after receipt of the notice, their operating status depending on the notice. Sending the notice to the extractor hood 24 is always from the steamer 21 , the oven 22nd and the stove 23 carried out directly, as indicated by the arrows. A machine-readable recipe, one or more user inputs, one or more device parameters and / or one or more sensor values such as temperature, moisture content and / or action or function such as door contact switching can be used for predictive regulation or control of an exhaust air volume of the extractor hood 24 in the cooking context with the steamer 21 , the oven 22nd and the stove 23 be used.

The early build-up of the exhaust air flow from the extractor hood 24 , as a function of an expected vapor volume, according to, for example, a number and use of the devices involved in the cooking process in the form of the steam cooker described in the recipe 21 , Oven 22nd and stove 23 allows the extraction or filtering of vapors as they arise. A set air volume for the extractor hood 24 In addition to the intensity (temperature and duration) of the respective cooking step and the duration, it can also be based on the categorization of the individual other household appliances 2 based in different emission classes. A hob of the cooker 23 will be in process with the class 3rd , strong emission, the oven 22nd , depending on the type in class 2 , with catalytic converter or in class 3rd , without a catalyst, and the steamer 21 with fewer emissions, for example in class 1 rated ..

2 shows a sketchy representation of a device network that has several household devices and an intermediary. The in 2 Device network shown 4th corresponds to in 1 Device network shown with the difference that it continues to be an intermediary 3rd having. The mediator 3rd can be a passive intermediary such as a router or an active intermediary such as a mobile phone, in particular a smartphone, a computer such as a tablet or laptop or a cloud. The steamer sends during operation 21 , the oven 22nd , the stove 23 the note on the extractor hood 24 through the intermediary 3rd as indicated by the arrows.

3rd shows a flowchart of a method according to the invention for regulating or controlling a household appliance. The method has an optional step 100 on, in which a value is read out and / or sensed on the further household appliance (not shown), which value predicts the occurrence of an event. To the optional step 100 closes a step 101 at which the further household appliance sends a message to the household appliance (not shown) before the occurrence of the event that causes a change in its operating state. At the crotch 101 closes a step 102 in which the household appliance changes its operating state on and / or after receipt of the notice as a function of the notice.

4th shows a fan volume of the household appliance of the in 1 or 2 device network shown in chronological order. Time units are chosen arbitrarily. Curve 201 describes a forward-looking behavior of the in 1 shown device network of networked household appliance in an assisted cooking process, and curve 202 describes an event-adjusted behavior of the in 1 network of connected household appliances shown in an assisted cooking process.

The curve 201 describes a predictive regulation or control of a fan volume of the household appliance during the cooking process according to a vapor volume to be expected according to a recipe stored in the steamer and stove, with expected events being shown in the form of (1) to (8) in a cooking process. With the user input "Start cooking" at (1), a work light of the household appliance or cooker hood is switched on and shortly thereafter a predetermined fan level of the cooker hood is selected, since larger amounts of steam will escape when a door of the already heated steam oven is opened at (2). Before searing in a pan on the stove at (3), an intensive level of the household appliance is activated.

Curve 202 describes an event-based regulation or control of the air output of the household appliance, which is readjusted when the appliances involved in the cooking process are switched on, with events in the form of (1) to (8) and the fan volume in the cooking process being shown. The curve 202 corresponds to the curve 201 with the difference that it is staggered in time.

5 shows a power level of the household appliance of the in 1 or 2 shown device network in chronological order with predictive regulation or control. Time units are chosen arbitrarily. Curve 301 shows a curve of a power level of the extractor hood in chronological order in relation to events of the steam cooker. It has an approximate shape of a parabola, starting at 1 when the steamer is turned on and peaking at a time of about 4 at which the event 304 is intended to take vegetables out of the steamer. From the point in time from 1 to 4, the extractor hood is activated in a run-up phase in relation to the steam cooker, after which a power level of the extractor hood is continuously reduced or controlled.

Curve 302 shows a graph of the cooker hood in relation to cooker events. The curve 302 increases continuously with time 3rd at which the stove is switched on until a time between 7 and 8 when another event occurs 305 is provided in which a roast is to be poured over. From the point in time from 3 to approx. 8 the extractor hood is activated in relation to the oven or stove in a run-up phase, after which the power level of the extractor hood is kept constant. A curve 303 represents a sum of the curves 301 and 302 Both the steamer and the cooker each send information to the extractor hood before an event occurs that causes a change in their respective operating status, so that the extractor hood changes its operating status when and / or after receiving the message depending on the message .

List of reference symbols

1

Data management system

11

Communication module

12th

Regulation or control unit

13th

interface

2

Home appliance

21st

Steamer

22nd

oven

23

stove

24

Extractor hood

3

Intermediary

4th

Composite

100

Reading out one or more values

101

Output of a note

102

Change of the operating status

201

Events and vapor volume in the cooking process

202

Expected events and vapor volume in the cooking process

301

Curve of the hood in relation to the steamer

302

Curve of the hood in relation to the oven or hob

303

Sum of curves 301 and 302

304

event

305

another event

QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

This list of the documents listed by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the better information of the reader. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions.

Patent literature cited

• DE 102017105584 A1 [0002]

Claims (10)

Method for regulating or controlling a household appliance (2), in which - another household appliance (2) sends a message to the household appliance (2) before an event occurs which causes a change in its operating state; and - The household appliance (2) when and / or after receiving the notice changes its operating state as a function of the notice. Procedure according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the household appliance (2) changes its operating state on and / or after receiving the information depending on the information, before the event occurs and / or the occurrence of the event is predicted. Procedure according to Claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the further household appliance (2) sends the information directly to the household appliance (2) or that the further household appliance (2) sends the information to the household appliance (2) via an intermediary. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the further household appliance (2) sends the notification to the household appliance (2) when a value is read out and / or sensed on the further household appliance (2) that predicts the occurrence of the event . Procedure according to Claim 4 , characterized in that the read out and / or sensed value predicts the event if it is equal to a stored and / or stored empirical value that predicts this event, and / or is equal to a learning value determined by means of machine learning, which this event is predicts. Procedure according to Claim 4 or 5 , characterized in that the value or values read out and / or sensed are selected from the group comprising device parameters, operating mode of the further household appliance, sensor values that are sensed on the further household appliance, and / or actions sensed on the further household appliance and / or Functions that can be represented by values. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the event is a door opening, a flap control, a start of a process process, a parameter change during the process process, a temperature change and / or a change in humidity. Household appliance with a processing unit which is designed in such a way that it sends a message to another household appliance (2) before an event that causes a change in the operating state of the household appliance (2). Household appliance after Claim 9 , characterized in that one or more programs are stored in the processing unit which can be executed on the household appliance (2) and contain one or more commands which are sent to the other household appliance (2) in the message. System, comprising a device network with at least one household appliance (2) according to Claim 8 or 9 and at least one other household appliance (2) which are connected via a network.

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