US20240142107A1

US20240142107A1 - Method for operating a cooking appliance, and cooking appliance

Info

Publication number: US20240142107A1
Application number: US18/548,111
Authority: US
Inventors: Niels Ohrmann; Volker Ennen
Original assignee: Miele und Cie KG
Current assignee: Miele und Cie KG
Priority date: 2021-03-02
Filing date: 2022-02-21
Publication date: 2024-05-02

Abstract

A method for operating a cooking appliance including at least one treatment chamber with at least one opening for filling the treatment chamber, at least one door for closing the opening of the treatment chamber, at least one control device, and at least one safety device, includes: checking the at least one treatment chamber, by the at least one safety device, for a presence of at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation; and if the at least one safety device detects that at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation are/is present in the at least one treatment chamber, preventing, by the control device, operation of the cooking appliance and/or limits operation of the cooking appliance to certain operating states.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. National Phase application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/EP2022/054209, filed on Feb. 21, 2022, and claims benefit to German Patent Application No. DE 10 2021 104 990.3, filed on Mar. 2, 2021. The International Application was published in German on Sep. 9, 2022 as WO 2022/184483 A1 under PCT Article 21(2).

FIELD

The present invention relates to a method for operating a cooking appliance including at least one treatment chamber with at least one opening for filling the treatment chamber, at least one door for closing the opening of the treatment chamber, at least one control device, and at least one safety device. The present invention also relates to a cooking appliance suitable and adapted to carry out such a method.

BACKGROUND

For user-friendly control and operation of a cooking appliance, it is generally desirable that user control as such require only a small or minimum number of control steps and/or settings and/or that flexible operation of the cooking appliance be enabled in order to obtain a desired result with pinpoint accuracy and precisely in time.
It is particularly under these conditions that a user perceives the often manifold functions of a cooking appliance as particularly advantageous and also uses and applies them. It is especially convenient for a user to be able to start the operation of a cooking appliance independently of location; i.e., also remotely, virtually at the push of a button, whereupon the sequence of operations is executed in a reliable manner and may, in addition, optionally be monitored and/or controlled by automatic programs.
For this purpose, various cooking appliances having a treatment chamber have become known which can be remotely controlled using a remote control. In particular, cooking appliances have become known where the food cooking process is started using a remote control and controlled by automatic programs. With regard to the reliability and practicality of such remotely controllable or remotely operable cooking appliances, it is desirable to further improve the known solutions and make them even more user-friendly.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method for operating a cooking appliance including at least one treatment chamber with at least one opening for filling the treatment chamber, at least one door for closing the opening of the treatment chamber, at least one control device, and at least one safety device, comprising: checking the at least one treatment chamber, by the at least one safety device, for a presence of at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation; and if the at least one safety device detects that at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation are/is present in the at least one treatment chamber, preventing, by the control device, operation of the cooking appliance and/or limiting operation of the cooking appliance to certain operating states.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be described in even greater detail below based on the exemplary figures. The invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments. Other features and advantages of various embodiments of the present invention will become apparent by reading the following detailed description with reference to the attached drawings which illustrate the following:

FIG. 1 is a purely schematic perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of an inventive cooking appliance for carrying out a method according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In an embodiment, the present invention provides a method that enables the operation of a cooking appliance to be controlled in a particularly reliable and user-friendly manner, in particular from a remote location.
The method of the invention is used for operating a cooking appliance including at least one treatment chamber with at least one opening for filling the treatment chamber, at least one door for closing the opening of the treatment chamber, at least one control device, and at least one safety device. The safety device checks the treatment chamber for the presence of at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation, and, if the safety device detects that at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation are/is present in the treatment chamber, the control device prevents operation of the household appliance and/or limits the operation of the household appliance to certain operating states.
In accordance with the invention, “preventing operation” is understood to mean that risky operation of the cooking appliance is prevented and/or that, in general, the operation is completely prevented and/or, also, that the control device only allows operating states in which the presence of the at least one living being and/or of at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation in the treatment chamber does not pose any danger to the at least one living being and/or the cooking appliance and/or the surroundings of the cooking appliance.
Examples of such uncritical operating states include activating a display, a camera, a data connection and/or, in the case of cooking appliances, for example, turning on the cooking chamber light. However, depending on the requirements and the design, low-risk or risk-free operating states, conditions, or operating modes may also be allowed. Here, for example, a limitation of the temperature may be provided, in the case of cooking appliances, especially ones having a cooking chamber, a limitation to, for example, 30° C., or generally in cooking appliances, an air humidity of less than 60%, or the like, or small movements, such as no or an extremely small number of revolutions per minute at low speed. Another option is to prevent addition of water or pumping out of water.
The cooking appliance is in particular a cooking appliance such as a baking oven, a microwave, or a steam cooker, where the at least one treatment chamber is at least one cooking chamber for preparing food.
Preferably, before the cooking appliance is put into operation, the safety device checks the treatment chamber for the presence of at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation. However, depending on the embodiment and function of the cooking appliance, the safety device may additionally or only check the treatment chamber for the presence of at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation during the operation of the cooking appliance.
The living being for which the treatment chamber is checked is in particular alive and is preferably a human being and/or a mammalian animal, such as, for example, a dog, a cat, or a hamster. Preferably, however, the living being may also be a bird or a reptile.
The object which could potentially disrupt operation is in particular an object that is unsuitable for the cooking appliance and may, for example, damage the cooking appliance. Preferably, however, the object which could potentially disrupt operation may also be an object that is relevant to safety. Such an object may be, for example, a flammable object, such as a newspaper, a stuffed animal, and/or a garment. It may also be an electronic device, in particular an electronic device having an energy storage device, such as, for example, a mobile phone. In this case, it may be checked, for example, prior to putting the cooking appliance into operation, whether a mobile phone and/or another wearable or technical device were/was inadvertently placed into the receiving chamber. Depending on the function and design of the cooking appliance, different objects may potentially disrupt operation and/or may be unsuitable and/or relevant to safety. In a cooking appliance such as, for example, a baking oven, depending on the design, it may preferably also be checked whether a piece of functional ware which is not suitable for use in an oven was put into the cooking chamber.
One aspect is that the object which could disrupt operation may also be a food item to be cooked or a holder for food to be cooked. In this case, “disrupting the operation” refers to the current state of the food item to be cooked or of the holder for food to be cooked. For example, a cake or yeast dough may rise too much and may possibly touch the upper heating elements or run out of the bowl or pan. It is also possible that a holder for food to be cooked may behave unexpectedly, for example, that a skewer may stop rotating, a container or sous vide bag may begin to leak, or a lid may open.
In general, the safety device preferably checks the treatment chamber of the cooking appliance for the presence of at least one safety-relevant object, which preferably includes a living being and/or in particular an object which could potentially disrupt operation.
Preferably, the cooking appliance is suitable and adapted to be controlled and/or operated by at least one mobile control device such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet computer, or generally a remote control. Preferably, the cooking appliance and/or the at least one control device include(s) at least one suitable communication device to receive control signals from at least one mobile control device.
Preferably, the at least one safety device is accommodated by at least one wall or surface enclosing and/or forming the treatment chamber and/or is at least partially integrated into such a wall or surface. Depending on the embodiment and design, the safety device may preferably also be at least partially integrated into the treatment chamber. In general, the safety device is preferably accommodated by the household appliance.
In advantageous embodiments, the at least one control device is accommodated by the cooking appliance. However, it may preferably also be provided separately or spatially separated from the cooking appliance. In particular, the at least one control device may be provided by a cloud or a cloud service.
Preferably, the safety device and the control device are suitable and adapted to communicate with each other so that at least the safety device sends a signal to the control device when it detects at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation in the treatment chamber of the cooking appliance, whereupon the control device preferably prevents operation of the cooking appliance completely or at least partially and/or limits the operation as described above in such a way that substantially only uncritical or low-risk or risk-free functions can be selected and used.
Particularly preferably, the at least one safety device and the at least one control device are embodied as a common assembly. However, they may in particular also be provided as separate components or spatially separated from each other.
Preferably, the safety device includes a plurality of modules such as, for example, at least one sensor, at least one evaluation device, and/or at least one communication device.
Preferably, the door serves to at least partially close the opening of the treatment chamber, particularly during operation of the cooking appliance.
In suitable embodiments, the control device prevents operation of the cooking appliance completely and/or limits the operation of the cooking appliance to certain functions.
The method according to the invention has many advantages. One significant advantage is that the safety device checks the treatment chamber for the presence of at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation, and, if the safety device detects that at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation are/is present in the treatment chamber, the control device prevents operation of the household appliance.
Such a method is particularly user-friendly, since it allows a cooking appliance to be controlled in a very flexible and simple way, in particular from a remote location using a mobile control device. For example, it is not necessary to manually set a cooking appliance into a remotely controllable or remotely operable state and/or mode prior to controlling it from a remote location. In known cooking appliances, such a state and/or mode are/is in particular often associated with the locking of the treatment chamber door, which can only be unlocked by, for example, entering a code and is therefore is very cumbersome and user-unfriendly in controlling the operation of the cooking appliance. These disadvantages are overcome by the inventive method for controlling the operation of a cooking appliance and by the inventive cooking appliance, and a more user-friendly solution is provided, which is at the same time very reliable and safe.
In particular, the inventive method allows reliable monitoring of safety-relevant cooking appliances or cooking appliances that must comply with safety regulations, some of them important ones, thereby substantially preventing improper user control of the cooking device, for example, by children, elderly person, and/or persons suffering from dementia. This possibility of monitoring a cooking appliance from a remote location makes the inventive method for operating an inventive cooking even more user-friendly.
Preferably, the safety device includes at least one camera device capable of imaging at least one portion of the treatment chamber.
Preferably, the at least one camera device captures at least one sequence of images of at least one portion of the treatment chamber.
Particularly preferably, the at least one camera device captures at least one video of at least one portion of the treatment chamber.
Preferably, the camera device is disposed such that it covers as large a portion of the treatment chamber as possible, in particular the entire treatment chamber.
In advantageous embodiments, at least one image, in particular a sequence of images, captured by the camera device is displayed on a suitable display on and/or near the household appliance.
Preferably, at least one image, in particular a sequence of images, captured by the camera device is sent to a mobile control device of the cooking appliance, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, or the like.
Preferably, at least one image captured by the camera device is then sent to a mobile control device at least before a control command sent from a mobile operating device to the cooking appliance is executed.
In advantageous embodiments, the at least one image, in particular a sequence of images, sent to a mobile control device of the cooking appliance is provided with at least one time signature and/or with at least one security signature such as, for example, a hash code.
Preferably, the at least one safety device or the at least one camera device and/or at least one evaluation device automatically detect(s) at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation in the at least one captured image and/or the at least one sequence of images, in particular a video.
Preferably, the at least one camera device includes at least one image sensor, which is used in particular to capture at least two temporally spaced images, which are preferably compared by an evaluation device of the safety device. Preferably, if such an evaluation device detects at least one change in position of at least one safety-relevant object in the treatment chamber without, for example, the door having been opened between the two temporally spaced images, it preferably sends at least one signal to the control device. The control device may then in particular send an alert to a user and/or may preferably prevent operation of the household appliance, in particular simultaneously or subsequently.
Preferably, the at least one camera device and/or the evaluation device of such a safety device detect(s) a movement and/or color and/or shape or contour that is characteristic of at least one living being.
Particularly preferably, the safety device includes at least one infrared camera and/or at least one near-infrared spectrometer.
Preferably, the at least one infrared camera and/or the at least one near-infrared spectrometer detect(s) at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation in the treatment chamber, in particular before the cooking appliance is put into operation.
Particularly preferably, the at least one infrared camera and/or the at least one near-infrared spectrometer detect(s) the temperature of objects located in the treatment chamber, thus detecting in particular at least one living being.
Preferably, the at least one infrared camera and/or the at least one near-infrared spectrometer make(s) it possible to distinguish at least one living being from at least one food item based the temperature or temperature profile.
In particular, the at least one near-infrared spectrometer may also be included in another device such as, for example, a device for identifying food to be cooked, or may preferably be provided by such a device.
In particularly preferred embodiments, the safety device includes at least one motion sensor and/or at least one presence sensor and/or at least one vibration sensor.
Preferably, the at least one motion sensor detects at least one movement characteristic of a living being in the treatment chamber. A shock and/or a movement of an object in the treatment chamber caused by a living being may also be detected, in particular by the motion sensor.
Preferably, the at least one motion sensor detects the movement of an object in the treatment chamber by infrared measurement.
Particularly preferably, the at least one presence sensor detects the presence of at least one living being in the treatment chamber.
Preferably, the at least one vibration sensor detects at least one vibration as is typically caused by a living being, for example, the vibration of at least one wall enclosing the treatment chamber caused by a movement of a child.
In this connection, a wall enclosing the treatment chamber is, in particular, a wall or surface which bounds the treatment chamber or which forms the treatment chamber. Preferably, the treatment chamber is bounded or formed by walls or surfaces such as, for example, side walls, a rear wall, a door, a bottom, and a top.
In advantageous embodiments, the safety device includes at least one sensor for detecting a change in an electric and/or magnetic and/or electromagnetic field in the treatment chamber.
Preferably, at least one sensor detects at least one change in the distribution of an electromagnetic field, such as, or example, a change in the modes and/or reflected power. Preferably, such an electromagnetic field or electromagnetic waves of low power is/are provided by a separate transmitter and/or a transmitter included in the safety device.
In suitable embodiments, the at least one sensor included in the safety device may detect at least one change in at least one electric and/or magnetic field, which is caused, for example, by a baking sheet slid into a baking oven.
Preferably, the safety device detects the position and/or size and/or the shape or contour of an object, such as, for example, a baking sheet slid into a baking oven, by at least one change in an electric and/or magnetic field.
Preferably, the safety device detects the size and/or the position and/or the shape or contour of at least one object in the treatment chamber and draws conclusions therefrom about the presence of at least one second object, in particular one which could disrupt operation, and/or at least one living being.
Preferably, the position and/or size of at least one object inserted into the treatment chamber are/is detected, such as, in particular, the position and/or size of at least one cookware item or cooking utensil inserted into the cooking chamber of a cooking appliance.
Preferably, based on the detected position and/or size and/or shape or contour of at least one object inserted into the treatment chamber, conclusions are drawn about the undivided volume freely available for a living being.
In suitable embodiments, based on the undivided volume freely available for a living being, conclusions are drawn about the presence of at least one living being.
In this context, a freely available undivided volume is in particular a volume in which a living being finds space or in which a living being may be present.
Preferably, for purposes of detecting the position and/or the size of at least one object inserted into the treatment chamber, the safety device includes at least one switch which is actuated by and/or during the introduction or insertion of an object into the treatment chamber. In particular, such a switch may be in the form of a toggle switch and/or electrical conductivity or electrical contact switch, or the like.
Preferably, the safety device includes at least one ultrasonic sensor.
Preferably, the at least one ultrasonic sensor measures at least one distance and/or at least one change in distance in the at least one treatment chamber.
Preferably, based on the at least one measured distance and/or the at least one measured change in distance, the safety device and/or the at least one ultrasonic sensor draw(s) conclusions about the presence of at least one object in the at least one treatment chamber.
Preferably, based on the at least one measured distance and/or the at least one measured change in distance, the safety device and/or the at least one ultrasonic sensor draw(s) conclusions about the undivided volume freely available for a living being.
In suitable embodiments, based on the at least one measured distance and/or the at least one measured change in distance, the safety device and/or the at least one ultrasonic sensor draw(s) conclusions about the presence of at least one living being in the at least one treatment chamber.
Preferably, the safety device includes at least one weight sensor. The weight also allows conclusions to be drawn about objects which could disrupt operation and/or living things.
Preferably, the at least one weight sensor is accommodated on at least one bottom wall.
In this context, the bottom wall is in particular a wall or surface that forms the bottom of the treatment chamber or closes or bounds the treatment chamber downwardly.
Preferably, the at least one weight sensor detects at least one change in weight of the bottom wall.
Preferably, the at least one weight sensor detects at least the insertion of an object such as, for example, a cookware item and/or a cooking utensil by a change in weight of at least one portion of the wall or surfaces enclosing the treatment chamber.
In preferred embodiments, the safety device includes at least one gas sensor suitable and adapted to detect a change in the concentration of at least one gas in the treatment chamber.
Preferably, the at least one gas sensor is suitable and adapted to detect at least one change in the O₂and/or CO₂concentration in the treatment chamber.
Preferably, the gas sensor detects at least one drop in the O₂concentration.
In suitable embodiments, the gas sensor detects at least one increase in the CO₂concentration.
Preferably, the safety device detects at least one deformation and/or at least one distortion of at least one walls enclosing the treatment chamber and/or of a portion of a wall.
In this context, a wall enclosing the treatment chamber is, in particular, a wall or surface which bound the treatment chamber or by which the treatment chamber is formed. Preferably, the treatment chamber is bounded or formed by walls or surfaces such as, for example, side walls, a rear wall, a door, a bottom, and a top.
Preferably, at least one deformation and/or at least one distortion of the wall or surface that forms the bottom of the treatment chamber or closes or bounds the treatment chamber downwardly are/is detected.
Preferably, the safety device includes at least one photosensitive sensor which detects at least one change in light intensity in the treatment chamber.
In particular, the at least one photosensitive sensor is a brightness sensor.
Preferably, the safety device includes a plurality of photosensitive sensors disposed in different regions and/or portions of the treatment chamber.
In suitable embodiments, the safety device detects at least one change in light intensity at a first photosensitive sensor relative to the change in light intensity at least one second photosensitive sensor.
Preferably, the at least one photosensitive sensor detects at least one variation of the light intensity with time. In particular, the at least one photosensitive sensor detects at least one variation of the light intensity with time that indicates a movement of a living being.
In advantageous embodiments, the safety device detects at least one change in the flow pattern and/or in the flow intensity of the air in the treatment chamber.
Preferably, the safety device detects at least one change in a movement of air caused by at least one fan and/or at least one change in a flow pattern of the air in the treatment chamber.
Preferably, the safety device detects at least one change in power consumption caused by a change in the dynamic pressure in the treatment chamber and/or a change in the speed of at least one fan of the cooking appliance.
Preferably, the safety device includes at least one acoustic sensor for detecting at least one acoustic sound.
In particular, the at least one acoustic sensor is in the form of at least one microphone or a similar device.
Preferably, the at least one acoustic sensor detects at least one acoustic sound in the treatment chamber of the household appliance. In this context, a sound is in particular an acoustic signal caused by crawling, climbing, knocking, scratching, crying, babbling, and/or by voice or speech.
Preferably, the safety device detects at least one movement of the door and/or at least one application of force on at least one portion of the door.
Preferably, the safety device detects at least one application of force on at least one mount and/or at least one bearing and/or at least one hinge of the door.
In particular, the safety device detects an application of force on at least one mount and/or at least one bearing and/or at least one hinge at least when the door is in an open position, in which the opening of the treatment chamber is clear and freely accessible.
In suitable embodiments, for purposes of for detecting at least one application of force on at least one portion of the door, the safety device includes at least one sensor suitable and adapted to detect an application of force on the door in the open position.
Preferably, the sensor is in particular in the form of as a microswitch, an inductive proximity switch, and/or an electrical contact switch. Preferably, however, it may also take the form of a magnetic proximity switch and/or another switch. Preferably, such a sensor is disposed on and/or near a mount and/or a bearing and/or a hinge of the door.
Preferably, the safety device detects at least one application of force on at least one portion of the door, such as, in particular, a handle of the door.
Preferably, the safety device locks the door of the cooking appliance when it is in a remotely controllable or remotely operable state and/or mode.
Preferably, the safety device detects at least one movement of the door. In particular, the safety device detects an opening and/or closure of the door.
Preferably, the safety device detects a rotational movement of a rotatably mounted treatment chamber and/or a rotatably mounted portion of a treatment chamber.
Particularly preferably, the detection of the rotational movement is performed by evaluating properties of an electric motor coupled to the rotatably mounted treatment chamber and/or to the rotatably mounted portion of the treatment chamber.
Preferably, the safety device detects a change in conductivity in and/or at the treatment chamber and/or in and/or at an object located in the treatment chamber.
Particularly preferably, the detection of a change in conductivity is performed between at least two contact points accessible from inside the treatment chamber.
Preferably, these contact points are positioned on the inside of a rotatable treatment chamber or an object rotatably located in the treatment chamber.
Preferably, the safety device detects the emission of signals for wireless communication in the interior of the treatment chamber.
Preferably, the signals for wireless communication are emissions from networkable electronic devices. Such devices may include, in particular, telephones, smartwatches, smartglasses, toys, tablets and/or household appliances, components of household appliances, and/or accessories for household appliances.
In particularly preferred embodiments, the cooking appliance includes a plurality of safety devices and/or uses signals of a plurality of safety devices for detecting at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation.
Preferably, the plurality of safety devices are suitable and adapted to communicate with each other and/or with the at least one control device.
Preferably, at least one enable input is requested from at least one user to enable user control of the cooking device if at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation are/is detected by the at least one safety device in the treatment chamber.
Preferably, the possibility of enabling user control of the cooking appliance is dependent on whether a user has permission to do so.
In suitable embodiments, the possibility of enabling user control of the cooking appliance is dependent on the at least one item or object detected by the safety device, in particular, an object which could potentially disrupt operation, and/or at least one living being.
Preferably, the operation of the cooking appliance may be completely prevented and/or limited to certain functions until user control of the cooking appliance is enabled by a user.
Preferably, the possibility of enabling user control of the cooking appliance is dependent on the location of installation and/or the whereabouts of the cooking appliance and/or of the user.
In preferred embodiments, at least one image of at least one portion of the treatment chamber captured by, for example, a camera is sent to a user in order that the user preferably enable user control of the cooking appliance in the event of a false detection by the safety device. A false detection occurs in particular when the safety device detects at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation without such an object being present in the treatment chamber of the cooking appliance. Depending on the embodiment and function of the cooking appliance and/or of the safety device, an acoustic recording from the treatment chamber may also be sent to the user to enable the cooking appliance. In general, information about objects detected in the treatment chamber is preferably provided to a user. In addition, information may be provided in particular about the state or operating mode of the cooking appliance, the position of the cooking appliance in a room and/or about persons present in the surroundings of the cooking appliance.
In particular, information about an application of force on at least one portion of the at least one door, in particular an applied force caused by an opening of the door, may be sent to a user. Preferably, this information also includes the time of such an event.
The cooking appliance according to the invention includes at least one treatment chamber with at least one opening for filling the treatment chamber, at least one door for closing the opening of the treatment chamber, at least one control device, and at least one safety device. The safety device and the control device are suitable and adapted to carry out a method as described herein.
The cooking appliance according to the invention also has the advantages of the method according to the invention.
FIG. 1 shows purely schematically, in perspective view, an exemplary embodiment of an inventive cooking appliance 1 for carrying out a method according to the invention, the cooking appliance 1 here being in the form of a cooking appliance 100 or baking oven.
Cooking appliance 100 includes a treatment chamber 2 in the form of a cooking chamber 101 with an opening 3 for filling cooking chamber 12, a door 4 for closing opening 3 of cooking chamber 101, a control device 5, and a safety device 6. Door 4 of the cooking appliance 100 is here in a substantially open position, so that cooking chamber 101 can be filled or emptied through opening 3.
In the exemplary embodiment shown here, safety device 6 includes a camera device 8, which is integrated into a wall 7 on a side of the opening of cooking chamber 101 or treatment chamber 2. Camera device 8 of safety device 6 is suitable and adapted here to capture a temporal sequence of images of the entire cooking chamber 101 or treatment chamber 2. In the exemplary embodiment shown here, using the captured sequence of images, safety device 6 can check cooking chamber 101 for the presence of living beings and/or the presence of object which could potentially disrupt operation.
Here, in the event that safety device 6 detects a living being and/or an object which could potentially disrupt operation in cooking chamber 101 or treatment chamber 2, safety device 6 sends a signal to control device 5, which then prevents operation of cooking appliance 100 or household appliance 1. Thus, the cooking appliance 100 or household appliance 1 illustrated here can be used to carry out the inventive method of operating a cooking appliance 1.
Alternatively, in addition to camera device 8 or instead of camera device 8, different sensor devices, such as an infrared camera 9, a near-infrared spectrometer 10, a motion sensor 11, a presence sensor 12, a vibration sensor 13, a sensor 14 for detecting a change in an electric and/or magnetic and/or electromagnetic field, an ultrasonic sensor 15, a weight sensor 16, a gas sensor 17, a photosensitive sensor 18, an acoustic sensor 19, may be used or included in the safety device, alone and/or in combination, as schematically indicated in FIG. 1 .
In another exemplary embodiment, as schematically indicated in FIG. 1 , a motion sensor and/or presence sensor 11, 12 may integrated on and/or into a wall 7 of cooking chamber 101, which here detects a movement characteristic of a living being or its presence in cooking chamber 101 of cooking appliance 100.
In another exemplary embodiment, a gas sensor 17 may be integrated into wall 7, which detects a change in a gas concentration, for example, an O₂concentration, in cooking chamber 101 and thus enables safety device 6 to draw conclusions about the presence of a living being and/or an object which could potentially disrupt operation in cooking chamber 101 or to detect such a safety-relevant object.
Furthermore, in another exemplary embodiment, as schematically indicated in FIG. 1 , a photosensitive sensor 18 and/or an acoustic sensors 19 may be accommodated by and/or on wall 7, which here detect a change in light intensity or an acoustic signal and thus enable safety device 6 to detect a living being and/or an object which could potentially disrupt operation in cooking chamber 101, whereupon control device 5 here prevents and/or limits the operation of cooking appliance 100 or household appliance 1.
In accordance with the invention, “preventing operation” is understood to mean, in addition to completely preventing or blocking the operation, that control device 5 only allows operating states in which the presence of the at least one living being and/or of at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation in the treatment chamber does not pose any danger to the at least one living being and/or the cooking appliance and/or the surroundings of the cooking appliance.
Examples of such uncritical operating states include activating a display, a camera, a data connection and/or, in the case of cooking appliances, for example, turning on the cooking chamber light.
In accordance with the invention, depending on the design, low-risk or risk-free operating states or operating modes may generally also be allowed, which, according to this application, also falls under “preventing operation of the cooking appliance.” Here, for example, a limitation of the temperature may be provided, in the case of cooking appliances, especially ones having a cooking chamber, a limitation to, for example, 30° C., or generally in cooking appliances, an air humidity of less than 60%, or the like. Another option is to prevent addition of water or pumping out of water or steam.
While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive. It will be understood that changes and modifications may be made by those of ordinary skill within the scope of the following claims. In particular, the present invention covers further embodiments with any combination of features from different embodiments described above and below. Additionally, statements made herein characterizing the invention refer to an embodiment of the invention and not necessarily all embodiments.
The terms used in the claims should be construed to have the broadest reasonable interpretation consistent with the foregoing description. For example, the use of the article “a” or “the” in introducing an element should not be interpreted as being exclusive of a plurality of elements. Likewise, the recitation of “or” should be interpreted as being inclusive, such that the recitation of “A or B” is not exclusive of “A and B,” unless it is clear from the context or the foregoing description that only one of A and B is intended. Further, the recitation of “at least one of A, B and C” should be interpreted as one or more of a group of elements consisting of A, B and C, and should not be interpreted as requiring at least one of each of the listed elements A, B and C, regardless of whether A, B and C are related as categories or otherwise. Moreover, the recitation of “A, B and/or C” or “at least one of A, B or C” should be interpreted as including any singular entity from the listed elements, e.g., A, any subset from the listed elements, e.g., A and B, or the entire list of elements A, B and C.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

- 1 cooking appliance
- 2 treatment chamber
- 3 opening
- 4 door
- 5 control device
- 6 safety device
- 7 wall
- 8 camera device
- 9 infrared camera
- 10 near-infrared spectrometer
- 11 motion sensor
- 12 presence sensor
- 13 vibration sensor
- 14 sensor for detecting a change in an electric and/or magnetic and/or electromagnetic field
- 15 ultrasonic sensor
- 16 weight sensor
- 17 gas sensor
- 18 photosensitive sensor
- 19 acoustic sensor
- 20 rotation sensor
- 21 conductivity sensor
- 22 sensor for detecting devices for wireless communication
- 100 cooking appliance
- 101 cooking chamber

Claims

1. A method for operating a cooking appliance including at least one treatment chamber with at least one opening for filling the treatment chamber, at least one door for closing the opening of the treatment chamber, at least one control device, and at least one safety device, the method comprising:

checking the at least one treatment chamber, by the at least one safety device, for a presence of at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation; and

if the at least one safety device detects that at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation are/is present in the at least one treatment chamber, preventing, by the control device, operation of the cooking appliance and/or limiting operation of the cooking appliance to certain operating states.

2. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one safety device comprises at least one camera device configured to image at least one portion of the at least one treatment chamber.

3. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one safety device comprises at least one infrared camera and/or at least one near-infrared spectrometer.

4. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one safety device comprises at least one motion sensor and/or at least one presence sensor and/or at least one vibration sensor and/or at least one rotation sensor.

5. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one safety device comprises at least one sensor configured to detect a change in an electric and/or magnetic and/or electromagnetic field in the at least one treatment chamber.

6. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one safety device comprises at least one sensor configured to detect a change in an electrical conductivity in the treatment chamber.

7. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one safety device comprises at least one sensor configured to detect devices for wireless communication and/or signals emitted by devices for wireless communication in at least one the treatment chamber.

8. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one safety device is configured to detect a size and/or a position of at least one object in the at least one treatment chamber and draw conclusions therefrom about a presence of at least one second object that could disrupt operation, and/or at least one living being.

9. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one safety device comprises at least one ultrasonic sensor.

10. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one safety device comprises at least one weight sensor.

11. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one safety device comprises at least one gas sensor configured to detect a change in a concentration of at least one gas in the at least one treatment chamber.

12. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one safety device is configured to detect at least one deformation and/or at least one distortion of at least one wall enclosing the at least one treatment chamber.

13. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one safety device comprises at least one photosensitive sensor configured to detect at least one change in light intensity in the at least one treatment chamber.

14. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one safety device is configured to detect at least one change in a flow pattern and/or in a flow intensity of air in the at least one treatment chamber.

15. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one safety device comprises at least one acoustic sensor configured to detect at least one acoustic sound.

16. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one safety device is configured to detect at least one movement of the at least one door and/or at least one application of force on at least one portion of the at least one door.

17. The method of claim 1,

wherein the at least one safety device comprises a plurality of safety devices and/or is configured to use signals of a plurality of safety devices for detecting at least one living being and/or at least one object which could potentially disrupt operation.

18. The method of claim 1,

further comprising:

requesting at least one enable input from at least one user to enable user control of the cooking device based on detection, by the at least one safety device, of at least one living being and/or at least one object in the at least one treatment chamber which could potentially disrupt operation.

19. A cooking appliance, comprising:

at least one treatment chamber with at least one opening for filling the at least one treatment chamber;

at least one door for closing the opening of the at least one treatment chamber;

at least one control device; and

at least one safety device,

wherein the at least one safety device and the at least one control device are configured to carry out the method of claim 1.