WO2020239818A1

WO2020239818A1 - Maintenance schedule of a domestic appliance

Info

Publication number: WO2020239818A1
Application number: PCT/EP2020/064664
Authority: WO
Inventors: Christoph SÖLLNER
Original assignee: BSH Hausgeräte GmbH
Priority date: 2019-05-28
Filing date: 2020-05-27
Publication date: 2020-12-03
Also published as: EP3977382A1; DE102019207847A1; CN113892121A

Abstract

A method comprises the steps of identifying maintenance to be carried out on a domestic appliance; acquiring due dates that are entered in a calendar associated with the domestic appliance; selecting a due date for maintenance depending on the selected due dates; and entering the due date in the calendar.

Description

Maintenance planning for a home appliance

The invention relates to maintenance planning for a domestic appliance. In particular, the invention relates to the scheduling of predictive maintenance of the domestic appliance.

A household appliance requires maintenance from time to time which the appliance cannot carry out independently or as part of a normal operation. For example, a coffee machine may require descaling, or a dishwasher may require cleaning. Modern household appliances can determine when maintenance is to be carried out and alert a user to the need for maintenance by means of a signal. If the user does not comply with the request, maintenance can be postponed. If the maintenance has been carried out, the message can be turned off again. Usually, the message is also switched off again if the maintenance has not been carried out for a certain period of time.

In this way, a user can only be insufficiently notified of upcoming maintenance. For example, it may not be clear to the user what consequences he must expect if he does not carry out maintenance or only after some time. A self-deactivating message can easily be forgotten so that maintenance may never take place.

US 2014 0 025 219 A1 proposes to prevent the operation of a domestic appliance during the Sabbath in advance.

One object on which the present invention is based is to provide an improved technique for planning upcoming maintenance of a domestic appliance. The invention solves this problem by means of the subjects of the independent claims. Un subclaims show preferred embodiments.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method comprises steps of determining maintenance to be carried out on a domestic appliance; the recording of appointments that are entered in a calendar assigned to the household appliance; determining a date for maintenance depending on the determined dates; and entering the appointment in the calendar. According to the invention, the appointment for servicing the domestic appliance can be set at a time when no other appointment has to be made. Maintenance can thus be better coordinated with other activities that can also be planned using the calendar. For a time interval between the maintenance appointment and another appointment, an interval between places of fulfillment of the appointments can be taken into account. The household appliance is usually assigned to a predetermined household. In one embodiment, the maintenance date, also referred to herein as the maintenance date, can be determined to be close to another date that is set in the area of the domestic appliance or in the household.

The invention can be used both with a conventional calendar and with a task list (“To Do”). The task list can be integrated into the calendar, whereby a formal distinction can be made between appointments and tasks or not. The task list contains tasks as entries, each of which usually has a fulfillment time. When a task has been completed, it can be marked as completed. There can be dependencies between tasks so that, for example, a first task only becomes active or editable after a second task has been marked as completed, or so that a third task can only be marked as completed when a fourth is marked as completed. A task can be assigned to one or more people or groups. In this sense, a task in a task list is to be understood as an embodiment of an appointment in a calendar. The maintenance date can also be entered as a maintenance task.

The home appliance can be controlled depending on the date entered. In particular, it can be ensured that an operation or use of the domestic appliance is completed when the maintenance date is reached. The use is preferably already concluded a predetermined time before the maintenance date occurs, so that the household appliance can, for example, cool down, dry or clear out before maintenance. A dishwasher can, for example, be controlled to end a cleaning program approx. 30 minutes before the maintenance date, so that it can be opened and dishes can be removed from it.

Furthermore, the operation of the domestic appliance can be coordinated with the maintenance. If, for example, a washing machine is to be descaled as part of maintenance, it can until the actual decalcification can be controlled to extend a heating process in order to compensate as much as possible for the thermal insulation effect of a layer of lime on a heating rod.

The need for maintenance is usually determined by the household appliance on a time and / or event basis. In addition, an urgency of the maintenance can be determined. The urgency can be specified on a freely selectable scale. Furthermore, a date can be determined by which the maintenance should be completed, whereby the urgency can be increased further and further in the course of time up to this date. If the deadline is exceeded, the specific urgency can be further increased. The urgency preferably does not exceed a predetermined maximum. In a further embodiment, a point in time is determined at which damage is likely to occur on the domestic appliance if the maintenance has not been carried out by then, it being possible to determine the urgency with regard to this point in time. The damage can be irreversible or reversible through maintenance. Several times can also be determined at which there are predetermined risks of damage to the domestic appliance, and the urgency can be determined as a function of a time interval up to at least one of these times.

The maintenance date can be determined depending on the urgency of the maintenance to be carried out. If, for example, in a period in which the urgency is below a predetermined value, no date can be determined that does not collide with an already existing date, then in a second period that follows the first period and in which the Urgency is above the predetermined value, a maintenance appointment will be searched more aggressively. For example, the specified maintenance date can collide with an existing date. An attempt can be made to minimize the overlap of the appointments as far as possible and / or to allow an overlap only with an appointment that is as little urgent as possible, less important or less long.

In a further variant, an attribute of the appointment is set depending on the urgency of the maintenance. In this way, the urgency can be signaled to help meet the deadline. The attribute can include, for example, a keyword such as COMING SOON, IMPORTANT, IMMEDIATELY or DANGER in the title or description of the appointment. A predetermined range of keywords can be used den, to express the urgencies assigned to each. The urgency can also be indicated numerically, for example on a scale from 1 to 10. Furthermore, the appointment can be given a predetermined color, for example on a gradient from blue to red with increasing urgency. If the calendar supports a priority, the urgency can also be mapped to the priority.

It can be determined when the maintenance date is changed in the calendar, for example by a user. In particular, it can be determined if the appointment is pushed further into the future. Control of the home appliance depending on the date can take the change into account. The household appliance can thus be controlled in an improved manner so that it can continue operating until the changed maintenance date.

The maintenance date can be postponed if a conflicting date is determined after the maintenance date has been entered. The automatic postponement of the maintenance date makes it easier to plan the other dates. A user can be less disturbed or better supported in his scheduling behavior.

In one embodiment, a latest possible date for the maintenance is determined, a signal being output if the date is postponed beyond the latest possible date. This can prevent the maintenance date from being postponed until damage is to be feared due to the unexpected operation of the domestic appliance, or even until the domestic appliance can no longer be operated. The signal can be directed to a person assigned to the calendar and can take the form of a message such as an e-mail or an SMS, for example. Alternatively, the maintenance date can be prevented from being postponed beyond a predetermined point in time. An authorization model of the calendar can be used to prevent this.

In a continuation of the method, several maintenance operations are determined that are to be carried out on one or more household appliances in the same household. A common date can be set for the multiple maintenance work. The maintenance work can be planned one after the other or overlapping in time. It can be taken into account which activity is required by a user performing the maintenance. For example, decalcifying a kettle by a user can essentially include filling in a decalcifying agent, starting a decalcifying run and decalcifying require removal of the descaler after it has been completed, so that the user can also perform maintenance on another household appliance during the descaling run.

It is particularly preferred that the calendar is assigned to a user who is assigned to the household appliance, it being possible for the user to be assigned to the household appliance. The maintenance date can be determined specifically for this user. In one embodiment, the maintenance date can be determined by means of an adapting or self-learning algorithm, so that the maintenance date can be determined in an improved manner based on a preference or requirement of the user. The algorithm can take into account, for example, how much time has elapsed in the past between entering a maintenance date in the calendar and performing the maintenance, or how often or how far the maintenance date was postponed by the user.

Several users can also be assigned to the household appliance, the appointment being able to be determined as a function of appointments in the calendars of the several users. The users are preferably assigned to the same household. In one embodiment, a maintenance date can be entered for that user in whose calendar the most suitable, in particular the earliest, free time could be found. In another embodiment, a maintenance date can be entered in an assigned calendar for each user. If the maintenance date has been kept, superfluous maintenance dates can be deleted again. Other procedures are also possible, for example entering the maintenance date in a group calendar for the people.

The appointment may include an indication of a procedure, material or tool required for maintenance. The notice can be in the form of specific information or a reference to a document. The document can be kept available on any server or service, optionally in a cloud. The document can include text, images, and / or video.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a device, in particular for controlling the maintenance of a domestic appliance, comprises a first interface for connection to the domestic appliance; and a processing device. The processing device is set up to record appointments that are assigned to a household appliance Calendar are entered; determine a date for maintenance depending on the specified dates; and enter the appointment in the calendar.

The device is preferably constructed independently and can, for example, be implemented as a server component or as a service, in particular in a cloud. Communication with the household appliance can take place in a protected manner, in particular by means of cryptographic methods. The device can also have a second interface for connection to the calendar. The device and / or the calendar can be reached by means of a public network, in particular the Internet. In a further embodiment, the device can also be part of the domestic appliance or of a device that implements the calendar.

The processing device can be set up to carry out a method described herein in whole or in part. For this purpose, the processing device can comprise a programmable microcomputer or microcontroller and the method can be in the form of a computer program product with program code means. The computer program product can also be stored on a computer-readable data carrier. Features or advantages of the method can be transferred to the device or vice versa.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a system comprises a domestic appliance and a device described herein. The household appliance preferably comprises a device which is set up for operation in a particularly private household. In one embodiment, the household appliance is set up for operation in a kitchen and includes, for example, a stove, a kettle, a coffee machine, an extractor hood, an oven, a mixer, a refrigerator or freezer or a kitchen machine. In a further embodiment, the household appliance comprises a washing machine, a tumble dryer, an iron or a steam ironing board.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary system with a domestic appliance; and

Figure 2 is a flow chart of a method represents.

FIG. 1 shows a system 100 that includes a domestic appliance 105 and a device 110. Optionally, a calendar 115 and / or a terminal 120 can also be included. The household appliance 105 is preferably assigned to a household, which can in particular be a private household and usually comprises an apartment or a house. One or more people 125 can live in the household or be assigned to the household or household appliance 105. The calendar 115 is set up to manage appointments 130 that are assigned to a person 125, a household appliance 105 or a household.

The calendar 115 can be viewed as an abstract organizational means that can be implemented in various ways. The calendar 115 is usually implemented in the form of a server component, that is to say as a computer. In the present case, the calendar 115 includes, for example, a processing device 135, a storage device 140 for storing appointments 130 and an interface 145 for communication. The interface 145 can, as shown, be wireless or wired. Contents of the calendar, in particular appointments 130, can usually be viewed and / or manipulated from various devices via the interface 145.

In the illustration of FIG. 1, a device 135 is provided which is set up to display, create or change an appointment 130. The device 130 is preferably assigned to a predetermined person 125 and can for example comprise a mobile device such as a smartphone, a tablet computer or a laptop computer, but also a permanently installed device such as a personal computer or another computer. Furthermore, the personal device 130 can represent, for example, a voice interface such as are known, for example, by the names Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri or Cortana. Other ways of accessing the calendar 115 include the domestic appliance 105 or an application that can run on any communication-capable device. The calendar 115 can also be controlled via the device 110, which in turn can be managed from any device 130, for example by means of an application (“app”) running on a smartphone. An appointment 130 can be accessed via the interface 145, preferably using a predetermined protocol such as iCal, ICS, ActiveSync or a proprietary ReST interface. A calendar 115 can support various advanced concepts that are known in the prior art, for example group calendars, management of rights for creating, changing or viewing appointments 130 or details, several calendars 115 for one person 125 or a household appliance 105, Invitations, tasks, dependencies or links between appointments 130, recurring appointments, etc. An appointment 130 usually has a designation or a title, a start time and an end time. In addition, an appointment 130 can be assigned a predetermined attribute, for example a participating person 125 or an affected resource such as a household appliance 105, a location, a priority, an affiliation to a predetermined collection of appointments 130, a color or a symbol for the graphical representation of the appointment 130, or a priority. In addition, further information can be stored in an appointment 130, for example a website address or a free text which, for example, describes the type of event in an understandable form and the respective language of the user or a further link, for example to an online shop. System with a direct connection to at least one suitable maintenance product.

The domestic appliance 105 preferably comprises a control device 150 with an interface 155 for communication with the device 110. The device 110 can be constructed similarly to the calendar 115 and in particular comprise a processing device 160, a storage device 165 and / or an interface 170. In the memory device 165, for example, information about an operating state of the domestic appliance 105 or information about a maintenance process can be stored.

The control device 150 is set up to determine maintenance to be carried out on the domestic appliance 105. The maintenance can include, for example, cleaning, descaling, replacing a wearing part, lubricating or checking an element of the household appliance 105. Maintenance usually differs from normal operation of domestic appliance 105 in that maintenance requires dedicated intervention by a person 125. The maintenance cannot usually be carried out as part of a normal operating sequence of the domestic appliance 105. In addition, the maintenance usually ensures subsequent operation of the domestic appliance 105. In this case, the maintenance can in particular the quality of a result of the operation of the domestic appliance 105 improve, counteract wear and tear on domestic appliance 105 or ensure operational safety of domestic appliance 105.

It is proposed that a date 130 for performing maintenance on the home appliance 105 by the device 110 is set in a calendar 115 that is assigned to the household appliance 105, the assigned household or a person 125 who is assigned to the household or the household appliance 105 is. The maintenance date should, if possible, be set in such a way that it fits in as well as possible with other dates 130 of the calendar 130 and at the same time avoids excessive postponement of maintenance. It should be noted that the device 110 can form part of the domestic appliance 105, the calendar 115 or the appliance 120.

FIG. 2 shows a flow diagram of a method 200 that can preferably run in connection with a system 100. In a step 205, it is determined that the domestic appliance 105 requires maintenance. A type of maintenance and an effort to be carried out for it in time and / or material can be determined.

In a step 210, an urgency of the maintenance can be determined. To this end, it is possible in particular to determine how long household appliance 105 can still be operated or sufficiently low-risk before maintenance has to take place. This determination can be made taking into account a customary frequency or type of use of the domestic appliance 105. Optionally, a state of the domestic appliance 105 can also be taken into account, in particular if a lack of maintenance makes the operation of the domestic appliance 105 difficult, delays it or reduces the quality of the result.

In a step 215, the calendar 115 can be queried in order to determine dates 130 which could conflict with a possible maintenance date 130. It is possible to proceed iteratively by first determining a preferred time window for maintenance and then querying dates 130 from calendar 115 which lie in this time window. If a collision-free maintenance date cannot be found, a further time window can be determined, which is usually further in the future. For an existing appointment 130, it may be sufficient to request free / available information (Free / Busy). The maintenance date 130 can be determined in a step 220 and entered in the calendar 115 in a step 225. The maintenance date 130 can be defined by a start time and an end time or by a time and a duration. In a step 225, the domestic appliance 105 can be controlled as a function of the determined date. In particular, the domestic appliance 105 can be controlled in such a way that its operation before the maintenance date is reached is as safe as possible, low-wear, energy-saving and / or of high quality.

If it is established before the maintenance date is reached that the corresponding entry in the calendar 115 has been changed, parts of the method 200 can be run through again, in particular steps 210 to 230 The future can be taken, for example protecting the maintenance date entered.

Reference number

100 system

105 home appliance

110 device

115 Calendar

120 end device

125 person, user

130 appointment

135 processing facility

140 storage device

145 interface

150 control device

155 interface

160 processing facility

165 storage device

170 interface

200 procedures

205 Determining Maintenance

210 Determine urgency

215 Queries Calendar

220 Determine the maintenance date

225 entries maintenance date

230 household appliance controls

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. The method (200) comprising the following steps:

Determining a maintenance to be carried out on a domestic appliance (105); Acquisition of appointments (130) which are entered in a calendar (115) assigned to the household appliance (105);

Determining a date (130) for the maintenance as a function of the determined dates (130); and

Entries of the appointment (130) in the calendar (115).

2. The method (200) according to claim 1, wherein the domestic appliance (105) is controlled as a function of the entered date (130).

3. The method (200) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the date (130) is determined depending on an urgency of the maintenance to be carried out.

4. The method (200) according to claim 3, wherein an attribute of the appointment (130) is set depending on the urgency of the maintenance.

5. The method (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a change of the date (130) in the calendar (115) is determined.

6. The method (200) according to claim 5, wherein the appointment (130) is postponed if, after the appointment (130) has been entered, an appointment (130) which collides with it is determined.

7. The method (200) according to claim 5 or 6, wherein a latest possible date (130) for maintenance is determined and a signal is output if the date (130) is postponed beyond the latest possible date (130).

8. The method (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein several maintenance lines are determined to be performed on one or more household appliances (105) of the same household, and a common date (130) is determined for the maintenance.

9. The method (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the calendar (115) is assigned to a user (125) who is assigned to the domestic appliance (105).

10. The method (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the Hausge advises (105) several users (125) are assigned; wherein the appointment (130) is determined as a function of appointments (130) in calendars (115) of the plurality of users (125).

11. The method (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the appointment (130) includes an indication of a procedure, required material or tool for the maintenance.

12. An apparatus (110), the apparatus comprising:

- A first interface (170) for connection to the domestic appliance (105);

- a processing facility that is set up to

to record appointments (130) that are entered in a calendar (115) assigned to the household appliance (105);

o to determine a date (130) for maintenance as a function of the specific dates (130); and

o enter the appointment (130) in the calendar (115).

13. The device (110) according to claim 12, further comprising a second interface (170) for connection to the calendar (115).

14. System (100) comprising a domestic appliance (105) and a device (110) according to claim 12 or 13.