EP3167789B1 - Method for operating a water-conducting domestic appliance and water-conducting domestic appliance - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a water-bearing household appliance, such as a dishwasher, and a method for operating a water-bearing household appliance.

Users of dishwashers have an interest in the items to be washed being in as dry a state as possible after the end of the washing process, so that they can be removed from the dishwasher and cleaned up immediately. Conventional dishwashers therefore provide a drying step as the last part of the washing program, in which the dishes can drain and dry. How effective this drying process is largely depends on the ventilation of the wash cabinet. A door opening assistant or a door opening module can therefore be provided in conventional dishwashers. Such a door opening module is for example in DE 10 2012 207 836 A1 described.

This door opening module opens the door automatically when activated by a control unit. For the advantageous drying it is sufficient to open the door a crack. The lock on the door is released and the opening of the door is stopped via a spring-rope system as soon as the desired gap size is reached. However, it can happen, for example, that the cable breaks, which would lead to the door falling open in an uncontrolled manner. Since doors of dishwashers can have a considerable weight, there is a potential risk for living beings in the vicinity. For safety reasons, the door opening assistant must therefore be protected against malfunctions.

DE 10 2011 050 914 A1 shows a cable breakage sensor. If a malfunction is detected, the entire door opening assistant is disabled. In this case, the door remains closed and the items to be washed are not dried. In order to restore the function, a specialist must then examine the dishwasher and replace the defective parts, which can result in high costs.

From the DE 10 2014 114 652 A1 a method for opening a door of a household appliance is also known, in which the presence of at least part of a person within a predetermined area of the door and out of contact with the door is detected and the door is opened automatically in response to the detected presence.

Against the background described, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved water-conducting household appliance.

Accordingly, a water-bearing household appliance with a washing chamber formed by a washing container and a pivoting door for washing items to be washed, a detector for detecting the presence of a living being in a specific area in front of the household appliance, the specific area comprising a radius of movement of the pivoting door, a door opening module for automatic opening of the

Proposed door and a control device. The control device is set up to activate the door opening module when the detector detects the presence of a living being in the specific area in such a way that the automatic opening of the door is blocked.

Advantageously, opening of the door that is not desired by the user of the household appliance, for example automatic opening of the door, can be prevented in this way when the detector detects the presence of a living being in the specific area. The specific area results from the radius of movement of the pivoting door of the household appliance.

According to the invention, the control device is set up to prevent or block the opening of the door in the absence of a user request to open the door and a detected presence of a living being in the specific area. The user wishes to open the door by touching a predetermined sensor on the control panel of the household appliance.

The water-bearing household appliance is in particular a dishwasher.

This offers the advantage that the door does not open automatically if potential danger to a living being is identified. This is independent of the function of the door opening module ensures that no living beings are harmed by the opening door.

According to the invention, the detector is set up to detect the presence of a living being within a radius of movement of the pivotable door.

It can thus be ensured that in the event of acute danger to a living being through the door of the water-bearing household appliance, if the living being is within the door's radius of movement, the door remains closed.

According to a further embodiment, the detector comprises a motion detector, an infrared motion detector, an HF sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a Doppler radar sensor and/or an image recognition device.

The advantageous variant can be selected depending on the requirement for the size, the positioning and/or the costs of the detector. In particular, an image recognition device also offers the possibility of identifying a person in the room and carrying out further control functions depending on this. Furthermore, not only the presence of a living being can be detected with an image recognition device, but possibly also another object that is located in the radius of movement of the pivotable door. This can be a chair or something similar, for example. The automatic opening of the door can then also be suppressed in order to avert damage to the object as well as to the door of the household appliance.

According to a further embodiment, the control device is set up to prevent the opening of the door depending on a detected presence of a living being in the specific area for a specific period of time.

This advantageously allows the door of the household appliance to only be opened once the specific period of time has expired and there is a correspondingly high probability that the risk potential for the living being is no longer present. The specific period of time is between five and twenty seconds, for example.

According to a further embodiment, the control device is set up to check again after the specific period of time has elapsed whether the detector detects a living being in the specific area after the specific period of time has elapsed, and depending on this to prevent the opening of the door again and/or perform an alternative control function.

The detector is designed in such a way that it carries out the measurement automatically and provides the result to the control device, or that it carries out a measurement when activated by the control device and outputs the result to the control device. In this way, the detector can advantageously only be activated for short measurement intervals, which means that power can be saved. If there is still a potential hazard for the living creature after the specified period of time has elapsed, the opening of the door can be prevented again or another control function, e.g. the output of an acoustic signal, can be carried out. This iterative loop can be repeated until the risk potential is no longer present. Alternatively, after a predetermined number of specific time periods have elapsed, another preset control signal can be emitted and the iterative loop can be interrupted.

This other control signal can, for example, be an acoustic signal to inform a user that the door will no longer open automatically in the current program or that another user input is required. This can also be a status message from the household appliance, which is output via a user interface, e.g. a display on the appliance. A user interface can in particular include input and output means. Furthermore, it can be a further function of the household appliance, e.g.

According to a further embodiment, the detector is attached to the door, integrated in a door leaf of the door, arranged in a base of the household appliance or integrated in a control panel of the door.

The detector can thus be used both in free-standing and semi-integrated or fully integrated dishwashers while retaining the function, or several detectors can be used at different positions, each with different detection areas and/or detection properties. The use of several detectors can be advantageous if initially only a first detector, e.g. a motion detector, is permanently active. As soon as this detects movement in a certain area, a second detector, e.g. an image recognition unit, can be activated. Advantageously, this means that complex and energy-intensive detectors do not have to be permanently activated, which means that power can be saved.

According to a further embodiment, the control device is set up to generate a control signal for activating at least one specific unit depending on a detected presence of a living being in the specific area.

The control device can use the detection signal generated as a function of the detected presence of a living being to control various units of the household appliance, such as a lighting device or a user interface, and consequently improve the control functionalities of the household appliance.

A user who is present can thus be notified of an event in various ways, it being ensured that the user is in the vicinity of the household appliance and that the notification can therefore be perceived by him.

According to a further embodiment, the at least one specific unit is characterized by an illumination device for illuminating the washing compartment, a projection device for projecting a remaining running time of the household appliance, a display illumination of a display of the household appliance, an output device for outputting at least one acoustic signal, a web-based application function, another User interface and / or a control device designed to control a pump of the household appliance.

In this way, a user who is present can be informed of the end of the rinsing process by the output device emitting an acoustic signal, or of the remaining time of the rinsing process by showing the duration on the display. Furthermore, electricity can be saved by e.g. only controlling the display lighting, the display and/or the lighting device for lighting the washing compartment when the user is in the vicinity of the household appliance. The pump of the dishwasher can also be controlled by the control device for controlling the pump in such a way that it runs more quietly as long as the user is in the vicinity, thereby reducing the noise pollution. Status information can be output to the user's mobile device via a web-based application function when the user approaches the household appliance. This status information can be, for example, current values relating to the rinsing process, such as start time, end time, remaining time, water temperature or current rinsing cycle. However, other device or maintenance information can also be output, e.g. number of rinsing processes, fill level of the rinse aid container or the water softening salt container, water consumption, energy consumption, etc. The information can be transmitted, for example, via RFID, Bluetooth, WLAN or other, advantageously wireless transmission systems. In particular, all of the information recorded by the household appliance can be passed on to the user.

According to a further embodiment, the detector is in the form of an HF sensor which is set up to detect a blockage of a spray arm in the washing container.

In this embodiment, the detector displays a dual function. On the one hand, it is set up to detect the presence of a living being in the specific area in front of the household appliance, and on the other hand it is set up to detect a blockage of one or more spray arms. This advantageously allows for a cheaper and simpler construction of the household appliance compared to one in which dedicated detectors are used for each of these functions.

According to a further embodiment, the control device is set up to display a user interface as a function of a blockage detected by the HF sensor of the spray arm in such a way that it outputs a user output to warn the user.

In this way, the user can advantageously be informed that an object may be blocking a spray arm, or that there is a defect, e.g. a clogged nozzle or hydraulic line or a worn bearing. The user can then first determine the reason for the blockage without a specialist and rectify it if necessary, or alternatively consult a specialist.

According to a further embodiment, the detector is set up to provide a plurality of detection signals depending on the presence of a living being in a corresponding plurality of different detection areas of the household appliance.

The plurality of different detection areas can, for example, be subdivided into three areas: a first long-distance area in which a general function, such as the output of an acoustic signal or other functions, as already explained above, is triggered due to the presence of a living being The first long-distance area includes, for example, an area at a distance of 50-1000 cm from the detector, a second area, which includes, for example, the radius of movement of the door, in which automatic door opening is prevented due to the presence of a living being, and a third area, which, for example, includes a near-detector area is in which user gestures for gesture control of the household appliance can be recognized. The area close to the detector includes, for example, an area at a distance of 0-10 cm from the detector. Depending on the user gesture, further control functions can then be triggered, e.g. automatic full opening of the door, extending or retracting the dish racks (when open), raising the lower basket, automatic closing of the door, reduction of the operating noise through appropriate measures, etc.

According to a further embodiment, the control device is set up to carry out a number of washing programs for washing items to be washed. In particular, a washing program includes one or more of the following phases: pre-wash, cleaning cycle, intermediate wash, final rinse and/or drying cycle. With different washing programs, the phases can be designed differently. According to a further embodiment, the household appliance is a dishwasher, a washing machine, a dryer, in particular a tumble dryer, or a steam cooker.

Furthermore, a method for operating a water-bearing domestic appliance, in particular a dishwasher, is proposed according to the independent method claim.

The embodiments and features described for the proposed water-conducting domestic appliance apply accordingly to the proposed method.

Further possible implementations of the invention also include combinations of features or embodiments described above or below with regard to the exemplary embodiments that are not explicitly mentioned, as long as these fall under the present claims.

• Fig. 1 zeigt eine Perspektivansicht einer ersten Ausführungsform eines wasserführenden Haushaltsgeräts;
• Fig. 2 zeigt ein schematisches Blockschaltbild einer zweiten Ausführungsform eines wasserführenden Haushaltsgeräts;
• Fig. 3 zeigt eine Seitenansicht einer dritten Ausführungsform eines wasserführenden Haushaltsgeräts;
• Fig. 4 zeigt ein schematisches Zeitdiagramm für ein Beispiel der Abfolge mehrerer Detektions- und Ansteuervorgänge;
• Fig. 5 zeigt eine perspektivische Ansicht einer vierten Ausführungsform eines wasserführenden Haushaltsgeräts;
• Fig. 6 zeigt ein Schema einer Anordnung von verschiedenen Detektionsbereichen; und
• Fig. 7 zeigt ein Ausführungsbeispiel eines Verfahrens zum Betreiben des wasserführen den Haushaltsgeräts.

Further advantageous refinements and aspects of the invention are the subject matter of the dependent claims and of the exemplary embodiments of the invention described below. The invention is explained in more detail below on the basis of preferred embodiments with reference to the enclosed figures.

• 1 shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a water-bearing household appliance;
• 2 shows a schematic block diagram of a second embodiment of a water-bearing domestic appliance;
• 3 shows a side view of a third embodiment of a water-bearing household appliance;
• 4 shows a schematic time diagram for an example of the sequence of several detection and activation processes;
• figure 5 shows a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of a water-bearing household appliance;
• 6 shows a scheme of an arrangement of different detection areas; and
• 7 shows an embodiment of a method for operating the water-bearing household appliance.

Elements that are the same or have the same function have been provided with the same reference symbols in the figures, unless otherwise stated.

In 1 a perspective view of a first embodiment of a water-bearing household appliance 1 is shown. In the example of 1 the water-bearing household appliance 1 is a dishwasher.

The dishwasher 1 has a body that includes a washing compartment 2 and a door 3 . The washing container 2 and the door 3 form a washing chamber 4 for washing items to be washed. Door 3 is in 1 shown in their open position. By pivoting about a pivot axis S provided at a lower end of the door 3, the door 3 can be closed or opened.

The washing compartment 2 is cuboid, for example, and can comprise a floor 5, a cover 6 opposite the floor 5, a rear wall 7 opposite the door 3, and two side walls 8, 9 opposite one another. In particular, the side walls 8, 9 can be made of stainless steel sheet.

The dishwasher 1 also has at least one loading level 10 . The at least one loading level 10 is preferably a washware receptacle of the dishwasher 1. In particular, multiple loading levels 10 can be provided, which can include a lower basket, an upper basket and/or a cutlery drawer. The multiple loading levels 10 are preferably arranged one above the other in the washing compartment 2 . Each loading level 10 can be moved either in a push-in direction E into the washing compartment 2 or in a pull-out direction A out of it. For this purpose, a rail 11 is preferably provided on both sides of a respective loading level 10 .

A control device 12 optionally provided in the body or in the door 3 of the dishwasher 1 is set up, among other things, to control the sequence of wash programs for washing items to be washed. Furthermore, the control device 12 can control other controllable units 14, 15, 16 (see 2 ) drive.

The dishwasher 1 of 1 also includes a detector 13 which is set up to detect the presence of a living being and/or an object in at least one specific area. The detector 13 can transmit the result of a measurement to the control device 12 by means of a detection signal DS (see 2 ) spend. A measurement is understood to mean that the detector 13 checks whether a living being and/or an object is located in the at least one specific area. Alternatively, the control device 12 can control the detector 13 in such a way that it carries out a measurement and generates a corresponding detection signal DS (see FIG 2 ) to the control device 12 outputs.

In addition, the dishwasher 1 includes 1 at least one further controllable unit 14, 15, 16 (see 2 ). The at least one further controllable unit 15 is in particular a door opening module 14 and/or a user interface 16. A further controllable unit can be, for example, a pump controller for controlling a pump of the dishwasher.

The dishwasher 1 can be a free-standing, an integrated or a fully integrated dishwasher 1, for example.

The detector 13 can include, for example, a motion detector, an infrared motion detector, an HF sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a Doppler radar sensor and/or an image recognition device.

2 shows a schematic block diagram of a second embodiment of a water-bearing household appliance 1. In the example of FIG 2 the control device 12 receives a detection signal DS from the detector 13 and controls at least one further controllable unit 15 by outputting at least one control signal AS. The controllable unit 15 can in particular include a door opening module 14 or a user interface 16 .

3 shows a side view of another embodiment of a water-bearing household appliance 1. In the example of FIG 3 a dishwasher 1 is shown, the dishwasher 1 being shown with the door 3 open. When the door 3 is opened, it is pivoted about the pivot axis S, and requires a given by the radius of movement of the door 3 volume of space, which in the 3 is shown schematically. The detector 13 is set up in particular to detect a living being and/or an object located within this radius of movement.

4 shows a schematic time diagram as an example of the sequence of several detection and control processes by the detector 13 and the control device 12. In this case, the control device 12 after each detection query DA at the times t _i , with a certain period of time Δt between two consecutive times t _i , t _i+1 , a control signal AS is output as a function of a detection signal DS from the detector 13 .

In the example of 4 includes the control signal AS two values (0 or 1), where "0" means that the door opening module 14 is controlled so that opening of the door is prevented. After the specific period of time Δt has elapsed, a detection query DA of the detector 13 is therefore carried out again by the control device 12, and a corresponding control signal AS is output again. In the third detection query DA at time t ₃ , a "1" is output, which in this example means that the door opening module 14 can open the door 3 automatically. The iterative loop is thus broken.

More complex control signals AS, e.g. any finite sequence of "0" or "1", are also possible, with which other controllable units 15, 16 can also be controlled or more complex control processes can be carried out.

figure 5 shows a perspective front view of another embodiment of a water-bearing household appliance 1. In the example of FIG figure 5 the household appliance 1 is shown as a dishwasher, the dishwasher 1 being shown with the door 3 partially open. In the upper part of the door 3 and in the baseboard 17 detectors 13 are installed.

The detectors 13 can fulfill different functions. For example, the detectors 13 built into the skirting board 17 can only be activated when the door 3 is fully open, in order to cause the door 3 to close automatically when a user gesture (e.g. with the foot) is detected.

6 shows a side view of a further embodiment of a water-bearing household appliance 1, with different detection areas NB, FB also being shown. In the example of 6 the detector 13 distinguishes between the following two detection areas: a near area NB and a far area FB. The detector 13 is set up to output a first detection signal DS depending on the detection of a living being and/or object in the close range NB and to output a second detection signal DS depending on the detection of a living being and/or object in the far range FB.

In particular, the detector 13 can be suitable for recognizing a user gesture in the close range NB and for outputting a corresponding detection signal DS, which is recognized by the control device 12, which uses a control signal AS to perform a specific function, e.g. an automatic opening of the door 3 of the household appliance 1, caused.

More than two detection areas can also be defined. The detector 13 is then set up to determine the presence of a living being and/or object in each of the more than two defined detection areas and, depending on this, to output one of a corresponding plurality of detection signals DS.

7 shows an embodiment of a method for operating a water-bearing household appliance 1. The water-bearing household appliance 1 is, for example, according to one of 1 , 3 , 5 or 6 and comprises a control device 12 for controlling various functions of the household appliance 1, and a detector 13 for detecting a living being and/or an object in at least one specific area, wherein the detector 13 can output a detection signal DS to the control device 12. Furthermore, the household appliance 1 comprises at least one further controllable unit 15, which in particular can be a door opening module 14 and/or a user interface 16.

In step S1, the presence of a living being in a specific area in front of the household appliance 1 is detected.

In step S2, opening of the door 3 is prevented as a function of a detected presence of a living being in the specific area in front of the household appliance 1.

Although the present invention has been described using exemplary embodiments, it can be modified in many ways.

Reference signs used:

1

water-bearing household appliance

2

flush tank

3

door

4

washing chamber

5

floor

6

ceiling

7

back panel

8, 9

side walls

10

loading level

11

rail

12

control device

13

detector

14

door opening module

15

controllable unit

16

user interface

17

skirting board

A

pull direction

AS

control signal

THERE

detection query

DS

detection signal

E

insertion direction

FB

far range

NB

close range

S

pivot axis

S1

process step

S2

process step

Claims (10)

1. Water-conducting household appliance (1), in particular a dishwasher, having a washing chamber (4) formed by a washing container (2) and a pivotably mounted door (3) for washing items to be washed, a detector (13) for detecting a presence of a living being in a defined area in front of the household appliance (1), the defined area comprising a movement radius of the pivotably mounted door (3), a door opening module (14) for automatically opening the door (3), and a control device (12) which is configured to actuate the door opening module (14) in the event of an absence of a door opening request actuated by a user, wherein the door opening request by the user may be actuated by touching a predetermined sensor on a control panel of the household appliance (1), and in the event of a presence of a living being detected by the detector in the defined area in such a way that the automatic opening of the door (3) is inhibited.
2. Household appliance according to claim 1, characterised in that the detector (13) comprises a motion sensor, an infrared motion sensor, an HF sensor, an ultrasound sensor, a Doppler radar sensor and/or an image recognition device.
3. Household appliance according to one of claims 1 or 2, characterised in that the control device (12) is configured to prevent the opening of the door (3) for a specific period of time as a function of a detected presence of a living being in the defined area.
4. Household appliance according to claim 3, characterised in that the control device (12) is configured to perform a further check after the specific period of time has elapsed in order to determine whether the detector (13) has detected a living being in the defined area after the specific period of time has elapsed, and as a function thereof once again to prevent the opening of the door (3) and/or to execute an alternative control function.
5. Household appliance according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the detector (13) is mounted on the door (3), integrated in a door leaf of the door (3), arranged in a plinth (17) of the household appliance (1), or integrated in a control panel of the door (3).
6. Household appliance according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the control device (12) is configured to generate a control signal (AS) for actuating at least one specific unit (15) as a function of a detected presence of a living being in the defined area.
7. Household appliance according to claim 6, characterised in that the at least one specific unit (15) comprises a lighting device for illuminating the washing container (2), a projection device for projecting a remaining operating time of the household appliance (1), a display lighting of a display of the household appliance (1), an output device for outputting at least one acoustic signal, a web-based application function, and/or an actuation device for activating a pump of the household appliance.
8. Household appliance according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that the detector (13) is embodied as an HF sensor which is configured to detect a blockage of a spray arm in the washing container (2).
9. Household appliance according to claim 8, characterised in that the control device (12) is configured to activate a user interface (16) as a function of a blockage of the spray arm detected by the HF sensor in such a way that said user interface (16) outputs a user output in order to warn the user.
10. Method for operating a water-conducting household appliance (1), in particular a dishwasher, having a washing chamber (4) formed by a washing container (2) and a pivotably mounted door (3) for washing items to be washed, comprising:

    detecting (S1) a presence of a living being in a defined area in front of the household appliance (1), the defined area comprising a movement radius of the pivotably mounted door (3), and

    inhibiting (S2) an automatic opening of the door (3) in the event of an absence of a door opening request actuated by a user, wherein the door opening request by the user may be actuated by touching a predetermined sensor on a control panel of the household appliance (1), and in the event of a detected presence of a living being in the defined area in front of the household appliance (1).

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