Controllable appliance arrangement

• US 20050096760A1
• Filed: 08/31/2004
• Published: 05/05/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Guido Stromberg, Thomas Sturm
• Inventors: Stromberg, Guido, Sturm, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 7,110,836 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/65
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24086 Expert system, guidance operator, locate fault and indicate how to repair
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/25167 Receive commands through mobile telephone
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2633 Washing, laundry
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/00 Arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless electrical link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/20 Binding and programming of remote control devices
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/21 Programming remote control devices via third means
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/50 Receiving or transmitting feedback, e.g. replies, status updates, acknowledgements, from the controlled devices
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/91 Remote control based on location and proximity
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 47/19 via wireless transmission

Abstract

A transmission/reception device is provided merely as an embedded system, and a domestic appliance control program and/or an industrial appliance control program is/are transferred from the transmission/reception device to an external control apparatus, and the latter is used to control the appliances. In addition, the appliances contain at least one sensor for recording state information about the respective appliance, the recorded sensor variables being transferred to the external control apparatus.

Claims

1-23. -23. (canceled)

24. A controllable appliance arrangement comprising:

an appliance which has at least one sensor for recording at least one sensor variable which represents a state of the appliance;

a transmission/reception device which is coupled to the appliance, the transmission/reception device having a control unit;

a first memory unit, which is coupled to the control unit;

a control interface which is coupled to the control unit; and

a communication interface which is coupled to the control unit; and

where the first memory unit stores a domestic appliance control program and/or an industrial appliance control program;

where a second memory unit is provided in the appliance or in the transmission/reception device for storing the recorded sensor variables;

where an external control apparatus can be used to control the appliance appliance via the control interface and via the communication interface by using the control unit;

where the communication interface can be used to transmit the appliance control program and the sensor variables to the external control apparatus.

25. The controllable appliance arrangement of claim 24, in which the appliance is in the form of:

a refrigerator;

a stereo system;

a dishwasher;

a washing machine;

a tumble dryer;

a microwave oven;

or

a stove.

26. The controllable appliance arrangement of claim 24, in which the industrial appliance is in the form of:

a heating system;

or

a radiator.

27. The controllable appliance arrangement of claim 24, in which the sensor is set up as

a temperature sensor;

a filling level sensor;

a humidity sensor;

a gas sensor; and

/or

a pressure sensor.

28. The controllable appliance arrangement of claim 24, comprising wherein the communication interface is configured as a radio communication interface.

29. The controllable appliance arrangement of claim 24, in which the first memory unit

is writable;

is nonwritable;

or

is a memory having a first submemory and a second submemory, the first submemory being writable and the second submemory being nonwritable.

30. The controllable appliance arrangement of claim 29, in which the writable first memory unit or the first submemory is a random access memory.

31. The controllable appliance arrangement of claim 29, in which the nonwritable first memory unit or the second submemory is a read only memory.

32. The controllable appliance arrangement of claim 24, in which the first memory unit has a first submemory and a second submemory;

where the first submemory stores a domestic appliance control program and/or an industrial appliance control program or a portion of a domestic appliance control program and/or of an industrial appliance control program; and

where the second submemory stores another portion of the domestic appliance control program and/or of the industrial appliance control program or other data.

33. The controllable appliance arrangement of claim 32, in which the other data comprises:

information regarding a menu structure; and

/or

information regarding a user interface.

34. The controllable appliance arrangement of claim 24, comprising wherein the transmission/reception device has an initialization unit which is set up such that the initialization unit can be used to set up a communication connection to an external control apparatus.

35. The controllable appliance arrangement of claim 34, comprising wherein the initialization unit is set up such that it can set up a communication connection to an external control apparatus by transmitting a signal to the latter.

36. The controllable appliance arrangement of claim 35, comprising wherein the initialization unit is set up such that it can set up a communication connection to an external control apparatus by accepting a signal from an external control apparatus.

37. The controllable appliance arrangement of claim 34, comprising wherein the communication protocol used for communication between the initialization unit and an external control apparatus is one of the following communication protocols:

Common Object Request Broker Architecture;

Simple Service Discovery Protocol;

Universal Plug and Play;

JXTA;

or

Java Intelligent Network Infrastructure.

38. The controllable appliance arrangement of claim 24, comprising wherein the application control program is in the form of JAVA code.

39. The controllable appliance arrangement of claim 24, comprising wherein the transmission/reception device is in the form of an embedded system.

40. A control system for controlling an appliance arrangement arrangement comprising:

a controllable appliance arrangement of claim 24;

and

an external control apparatus which is set up such that it can communicate with the transmission/reception device in the controllable appliance arrangement.

41. The control system of claim 40, in which the external control apparatus comprises:

a workstation;

a personal computer;

a laptop;

a webpad;

a mobile radio telephone;

or

a personal digital assistant.

42. The control system of claim 40, comprising:

the external control apparatus has a memory device for storing at least one appliance control program and also a processor which is set up such that it can execute an appliance control program in order to control the appliance as a result.

43. The control system of claim 40, comprising:

the external control apparatus has a storage-period management device which is set up such that for each appliance control program stored in the memory device it prescribes a time value which indicates the time after which an appliance control program stored in the memory device is/are erased from the memory device.

44. The control system of claim 43, in which a time value is prescribed by the storage-period management device on the basis of at least one of the following criteria:

how often the appliance control program has/have been executed in the past;

when the appliance control program was/were last executed;

what memory requirement the appliance control program has/have; and

what type of application the appliance control program is/are concerned with.

45. The control system of claim 40, comprising an interrogation unit in the external control apparatus, which interrogation unit is set up such that it can be used to ascertain whether the memory device already contains an appliance control program which is/are stored in the memory unit.

46. The control system of claim 45, comprising wherein if the interrogation unit has been used to ascertain that the memory device already contains an appliance control program which is/are stored in the memory unit then the appliance control program is/are not transmitted to the external control apparatus.

47. A controllable appliance arrangement comprising:

an appliance which has at least one sensor for recording at least one sensor variable which represents a state of the appliance;

transmission/reception means which is coupled to the appliance, the transmission/reception means having a control unit;

a first memory unit, which is coupled to the control unit;

a control interface which is coupled to the control unit; and

a communication interface which is coupled to the control unit; and

where the first memory unit stores a domestic appliance control program and/or an industrial appliance control program;

where a second memory unit is provided in the appliance or in the transmission/reception device for storing the recorded sensor variables;

where an external control apparatus can be used to control the appliance appliance via the control interface and via the communication interface by using the control unit;

where the communication interface can be used to transmit the appliance control program and the sensor variables to the external control apparatus.