Domestic Appliance, In Particular Cooking Oven, With A Camera

• US 20170208652A1
• Filed: 05/20/2015
• Published: 07/20/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Electrolux Appliances Aktiebolag (AB Electrolux)
• Original Assignee: Electrolux Appliances Aktiebolag (AB Electrolux)
• Inventors: Kaiser, Kersten, Luckhardt, Christoph, Reinhard-Herrscher, Fabienne
• Granted Patent: US 10,674,569 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 15/024 Handles
• CPC Class Codes: F24C 7/085 on baking ovens
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30128 Food products
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/0004 Industrial image inspection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/55 from multiple images
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/02 using a radio link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/93 Remote control using other portable devices, e.g. mobile phone, PDA, laptop
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/55 Optical parts specially adapted for electronic image sensors; Mounting thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/56 provided with illuminating means
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 23/63 by using electronic viewfinders
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/183 for receiving images from a single remote source
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/43 using wireless personal area networks [WPAN], e.g. 802.15, 802.15.1, 802.15.4, Bluetooth or ZigBee
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2209/84 Measuring functions
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 2203/013 Heaters using resistive films or coatings
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 3/84 Heating arrangements specially adapted for transparent or reflecting areas, e.g. for demisting or de-icing windows, mirrors or vehicle windshields
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/6447 Method of operation or details of the microwave heating apparatus related to the use of detectors or sensors
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 6/6473 combined with convection heating H05B6/6485 takes precedence

Abstract

A domestic appliance, in particular a cooking oven, with a camera. The domestic appliance includes a treatment chamber and a door for opening and closing the treatment chamber. The door includes a window or a transparent part. The door includes a door handle arranged at an outer side of said door. The camera is arranged inside the door handle, wherein the lens coverage of the camera extends from said camera through the window or transparent portion of the door into the interior of the treatment chamber. Picture signals generated by the camera are represented or representable by a picture displaying device, wherein said picture displaying device is a part of the control unit of the domestic appliance and/or a part of an external device connected or connectable to said domestic appliance.

Claims

1. A domestic appliance with a camera (18), wherein

the domestic appliance (10) comprises a treatment chamber (12),

the domestic appliance (10) comprises a door (14) for opening and closing the treatment chamber (12),

the door (14) includes a window or a transparent part,

the door (14) includes a door handle (16) arranged at an outer side of said door (14),

the camera (18) is arranged inside the door handle (16),

the lens coverage (20) of the camera (18) extends from said camera (18) through the window or transparent part of the door (14) into the interior of the treatment chamber (12),

picture signals generated by the camera (18) are represented or representable by a picture displaying device, and

said picture displaying device is a part of the control unit of the domestic appliance (10) and/or a part of an external device connected or connectable to said domestic appliance (10).

2. The domestic appliance according to claim 1,

characterized in that

the door (14) includes at least one glass panel (26, 28).

3. The domestic appliance according to claim 1,

characterized in that

the picture displaying device is a part of the control unit of the domestic appliance (10), wherein the camera (18) is connected or connectable to said picture displaying device by wire or via a wireless data connection.

4. The domestic appliance according to claim 1,

characterized in that

the picture displaying device is a part of the external device, wherein the camera (18) is connected or connectable to said picture displaying device via the wireless data connection.

5. The domestic appliance according to claim 3,

characterized in that

a transmitter is arranged inside the door handle (16) or in the environment of said door handle (16), wherein the transmitter is provided for sending the picture signals generated by the camera (18) to the picture displaying device.

6. The domestic appliance according to claim 1,

characterized in that

the camera (18) is provided for detecting reflections on an outer side of the door (14) in order to recognize movements in front of the domestic appliance (10).

7. The domestic appliance according to claim 1,

characterized in that

the domestic appliance (10) comprises at least one illumination device arranged at an outer side of the door (14) and directed into the interior of the treatment chamber (12).

8. The domestic appliance according to claim 1,

characterized in that

the control unit of the domestic appliance (10) or the external device, respectively, includes or is supported or supportable by application software provided for representing and/or processing the picture signals generated by the camera (18).

9. The domestic appliance according to claim 1,

characterized in that

the domestic appliance is a cooking oven (10), wherein the treatment chamber is a cooking chamber (12), the door is an oven door (14) and the door handle is an oven door handle (16), and wherein food stuff (24) disposed on a cooking tray (22) inside the cooking chamber (12) is located within the lens coverage (20) of the camera (18).

10. The domestic appliance according to claim 9,

characterized in that

the oven door (14) includes thermal insulation material (30) distributed within outer portions of said oven door (14), so that the window or transparent part remains in the central portion of the oven door (14).

11. The domestic appliance according to claim 9,

characterized in that

the oven door (14) includes shielding metal mesh (32), wherein the geometric structure of said shielding metal mesh (32) is dimensioned for microwaves.

12. The domestic appliance according to claim 11,

characterized in that

the oven door (14) includes thermal insulation material (30) distributed within said oven door (14), so that the part in front of the pinhole lens (34) remains transparent.

13. The domestic appliance according claim 9,

characterized in that

the camera (18) is provided for recording two or more images of the interior of the cooking chamber (12) during opening and/or closing the oven door (10), so that three-dimensional features of the food stuff (24) inside the cooking chamber (12) are calculated by triangulation of multiple points of said images.

14. The domestic appliance according to claim 9,

characterized in that

the oven door handle (16) or at least that part of the oven door handle (16) including the camera (18) is pivotable, so that the lens coverage (20) of the camera (18) is adjustable.

15. The domestic appliance according to claim 9,

characterized in that

a metal coating (40) is applied at an inner side of the oven door (14), wherein said metal coating (40) extends at least over the lens coverage (20) of the camera (18) penetrating the oven door (14), and wherein the metal coating (40) is applied at an inner side of the inner glass panel (28) of the oven door (14), and/or wherein the metal coating (40) is directly heated or heatable by an electric current flowing through said metal coating (40), and/or wherein at least an area of the metal coating (40) penetrated by the lens coverage (20) of the camera (18) is optically transparent in view of at least a part of the frequency spectrum of said camera (18).

16. The domestic appliance according to claim 1, wherein the appliance is a cooking oven.

17. The domestic appliance according to claim 6, wherein the recognition of movements in front of the domestic appliance (10) is used for an automatic activation of at least one predetermined function of the domestic appliance (10).

18. The domestic appliance according to claim 7, wherein the illumination device is arranged at and/or inside the door handle (16).

19. The domestic appliance according to claim 11, wherein the camera (18) comprises a pinhole lens (34) arranged between said camera (18) and the shielding metal mesh (32), wherein the optical diameter of said pinhole lens (34) is smaller than or equal as the holes of the shielding metal mesh (32).

20. The domestic appliance according to claim 14, wherein the lens coverage (20) of the camera (18) is directed to the food stuff (24) inside the cooking chamber (12) on the one hand and to a portion in front of the cooking oven (10) on the other hand.