The invention concerns an assembly for monitoring at least one household appliance according to the preamble of claim 1 as well as a method according to claim 14.

Operating and managing household appliances in an easy way is of essence especially for elder people with or without disabilities in order to carry out a longer independent life. Therefore, especially advanced household appliances can be equipped with additional functions which detect information about the operation of said household appliance as well as about products, like food or other goods, introduced into the household appliance. Such information can be indicated in a display unit of the household appliance.

From the JP 2008 24 29 11-A a generic assembly for monitoring and managing at least one household appliance is known. This appliance comprises a control unit which detects at least one operational parameter of the household appliance and/or a product parameter about products to be introduced into the household appliance. To this end, the refrigerator comprises a RFID reader which detects the tags attached to products to be tracked. Thus the food introduced into the refrigerator can be detected by the control unit and a consumption of said food can be indicated.

From the KR 100837050-B1 a refrigerator for managing food is known. This refrigerator has RFID readers that detect RFID tags attached to said food stored in a freezing and refrigerating compartment. The system has a data processing unit, a data storage section and a data input/output section. The refrigerator manages the food stored in each compartment and informs to the user. From the KR 102007116335-A a refrigerator with an RFID system and a method for displaying information on contents in the refrigerator for an effective management of contents is known.

From the CN 101071015-A a food control type refrigerator for radio frequency identification is known. This is a food control type refrigerator for radio frequency identification tags, has a hollow structure storage container used to store food and fixed inside the refrigerator and comprises a radio frequency identification unit fixed on one side of the container.

From the KR 102007091390-A a refrigerator system for recognizing food by using single radio frequency identification is known. This is a refrigerator system using RFID, provided to control a plurality of antennas by using a single RFID reader for simplifying arrangement of the RFID reader. It has a system for switching the antennas.

From the US 2007236357-A1 and WO 2007115794-A1 a food refrigerator controlling and monitoring system is known. The system has a control unit for checking and storing a set of functioning parameters of a food refrigerator. A RFID reader reads data stored in a set of RFID tags attached to cold products. A communication unit connects the system to an external device.

From the KR 102007006641-A a radio frequency identification and personal digital assistant managing food in refrigerator is known. This consist of a food managing using RFID wherein, a personal digital assistant is provided to effectively manage a refrigerator and readily obtain information of foods in the refrigerator.

From the KR 102006119580-A a system of controlling food management of a refrigerator, for informing a user of diverse food information by displaying the information through the display picture unit is known. This is a system of controlling food management of a refrigerator through the RFID system reader and the display picture unit.

From the KR 102006008784-A a refrigerator for managing food information is known. This is a refrigerator for managing food information and shelf life by using an RFID tag to prevent waste of food by displaying item, shelf life and cost of food on a display unit and alarming food approaching the expiration date to a user.

According to further prior art documents a food managing refrigerator for obtaining food data from RFID tags and setting circulation time with control knob is known. This is a refrigerator for managing food information and shelf life by using an RFID tag to prevent waste of food by displaying item, shelf life and cost of food on a display unit and alarming food approaching the expiration date to a user.

Further, food information management systems for automatic cooking of processed food are known from EP 1 172 752 A, JP 2002022177-A, US 2002059175-A and US 7096221-B2. The systems are used for automatically cooking processed food in electric cooking utensils such as microwave cookers, electric ovens, etc. Food ID information specifying the food stored in information storage medium, e.g. bar code, integrated circuit, is read and sent to a food information center. The food information center retrieves information about food specified by food ID from a food database, and sends the information to the output unit.

From KR 102006011275-A a washing machine and a method thereof is known which is capable of automatically identifying kind of laundry loaded into drum and performing optimal washing in spite of different kinds of laundry.

The above mentioned systems of the prior art do not have as an objective to enable elder people to maintain an essentially independent housekeeping without needing any external carer.

The object of the invention is to provide an assembly and a method for monitoring or managing at least one household appliance such that especially elder people with or without disabilities are supported in order to maintain a housekeeping which is essentially independent.

The object is solved by the features of claim 1 or claim 14. Preferred further developments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.

According to the characterizing portion of claim 1 the control unit of said household appliance is linked with a monitoring unit. Said monitoring unit generates a user profile on the base of operational and/or product parameters which are detected by said control unit. In said user profile, said parameters are stored over the time in tabular form. Thus, any deviation of user activities with respect to the household appliance from the user profile can be detected. In this way, user behavior and habits can be monitored by e.g. an external carer who can detect any deviation from the user profile which could make it necessary for the external carer to support the user in his/her household.

The term "product" according to the present invention refers to any kind of goods which may be introduced into the household appliance, e.g. food to be introduced into the refrigerator. Alternatively, it can also be referred to laundry to be introduced into a washing machine or to food to be cooked in a microwave oven.

For an external monitoring of the user habits and behaviors by an external carer it is preferable if statistical information can be derived from the user profile generated by said monitoring unit. Such information may refer the inventory of the household appliance, the dwell time of the products introduced as well as food with lapsed expiry dates or a malfunction of said household appliance.

Especially, a nutritional protocol for the user which may be defined by his/her supervisor can be monitored on the base of the user profile generated by the monitoring unit. This may take place by comparing said user profile with a preset profile defined by the supervisor. On the basis of this comparison, said monitoring unit may generate a warning signal which indicates an external carer that the user has deviated from his/her nutritional protocol.

In an embodiment of the invention, the monitoring unit may be disposed directly at the household appliance. In this case the operational and display elements of the monitoring unit may be directly disposed at the control panel of the household appliance. Thus, the monitoring of the user profile has to be conducted directly at said household appliance. However, it may be preferred if the monitoring unit is located remotely from said household appliance and may be in bi-directional wireless communication with said household appliance.

The monitoring unit may comprise operational and display elements which may be independent from the operational and display elements of the control panel of the household appliance. Therefore, the remote monitoring unit, receiving operational and product parameters from said control unit, can directly intervene on the control unit of the household appliance, for example remotely modify the temperature settings of the refrigerator.

For detecting products, the control unit can be linked with at least one RFID reader intended to read tags which are attached to products to be tracked. Said products can be tracked at predetermined times. Alternatively or in addition, this periodical scan can occur under certain conditions, e.g. when the door of the household appliance is opened.

The household appliance integrated within the inventive assembly can especially be a refrigerator, a washing machine and/or a cooking device. If the household appliance is a refrigerator said monitoring unit may generate a shopping list in which products are listed after consumption.

Alternatively, if the household appliance is embodied as a washing machine, the control unit may detect laundry introduced into said washing machine or removed from said washing machine. The control unit may check the compatibility of the laundry introduced with a selected washing program. In case of incompatibility said control unit may generate a warning signal. Furthermore, the control unit may suggest and/or configure a washing program on the base of the laundry introduced into the washing machine. In case the control unit detects a bad mixture of laundry (e.g. clothes with different colours) it may generate a warning signal for the user.

Alternatively, the household appliance can be embodied as a cooking device, especially as a microwave oven whose control unit may detect food introduced into said microwave oven. On the base of said food introduced, the control unit may suggest a suitable cooking program to the user. While conducting the cooking program, the control unit may display the present operational status, e.g. the time to end.

In the following, three embodiments of the invention are described with respect to the figures, in which

figure 1

shows in a diagram block the assembly according to the first embodiment comprising a refrigerator;

figure 2

shows a user profile in tabular form generated by said monitoring unit;

figure 3

shows the assembly according to the second embodiment comprising a washing machine; and

figure 4

shows the assembly according to the third embodiment comprising a microwave oven.

In figure 1 a refrigerator comprising a cooling compartment 1 is shown which is enclosed by an appliance body 3 as well as an appliance door 5. The hollow spaces of said body 3 and said door 5 are filled with a heat insulating foam 7. At the rear wall of the body 3 an evaporator 9 is disposed which is integrated in a refrigeration cycle 10 in order to cool the cooling compartment 1. The actual temperature of the cooling department is detected by a temperature sensor 8 and passed to the control unit 11. The control unit 11 compares said actual temperature of the cooling compartment 1 with a preset temperature which is set by the user. On the base of this comparison the control unit 11 switches a compressor 15 integrated within the refrigeration cycle 10 on or off. In order to predefine a temperature inside the cooling compartment 1 the control unit 11 is linked with a control panel 19 which carries operational and/or display elements 17, 18.

As may also be gathered from figure 1, the control unit 11 is in wireless communication 21 with a monitoring unit 23 which is located remotely from the refrigerator. By means of the monitoring unit 23 a user profile 25 can be generated which is shown in figure 2. On the base of the user profile 25 an external carer can be provided with statistical information about the actual inventory inside the cooling compartment 1, about the dwell time of the food A and B inside the cooling compartment 1, about food with lapsed expiry dates as well as about a malfunction of the refrigerator.

In order to detect such kind of information the control unit 11 comprises RFID readers 27 or RFID antennae which are integrated in the heat insulating foam 7. In order to be detected said food A, B inside the refrigerator needs a RFID tag with their respective information.

In this way, the control unit 11 may detect various operational parameters of the refrigerator as well as product parameters of the food A, B introduced into the cooling compartment 1. Such product parameters S₁ to S₆ are, just as an example, listed in the user profile 25 shown in figure 2. The product parameters S₁ to S₃ refer to food A, whereas the product parameters S₄ to S₆ refer to food B. In detail, the product parameters S₁ and S₄ of food A and B refer to information about whether the expiry date is exceeded or not. The product parameters S₂ and S₅ refer to information about whether the amount of food A or the amount of food B is more than a preset limit. Furthermore, the product parameters S₃ and S₆ refer to information about whether the actual dwell time of food A or food B inside the cooling compartment 1 of the refrigerator is more than a preset time.

In addition to the product parameters S₁ to S₆ the control unit 11 also detects operational parameters S₇ and S₈ which refer to information about the operation of the refrigerator. For example, in this embodiment the operational parameter S₇ refers to information about whether the door opening time is more than a preset time (in this case two minutes). The operational parameter S₈ refers to information about whether the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 8 inside the cooling compartment 1 is in a regular range between 2°C and 5°C.

All of the product parameters and operational parameters S₁ to S₈ are analyzed in the control unit 11 which may generate an optical warning signal in the display element 18 of the control panel 19 in case of a malfunction or in case of a misoperation of the refrigerator.

Moreover, the monitoring unit 23 generates said user profile 25 already mentioned above on the base of the transmitted product and operational parameters S₁ to S₈. In the user profile 25 the operational and product parameters S₁ to S₈ are listed over the time.

On the basis of said user profile 25 statistical information about the actual inventory inside the refrigerator, about the dwell time of food A and food B as well as about lapsed expiry dates can be gathered. Thus, an external carer can get an overview of the user habits and behaviors without intervening into the housekeeping of the user personally. For example, a nutritional protocol of the user can be monitored which may be preset by a supervisor of the user. If necessary, i.e. in case of any kind of deviation from the user profile 25, the external carer can personally intervene so as to support the user.

As can be further gathered from figure 1, the control unit 25 also comprises operational and display elements 29, 30 by which the external carer can intervene remotely without actuating the operational elements 17 of said refrigerator. Moreover, the external carer can also get information about the actual state of operation of the refrigerator via the display element 30 of the monitoring unit 23.

In addition and/or alternatively the monitoring unit 23 may also be in wireless communication 21 with a microwave oven 31 as is shown in the second embodiment of figure 3. The control unit 11 of the microwave oven 31 is similarly to the first embodiment equipped with RFID readers 27 which detect food introduced. On the base of the detected food the control unit 11 may suggest a suitable cooking program to the user via the display element 18 of the microwave oven. Additionally, the control unit 11 can indicate the actual operation status while carrying out the cooking program, e.g. the time to end.

In addition and/or alternatively, according to the third embodiment of figure 4 the control unit 25 is in wireless communication 21 with a washing machine 33. In this case the control unit 11 can detect laundry which is introduced into the washing machine 33 as well as removed therefrom. The control unit 11 may also check the compatibility of the laundry introduced with a selected washing program before the start of the washing program. In case of incompatibility the control unit 11 can generate a warning signal.

Alternatively, the control unit 11 may further suggest and/or configure a washing program on the base of the laundry introduced into the washing machine in order to avoid any maloperation of the user. If the control unit 11 detects laundry which is incompatible a warning signal may be generated.

1

cooling compartment

3

body

5

door

7

heat insulating foam

8

temperature sensor

9

evaporator

10

refrigeration cycle

11

control unit

15

compressor

17, 18

operational and display elements

19

control panel

21

wireless communication

23

monitoring unit

25

user profile

27

RFID reader

29, 30

operational and display elements

31

cooking device

33

washing machine

S₁ to S₆

product parameters

S₇, S₈

operational parameters