Method and device for an air-guiding domestic appliance

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12116718-B2
Application number	US-201917290726-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 29, 2019
Priority date	Oct 30, 2018
Publication date	Oct 15, 2024
Grant date	Oct 15, 2024

Abstract

Among other things, a procedure is revealed which comprises the following: Detecting one or more pieces of air humidity information indicative of a relative humidity within a treatment room of an air-conducting domestic appliance, wherein the one or more pieces of air humidity information are detected by means of at least one air humidity sensor; and determining drying information indicative of a time of an end of a drying process performed by the air-conducting domestic appliance, wherein the drying information is determined based on the one or more pieces of air humidity information. Also disclosed are a device for executing and/or controlling this process, a system with one or more devices for executing and/or controlling this process and a computer program for executing and/or controlling this process by a processor.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A process, comprising:
detecting, by one or more dosing devices having at least one air humidity sensor, air humidity information indicative of a relative air humidity within a treatment room of an air-conducting household appliance, wherein the dosing device is arranged to deposit a substance in the treatment room,
wherein the air humidity information represents a curve progression of the relative air humidity within the treatment room over time; and
determining, by at least one processor at the dosing device, drying information indicative of a time of an end of a drying process performed by the air-conducting household appliance, wherein the time of the end is a first time before a second time of an end of a drying time scheduled by the air-conducting household appliance, wherein the drying information is determined based on the air humidity information; and
transmitting, from the dosing device, the drying information including the first time and transmitting to a remote device remote from the air-conducting household appliance.

2. A process according to claim 1 , further comprising: describing a course of the curve by employing a mathematical function using the one or more dosing devices that predicts the humidity inside the treatment room of the air-conducting household appliance at any time during the process.

3. A process according to claim 1 , further comprising: collecting or obtaining ambient humidity information indicative of a humidity level that exists or is expected to exist in ambient air of the household appliance using the one or more dosing devices, wherein the drying information is further determined using the one or more dosing devices based on the ambient humidity information.

4. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the drying information is further indicative of a humidity value of one or more objects within the treatment room, said one or more objects being subject to drying by employing of the drying process.

5. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the curve progression is described by employing an n-graded polynomial function using the one or more dosing devices, and wherein the determination of the drying information is further based on the polynomial function using the one or more dosing devices.

6. A process according to claim 5 , wherein the polynomial function is determined using the one or more dosing devices based on the curve of the relative humidity within the treatment room over time.

7. A process according to claim 5 , wherein at least two relative humidity values are represented or comprised by the humidity information, wherein the at least two relative humidity values are further each linked to a different respective detection time such that the dosing device maps each relative humidity value over a different respective detection time using the polynomial function.

8. A process according to claim 1 , further comprising: output or initiation of the output of the drying information using the one or more dosing devices.

9. A process according to claim 1 , further comprising: control and/or regulation of the air-conducting household appliance at least partially based on the drying information using the one or more dosing devices.

10. The process according to claim 9 , wherein the control and/or regulation of the air-conducting household appliance using the one or more dosing devices causes a drying process performed by the air-conducting household appliance to be terminated as soon as the objects to be dried within the treatment room have the relative humidity value represented by ambient humidity information.

11. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the drying information is further determined by using historical humidity information and/or historical drying information from one or more drying processes previously performed with the air-conducting household appliance.

12. A process according to claim 8 , whereby the output or initiation of the output of the drying information is repeated using the one or more dosing devices so that a user of the air-conducting household appliance is informed about the current status of a program or drying process performed by the household appliance.

13. A process according to claim 1 , wherein at least the acquiring the air humidity information and determining the drying information are repeatedly performed using the one or more dosing devices.

14. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one air humidity sensor is fixed within the treatment room in moist air flow from the air-conducting household appliance.

15. A process according to claim 1 , wherein the air-conducting household appliance is a tumble dryer, washer-dryer, or dishwasher.

16. The process of claim 1 , comprising:
providing, at the remote device, an indication of the first time of the end of the drying process to inform a user of the remote device by using the drying information; and
providing a prompt on the remote device for a user to select to deactivate the drying process at the first time.

17. The process of claim 16 , comprising:
receiving the selection to deactivate at the dosing device; and transmitting a signal from the dosing device to the air-conducting household appliance to deactivate the drying process.

18. The process of claim 1 , wherein the dosing device and humidity sensor are freely movable within the treatment room in moist air flow from the air-conducting household appliance.

19. An apparatus, comprising:
one or more dosing devices inside a treatment room of an air-conducting household appliance, wherein the dosing device comprises:
at least one air humidity sensor arranged to detect air humidity information indicative of a relative air humidity within the treatment room, wherein the dosing device is arranged to deposit a substance in the treatment room, and wherein the air humidity information represents a curve progression of the relative air humidity within the treatment room over time, and
at least one processor arranged to operate by determining drying information indicative of a time of an end of a drying process performed by the air-conducting household appliance, wherein the time of the end is a first time before a second time of an end of a drying time scheduled by the air-conducting household appliance, and wherein the drying information is determined based on the air humidity information, and

wherein the at least one processor being arranged to operate by transmitting, from the dosing device, the drying information including the first time and transmitting to a remote device remote from the air-conducting household appliance.

20. A system, comprising:
an air-conducting household appliance having a treatment room arranged to receive objects to dry and a first controller to activate a drying process for a predetermined duration and deactivate the drying process at an end of the duration;
a dosing device within the treatment room and arranged to deposit a substance within the treatment room, wherein the dosing device comprises at least one humidity sensor and at least one processor arranged to operate by generating drying information including a first time of an end of the drying process that is earlier than a second time of the end of the duration; and
a remote device remote from the air-conducting household appliance and having a third controller arranged to receive a signal from the dosing device wherein the signal has the first time, provide the first time to a user of the remote device, prompt th

Assignees

• Henkel Ag & Co Kgaa

Inventors

• Kessler Arnd
• Zuechner Lars
• Hernandez Robert Ruiz
• Barackov Slavoljub
• Juckel Thomas

Classifications

• A47L2501/30

  Regulation of machine operational steps within the washing process, e.g. performing an additional rinsing phase, shortening or stopping of the drying phase, washing at decreased noise operation conditions · CPC title

• A47L2501/26

  Indication or alarm to the controlling device or to the user · CPC title

• A47L2401/19

  Air humidity · CPC title

• A47L15/0063

  using remote monitoring or controlling of the dishwasher operation, e.g. networking systems · CPC title

• A47L15/0034 Primary

  Drying phases, including dripping-off phases · CPC title