SYSTEM OF A HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE AND AN ACCUMULATOR HAVING AN OPTICAL DISPLAY MEANS

Abstract

A system of a household appliance has an appliance housing, an accumulator having an accumulator housing and an integrated optical display, and a display control for controlling a display of information on the accumulator display. The appliance has a detector for determining appliance states of the appliance, which do not relate to the accumulator, wherein the detector is configured to transmit the detected appliance state to the display control, wherein the display control is configured to control the accumulator display to display the received appliance state. The display control is configured to control the display of a remaining running time, which specifies how long a charging capacity, which is still available in the accumulator, will last, to complete an activity, which is currently performed, wherein the remaining running time relates to a combination of an appliance parameter of the appliance and of the current charging capacity of the accumulator.

Claims

1. A system of a household appliance (1) having an appliance housing (6), an accumulator (2) having an accumulator housing (5) and an optical display means (3) integrated therein, and a display control means (4) for controlling a display of information on the display means (3) of the accumulator (2), wherein the household appliance (1) has a detection means (7) for determining appliance states of the household appliance (1), which do not relate to the accumulator (2), wherein the detection means (7) is set up to transmit the detected appliance state of the household appliance (1) to the display control means (4), wherein the display control means (4) is set up to control the display means (3) of the accumulator (2) to display the received appliance state of the household appliance (1), wherein the display control means (4) is set up to control the display of a remaining running time, which specifies how long a charging capacity, which is still available in the accumulator (2), will last, in order to complete an activity, which is currently performed, wherein the remaining running time relates to a combination of an appliance parameter of the household appliance (1) and of the current charging capacity of the accumulator (2).

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the optical display means (3) of the accumulator (2) has a display (8) and/or at least one light-emitting diode (9).

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the display control means (4) is a component of the accumulator (2).

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the accumulator (2) is accommodated in the appliance housing (6) of the household appliance (1), wherein the display means (3) of the accumulator (2) can be read through a housing recess (10) of the appliance housing (6).

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the accumulator (2) is connected to the appliance housing (6) of the household appliance (1) in a reversibly separable manner.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the display control means (4) is furthermore set up to also display an accumulator state, in particular a charging state or an aging state of the accumulator (2), on the display means (3) of the accumulator (2).

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the display means (3) of the accumulator (2) is formed to display an appliance state and/or accumulator state as color signal, text and/or image.

8. The system according to claim 1, further comprising two interchangeable accumulators (2), which, based on the displayable appliance states and/or accumulator states, have display means (3), which are formed so as to be different from one another.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the household appliance (1) is a floor treating appliance, in particular a cleaning appliance.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the appliance parameter is selected from the quantity: cleaning power, suction power, liquid delivery rate, fill level of a container (11) for a liquid or a solid, temperature of a component, service requirement of an appliance component, appliance error, collision status of the household appliance (1) with an obstacle, remaining running time until the completion of an activity, activity of a communication interface, relative spatial orientation of a handle (12) that is movably arranged on the appliance housing (6) of the household appliance (1), handling parameters of the household appliance (1), accessory parameters of an accessory (13) that is separably connected to the household appliance (1), in particular of a suction nozzle or of a cleaning element.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] Other objects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood, however, that the drawings are designed as an illustration only and not as a definition of the limits of the invention.

[0021] In the drawings,

[0022] FIG. 1 shows a system according to the invention of a household appliance and an accumulator;

[0023] FIG. 2 shows the accumulator in isolation; and

[0024] FIG. 3 shows an optical display means of the accumulator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0025] FIG. 1 initially shows an exemplary household appliance 1, which is formed here only in an exemplary manner as a floor treating appliance, namely as vacuum cleaner, which is manually guided by a user. However, the invention described below can also be used in the case of any other form of household appliance 1, for example in the case of tools, food processors, or the like. Regardless on the type and form of the household appliance 1, the invention works without being affected by this. The household appliance 1 illustrated here has a handle 12, which can be pivotably moved around a joint 14 and which the user can use during a cleaning activity, in order to guide the household appliance 1 over a floor surface to be cleaned. He thereby usually guides the household appliance 1 away from himself or towards himself, respectively, in consecutive movements. To be able to additionally also use the household appliance 1 as household appliance 1, which is portable during the floor treatment, the handle 12 can be pivoted around the joint 14 closer towards the appliance housing 6, in particular so that the handle 12 is aligned anti-parallel to the position illustrated in FIG. 1. This results in a compact, portable appliance, the center of mass of which is located close to the hand of a user. In addition, the household appliance 1 has an appliance housing 6 as well as a connecting region 15 arranged or formed on the appliance housing 6, respectively, for connecting an accessory 13. Here, the accessory 13 is, for example, a suction nozzle, through which suction material can be sucked from a surface to be cleaned into a container 11 of the household appliance 1. A detection means 7, which detects whether an accessory 13 is currently connected to the connecting region 15 of the appliance housing 6, is located at the connecting region 15. In addition, a detection means 7, which can detect a suction material fill level inside the container 11, is also assigned to the container 11. The detection means 7 for detecting the fill level can be, for example, a pressure sensor, a light barrier, or the like. In addition, an accumulator 2 comprising an integrated display means 3 is inserted into the appliance housing 6 of the household appliance 1. The display means 3 is visible from the outside through a housing recess 10 of the appliance housing 6. For example, the optical display means 3 of the accumulator 2 engages in a flush-mounted manner through the housing recess 10 of the appliance housing 6, so that a flat surface with the smallest possible gap size between the appliance housing 6 and the optical display means 3 of the accumulator 2 results from the outside. A display control means 4 of the household appliance 1 is assigned to the display means 3. Here, the display control means 4 is, for example, a component of the household appliance 1, and is connected to the display means 3 of the accumulator 2 in a wired or wireless manner. In addition, the detection means 7 of the household appliance 1 are in communication with the display control means 4.

[0026] As illustrated in more detail in FIG. 2, the accumulator 2 is formed separately from the household appliance 1 and the appliance housing 6 thereof, so that the accumulator 2 can be reversibly removed from the appliance housing 6. For this purpose, the appliance housing 6 preferably has an insertion shaft, into which the user of the system can insert the accumulator 2. The insertion shaft can connect, for example, to the housing recess 10. Connecting elements for connecting the accumulator 2 to corresponding means of the household appliance 1, for example electrical contacts of a charge interface or also an electrical connection to the display control means 4 of the household appliance 1, are then preferably located in this shaft. Here, the optical display means 3 is inseparably connected to the accumulator housing 5 preferably of the accumulator 2. In the alternative, although not preferred, the optical display means 3, however, can also be separable from the accumulator housing 5 or can only be in communication with the accumulator 2 as separate display means 3. However, a formation of the accumulator 2 with the display means 3 as one means is preferred, as illustrated here.

[0027] FIG. 3 shows an example for a possible formation of an optical display means 3 of the accumulator 2 in detail. The display means 3 initially has a display 8, which can be a TFT or LCD display. It is in particular advisable to form the display means 3 as optical touchscreen, so that the user can also simultaneously make manual user inputs via the display means 3. The display means 3 has a display 8, and information fields 9 displayed thereon. A digitally illustrated name is assigned to each information field 9 on the display means 3, here, for example “stage 1”, “stage 2”, “stage 3”, which are, for example, suction power stages of a motor-fan means of the household appliance 1. Depending on the suction power stage, which is selected by a user or which is automatically set, that information 9 of the display means 3 lights up, which is arranged next to the name of the currently activated stage. Under the listing of the suction power stages, the display means 3 additionally displays a running time indication “07” in numerical form, which is, for example, a minute indication here, which specifies, how long an activity, which is currently performed by the household appliance 1, will still be active until a complete cessation. According to the invention, the illustrated running time relates to a parameter of the system, which relates to a combination of an appliance parameter of the household appliance 1 and an accumulator parameter of the accumulator 2, for example, a current cleaning power of the household appliance 1, and a current charging capacity of the accumulator 2. A combined computation is made from these parameters, for how long the amount of energy, which is currently available in the accumulator 2, will still last, in order to use the household appliance 1 with the currently used appliance parameters (cleaning power). The illustrated running time indication of “07” minutes here thus specifies that the activity of the household appliance 1 will likely be finished in seven minutes if the user continues to operate the household appliance 1 with the currently set appliance parameters.

[0028] Even though this is not illustrated here in the selected example, the optical display means 3 of the household appliance 1 can also be formed in a different way. In addition to the display 8, the display means 3 can also have, for example, separate light-emitting diodes.

[0029] In addition, the displayed parameters can be changed as a function of an accessory 13, which is currently connected to the appliance housing 6 of the household appliance 1. In this case, the detection means 7 detects, for example, which accessory 13 is currently connected to the appliance housing 6, and the display control means 4 transmits this information, which then provides corresponding fields for the appliance parameters of the household appliance 1 or of the accessory 13, respectively, on the optical display means 3. Provided that the accessory 13 is, for example, an attachment comprising a rotating cleaning element, an information field 9 for a speed indication can therefore be displayed on the optical display means 3 of the accumulator 2. The parameters of the household appliance 1 (or optionally also additionally of the accumulator 2 itself, respectively) can be displayed on the display 8 as text and/or image. The display of a color signal is also possible, wherein color signals can generally also be displayed with the help of, for example, separate colored light-emitting diodes. The displayed appliance states or also accumulator states are not limited to the exemplary embodiment described here. On the contrary, an appliance state can also be a cleaning power, suction power, liquid delivery rate, fill level of the container 11, temperature of a component, service requirement of an appliance component, status of a communication means, appliance error, collision status of the household appliance 1 with an obstacle, activity of a communication interface, spatial orientation of the handle 12, handling parameters of the household appliance 1, or others.

[0030] A special embodiment provides a system comprising a household appliance 1 and several accumulators 2, which can be connected thereto, wherein the two accumulators 2 are embodied so as to be different from one another, namely with respect to the appliance states, which can be displayed on the display means 3 of the respective accumulator 2. For example, only one of the accumulators 2 has a display means 3 comprising colored information fields 9, while the other accumulator 2 has a display 8, on which states can only be displayed in the form of black/white text and/or image. The display control means 4 of the household appliance 1 can recognize, which accumulator 2 is currently inserted in the appliance housing 6 of the household appliance 1, and can therefore transmit control commands, which correspond to the options for displaying states on the respective display means 3.

[0031] Although only a few embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it is to be understood that many changes and modifications may be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0032] 1 household appliance [0033] 2 accumulator [0034] 3 display means [0035] 4 display control means [0036] 5 accumulator housing [0037] 6 appliance housing [0038] 7 detection means [0039] 8 display [0040] 9 information field [0041] 10 housing recess [0042] 11 container [0043] 12 handle [0044] 13 accessory [0045] 14 joint [0046] 15 connecting region