METHOD FOR CONTROLLING AT LEAST ONE FUNCTION OF A DOMESTIC APPLIANCE AND CONTROL DEVICE

Abstract

In a method for controlling at least one function of a household appliance, a control device senses contactlessly the presence of a user's hand in a sensing space. A characteristic of the sensed hand is detected by the control device, and a function of the household appliance is actuated using the detected characteristic.

Claims

1-17. (canceled)

18. A method for controlling at least one function of a household appliance, said method comprising; sensing contactlessly by a control device a presence of a user's hand in a sensing space; detecting a characteristic of the sensed hand by the control device; and actuating a function of the household appliance using the detected characteristic.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising, prior to actuating the function of the household appliance, processing the detected characteristic with data which is stored in the control device, wherein the function of the household appliance is actuated as a function of a result of the processing of the detected characteristic.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the data comprises user-related data and the processing of the detected characteristic comprises a correlation of the detected characteristic with the user-related data.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the user-related data is identification data of the user.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein the user-related data comprises a user profile.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the data comprises at least one limit value for the characteristic and the processing of the detected characteristic comprises a comparison with the at least one limit value.

24. The method of claim 18, wherein the actuating of the function of the household appliance comprises unlocking a locked function, locking an unlocked function, maintaining the locking of a function, activating a function, setting operating parameters, and any combination thereof.

25. The method of claim 18, wherein the characteristic of the hand is a biometric characteristic.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the biometric characteristic is a height of a back of the hand, a width of the back of the hand, a length of the back of the hand, a height of fingers of the hand, a width of the fingers, a length of the fingers, a relative position of the fingers, a handprint or a pattern of hand veins.

27. The method of claim 18, wherein the characteristic is detected once after the hand has been sensed.

28. The method of claim 18, wherein, after the hand has been sensed, a size of the hand is detected continuously and compared with a limit value.

29. A control device for controlling at least one function of a household appliance, said control device comprising: a sensing unit configured to sense a presence of a user's hand in a sensing space contactlessly; a detection unit configured to detect a characteristic of the sensed hand; and an actuation unit configured to activate a function of the household appliance using the detected characteristic.

30. The control device of claim 29, further comprising a processing unit configured to process the detected characteristic with data stored in the control device to thereby establish a processing result, said processing unit being connected to the actuation unit so that the function of the household appliance is actuated as a function of the processing result.

31. The control device of claim 29, wherein the sensing unit and the detection unit are combined in a module.

32. The control device of claim 29, further comprising a gesture detection unit configured to set an operating parameter of the household appliance or to detect a further unit of the control device.

33. The control device of claim 29, further comprising a projection unit configured to project an item of content in a surroundings of the household appliance.

34. The control device of claim 30, wherein the data comprises user-related data, said processing unit being configured to correlate the detected characteristic with the user-related data.

35. The control device of claim 34, wherein the user-related data is identification data of the user.

36. The control device of claim 34, wherein the user-related data comprises a user profile.

37. The control device of claim 30, wherein the data comprises at least one limit value for the characteristic, said processing unit configured to compare the detected characteristic with the at least one limit value.

38. The control device of claim 29, wherein the actuating of the function of the household appliance comprises unlocking a locked function, locking an unlocked function, maintaining the locking of a function, activating a function, setting operating parameters, and any combination thereof.

39. The control device of claim 29, wherein the characteristic of the hand is a biometric characteristic.

40. The control device of claim 39, wherein the biometric characteristic is a height of a back of the hand, a width of the back of the hand, a length of the back of the hand, a height of fingers of the hand, a width of the fingers, a length of the fingers, a relative position of the fingers, a handprint or a pattern of hand veins.

41. The control device of claim 29, wherein the detection unit is configured to detect the characteristic once after the hand has been sensed by the sensing unit.

42. The control device of claim 29, wherein, after the hand has been sensed by the sensing unit, a size of the hand is detected continuously and compared with a limit value.

Description

[0034] The invention is described again below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0035] FIG. 1: shows an embodiment of the inventive control device;

[0036] FIG. 2: shows a further embodiment of the inventive control device;

[0037] FIG. 3: shows a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of the inventive control device;

[0038] FIG. 4: shows a schematic flow chart of an embodiment of the inventive method; and

[0039] FIG. 5: shows a schematic diagram of the detection of characteristics of a hand; and

[0040] FIG. 6: shows a schematic diagram of the detection of characteristics of a hand.

[0041] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the inventive control device 1. In the embodiment shown, the control device 1 is attached to an extractor hood 2, which is arranged above a cooker 3. In the embodiment shown, the control device 1 comprises a projection unit 104 (see FIG. 2). In the embodiment shown, on the one hand a control panel 11 is shown adjacent to the cooker 3 using the projection unit 104. On the other hand, in the embodiment shown, contents are projected into a projection area 12 on the wall behind the cooker 3. A sensing unit (not visible) is moreover provided in the control unit 1. A sensing area 10 (see FIG. 2) is covered by means of this sensing unit 100 (see FIG. 2), within which a user's hand H can be detected. The control unit preferably comprises a gesture detection unit 105 (see FIG. 2), by means of which the positions and movements (gestures) of the hand H can be detected. On account of the gestures detected in this way, the cooker H and the projection of the contents in the projection area 12 and possibly furthermore the extractor hood 2 is actuated, after the control device 1 has unlocked the corresponding functions and these were possibly set according to a stored user profile.

[0042] As can be seen in FIG. 3, the control device 1 comprises a sensing unit 100 and a detection unit 101. Moreover, preferably provided in the control device 1 or connected hereto is a processing unit 102 with an actuation unit 103 for actuating the functions of a household appliance 2, 3. Moreover, a gesture detection unit 105 is shown in FIG. 3 as further units of the control device 1, which gesture detection unit can use results from the sensing unit 100 and detection unit 101, for instance sensed images. Furthermore, a projection unit 104 is shown, by means of which for instance a control panel 11 for a household appliance or an item of content 12, for instance multimedia content, can be projected onto a wall. The projection unit 104 can be connected to the actuation unit so that the contents output by the projection unit 104 are defined by the previous processing of the detected characteristics.

[0043] The use of the inventive control device 1 is explained again below with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of an embodiment of the inventive method.

[0044] With a deactivated control device 1, in other words when the control device 1 is switched off, the presence of a user can be detected by a proximity sensor (not shown) and the control device 1 can be brought into a standby condition, in which this is still locked, for instance. If a user's hand H, which enters the sensing area 10 of the detection unit 100 of the control device 1, is sensed in this condition, this is sensed by the sensing unit 100. In accordance with the invention, the size of the hand can first be determined after sensing the hand H and compared with a limit value which can be stored in the control device 1. If the size of the hand is smaller than the limit value, the locking of the control device 1 is not removed. This can prevent a child from being able to operate the household appliance, in particular the cooker 3 or the extractor hood 2.

[0045] If, by contrast, it is established in the comparison that the size of the hand is larger than a stored limit value, the control device 1 is unlocked. In this state a detection unit 101 of the control device 1 is used to detect characteristics of the hand H. For instance, the width of the back of the hand, the length of the back of the hand, the relative position of the fingers with respect to one another can be detected. The detection unit 101 can therefore comprise a 3D camera, for instance. In addition or alternatively, the detection unit 101 can also detect the vein pattern on the back of the hand as a characteristic of the hand H. The characteristic or characteristics detected in this way is/are then processed with stored user-related data. In particular, the detected characteristics are compared with stored characteristics and if the characteristics match, an authentication of the user may additionally be carried out. If the detected characteristics match the stored characteristics and if, provided an authentication of the user is carried out, the user has been authenticated, actuation of functions of the household appliance, in particular of the cooker 3, the extractor hood 2 and possibly the projection unit 104, is activated. If the detected characteristics do not match the stored characteristics, the control device 1 is locked again. Alternatively, an authentication request can be output to the user before the control device is locked. This may take place by means of the projection unit 104, for example. If a required password is input in response to the authentication request, for instance, the actuation can be activated.

[0046] In particular, a user profile is loaded after authentication of the user in the processing unit. Settings for the household appliance/appliances 2, 3 and/or contents can be stored in the processing unit for display in the projection area 12 or for the projection of the control panel 11. On account of these settings or on account of gestures detected by the gesture detection unit 105, the functions of the household appliance 2, 3 and/or the projection unit 104 are then further actuated.

[0047] After actuating the functions of the household appliance 2, 3, the hand is preferably also then sensed if a further hand is sensed or at predetermined time intervals. The hand is preferably detected with respect to its size and the size is compared with a limit value. If the size is smaller than the limit value, the control unit 1 is blocked and the further actuation of functions of the household appliance 2, 3 is therefore prevented. By contrast, if the size is larger than the limit value, actuation of the functions is continued.

[0048] FIGS. 5 and 6 show schematic representations of different ways of detecting characteristics of the hand. From the image of a hand H detected by means of a 3D camera, for instance, the width of the back of the hand B and/or the width b of one or all fingers can be determined, as shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 6 shows that the length of the back of the hand L, the length of the fingers I and/or the distance a between the fingers can be determined from a sensed image of the hand H.

[0049] The present invention is not restricted to the embodiments shown. In particular, a number of units of the control device can be combined, for instance.

[0050] A series of advantages can be achieved with the present invention. On the one hand, by detecting characteristics of the hand, the interacting user can be uniquely identified. This can be used to authorize the user or to personalize the settings. With the present invention, an explicit step to identify/authorize the user is moreover not required. This step, which is required in known systems, can be intentionally deactivated in systems of the prior art, but at the cost of security and a personalized profile. The inputting of a code or password or unlock pattern is also not necessarily required with the present invention. If need be, in the case of a difference between stored characteristics and detected characteristics of the hand this can be requested in order to enable a visitor to use the household appliance.

[0051] Moreover, known removable operating elements are not required for child-proofing purposes. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the drawback whereby in most instances a barrier is produced for authorized groups of people and their workflow and cooking experience are interrupted.

[0052] In particular, with the embodiment in which the functions of the household appliances and projected contents are controlled by gestures, the inventive identification with the aid of the control device does not interrupt the workflow and is also not perceived by the user to be an interruption.

[0053] Furthermore, compared with other methods in which for instance a fingerprint sensor is used, for instance, with the inventive method the characteristics are detected contactlessly. This is advantageous in the field of cooking and baking in particular since the hands do not have to be cleaned and dried for use.

[0054] Compared with conventional systems, using the present invention an operating interface can therefore be realized, which allows for a personalized operation while simultaneously maintaining security against unauthorized operation, without interrupting the workflow and without negatively affecting the cooking experience.

LIST OF REFERENCE SIGNS

[0055] 1 control device [0056] 10 sensing area [0057] 11 projectioncontrol panel [0058] 12 projection areacontents [0059] 100 sensing unit [0060] 101 detection unit [0061] 102 processing unit [0062] 103 actuation unit [0063] 104 projection unit [0064] 105 gesture detection unit [0065] 2 household appliance (extractor hood) [0066] 3 household appliance (cooker) [0067] H hand [0068] L length of the back of the hand [0069] I length of the fingers [0070] a distance between fingers [0071] B width of the back of the hand [0072] b width of the fingers