Patent Publication Number: US-11397700-B2

Title: Appliance with serial peripheral interface monitor for inter-integrated circuit bus

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The subject matter of the present disclosure relates generally to a user interface for an appliance, such as an oven appliance or a laundry appliance. In particular, the present disclosure relates to an appliance having a user interface in communication with a controller via an inter-integrated circuit bus and a serial peripheral interface monitor for the inter-integrated circuit bus. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Domestic appliances are utilized for a variety of domestic tasks such as cooking food, drying laundry, or other similar household or personal tasks. Such tasks often include the application of heat. For example, a heat-using domestic appliance may be an oven appliance or a laundry appliance, such as a dryer, or other household appliance. 
     Oven appliances generally include a cabinet that defines a cooking chamber for cooking food items therein, such as by baking or broiling the food items. To heat the cooking chamber for cooking, oven appliances include one or more heating elements positioned at a top portion, a bottom portion, or both the top portion and the bottom portion of the cooking chamber. The heating element or elements may be used for various cycles of the oven appliance, such as a preheat cycle, a cooking cycle, or a self-cleaning cycle. 
     Laundry appliances, such as dryer appliances which are sometimes also referred to as clothes dryers, conventionally include a cabinet having a rotating drum for tumbling clothes and laundry articles therein. One or more heating elements, for example electric heating elements, heat air prior to the air entering the drum, and the warm air is circulated through the drum as the clothes are tumbled to remove moisture from laundry articles in the drum. 
     Such domestic appliances which generate heat, e.g., appliances which include one or more heating elements, may have undesirable effects when operated improperly and/or inadvertently. Therefore, some such domestic appliances include an interlock on the user interface to prevent or limit unintentional or unauthorized activation of the appliance. However, when the user interface includes a touch interface, such as a touchscreen, which communicates with a controller via an inter-integrated circuit bus, implementing the controls for the interlock on the inter-integrated circuit bus typically involves specialized hardware. The specialized hardware adds increased expense and complexity to the appliance. 
     Accordingly, a domestic appliance with improved features for monitoring an inter-integrated circuit bus would be desirable. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, may be apparent from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention. 
     In one exemplary embodiment, a domestic appliance is provided. The appliance includes a heating element, a user interface for receiving user input, and a main controller. The main controller is in operative communication with the user interface via a touchscreen controller. The main controller is also in operative communication with the heating element. The user interface is in operative communication with the heating element via the touchscreen controller and the main controller. The user interface is in operative communication with the touchscreen controller via an inter-integrated circuit bus. The domestic appliance also includes a serial peripheral interface monitor in operative communication with the inter-integrated circuit bus. The serial peripheral interface monitor is configured to receive and monitor communication between the user interface and the controller. 
     In another exemplary embodiment, a method of monitoring an inter-integrated circuit bus in a domestic appliance is provided. The domestic appliance includes a heating element, a user interface for receiving user input, and a main controller. The main controller is in operative communication with the user interface via a touchscreen controller. The main controller is also in operative communication with the heating element. The user interface is in operative communication with the heating element via the touchscreen controller and the main controller. The user interface is in operative communication with the touchscreen controller via the inter-integrated circuit bus. The domestic appliance also includes a serial peripheral interface monitor in operative communication with the inter-integrated circuit bus. The method includes monitoring, by the touchscreen controller via the inter-integrated circuit bus, the user interface for user input. The method also includes receiving and monitoring, by the serial peripheral interface monitor, communication between the user interface and the touchscreen controller. 
     These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures. 
         FIG. 1  provides a front view of an exemplary oven appliance according to one or more embodiments of the present subject matter. 
         FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of the oven appliance of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  provides a perspective view of a dryer appliance in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. 
         FIG. 4  provides a perspective view of the example dryer appliance of  FIG. 1  with portions of a cabinet of the dryer appliance removed to reveal certain components of the dryer appliance. 
         FIG. 5  provides a diagram illustrating controls of a domestic appliance according to one or more embodiments of the present subject matter. 
         FIG. 6  provides a diagram illustrating controls of a domestic appliance according to one or more additional embodiments of the present subject matter. 
         FIG. 7  provides a table illustrating comparison of an SPI bitstream against a fingerprint of an I2C bitstream according to one or more additional embodiments of the present subject matter. 
         FIG. 8  provides a flowchart illustrating a method of monitoring data traffic on an I2C bus with an SPI monitor according to one or more embodiments of the present subject matter. 
         FIG. 9  provides a flowchart illustrating a method of capturing and aligning an I2C bitstream with an SPI monitor according to one or more embodiments of the present subject matter. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents. 
     As used herein, terms of approximation, such as “generally,” or “about” include values within ten percent greater or less than the stated value. In the context of an angle or direction, such terms include values within ten degrees greater or less than the stated direction. For example, “generally vertical” includes directions within ten degrees of vertical in any direction, e.g., clockwise or counter-clockwise. 
     The present disclosure is generally directed to an appliance  100  including a user interface  128  with a touchscreen display  130 . The user interface  128  and the touchscreen display  130  thereof are in operative communication with a main controller  141  of the appliance  100  via a touchscreen controller  140 . The touchscreen controller  140  communicates with the touchscreen  130  over an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) bus  200 . The appliance  100  also includes a serial peripheral interface (SPI) monitor  202  for the inter-integrated circuit bus  200 . 
     In some embodiments, e.g., as illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the appliance  100  may be an oven appliance.  FIGS. 1 and 2  illustrate an oven appliance  100  according to one or more exemplary embodiments of the present subject matter. Oven appliance  100  includes an insulated cabinet  102  which defines a vertical direction V, a lateral direction L, and a transverse direction T. The vertical, lateral, and transverse directions V, L, and T are mutually perpendicular and form an orthogonal direction system. Cabinet  102  extends between a top portion  150  and a bottom portion  152  along the vertical direction V. Cabinet  102  extends between a left side  154  and a right side  156  along the lateral direction L and between a front portion  158  and a back portion  160  along the transverse direction T. 
     Still referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , for this exemplary embodiment, oven appliance  100  includes an insulated cabinet  102  with an interior cooking chamber  104  defined by a top wall  112 , a bottom wall  114 , a back wall  116 , and a pair of opposing side walls  118 . Cooking chamber  104  is configured for the receipt of one or more food items to be cooked. Oven appliance  100  includes a door  108  pivotally mounted to cabinet  102  at the opening  106  of cabinet  102  to permit selective access to cooking chamber  104  through opening  106 . A handle  110  is mounted to door  108  and assists a user with opening and closing door  108 . For example, a user can pull on handle  110  to open or close door  108  and access cooking chamber  104 . 
     Oven appliance  100  can include a seal (not shown) between door  108  and cabinet  102  that assists with maintaining heat and cooking vapors within cooking chamber  104  when door  108  is closed as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . Multiple parallel glass panes  122  provide for viewing the contents of cooking chamber  104  when door  108  is closed and assist with insulating cooking chamber  104 . A baking rack  142  is positioned in cooking chamber  104  for the receipt of food items or utensils containing food items. Baking rack  142  is slidably received onto embossed ribs or sliding rails  144  such that rack  142  may be conveniently moved into and out of cooking chamber  104  when door  108  is open. 
     One or more heating elements may be included in the cooking chamber  104 , e.g., at the top, bottom, or both of cooking chamber  104 , to provide heat to cooking chamber  104  for cooking. Such heating element(s) can be gas, electric, microwave, or a combination thereof. For example, in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , oven appliance  100  includes a top heating element  124  and a bottom heating element  126 , where bottom heating element  126  is positioned adjacent to and below bottom wall  114 . Other configurations with or without wall  114  may be used as well. 
     In the illustrated example embodiment, oven appliance  100  also has a convection heating element  136  and convection fan  138  positioned adjacent back wall  116  of cooking chamber  104 . Convection fan  138  is powered by a convection fan motor  139 . Further, convection fan  138  can be a variable speed fan—meaning the speed of fan  138  may be controlled or set anywhere between and including, e.g., zero and one hundred percent (0%-100%). In certain embodiments, oven appliance  100  may also include a bidirectional triode thyristor (not shown), i.e., a triode for alternating current (TRIAC), to regulate the operation of convection fan  138  such that the speed of fan  138  may be adjusted during operation of oven appliance  100 . The speed of convection fan  138  can be determined by controller  140 . In some embodiments, the convection fan  138  may be configured to rotate in two directions, e.g., a first direction of rotation and a second direction of rotation opposing the first direction of rotation. For example, in some embodiments, reversing the direction of rotation, e.g., from the first direction to the second direction or vice versa, may still direct air from the back of the cavity. As another example, in some embodiments reversing the direction results in air being directed from the top and/or sides of the cavity rather than the back of the cavity. Additionally, the convection heating features are optional and are shown and described herein solely by way of example. In other embodiments the oven appliance  100  may include different convection heating features or may not include convection heating features at all. 
     In various embodiments, more than one convection heater, e.g., more than one convection heating elements  136  and/or convection fans  138 , may be provided. In such embodiments, the number of convection fans and convection heaters may be the same or may differ, e.g., more than one convection heating element  136  may be associated with a single convection fan  138 . Similarly, more than one top heating element  124  and/or more than one bottom heating element  126  may be provided in various combinations, e.g., one top heating element  124  with two or more bottom heating elements  126 , two or more top heating elements  124  with no bottom heating element  126 , etc. 
     Oven appliance  100  includes a user interface  128  having a display  130  positioned on an interface panel  132 . The display  130  may be a touchscreen for receiving user input, such as commands, instructions, and/or settings for the oven appliance  100 . User interface  128  thus allows the user to select various options for the operation of oven  100  including, e.g., various cooking and cleaning cycles. Operation of oven appliance  100  can be regulated by a main controller  141  that is operatively coupled to, i.e., in communication with, user interface  128 , heating elements  124 ,  126 , and other components of oven  100  as will be further described. In particular, the user interface  128  may include a touchscreen controller  140  which is directly connected to the main controller  141  between the touchscreen  130  and the main controller  141 . The touchscreen controller  140  may register or detect user input by detecting or responding to a touch by a user on the touchscreen  130 , such as by monitoring and responding to changes in capacitance when a user touches the touchscreen  130 , as is generally understood by those of ordinary skill in the art. 
     For example, in response to user manipulation of the user interface  128  relayed via the touchscreen controller  140 , the main controller  141  can operate the heating element(s). Controller  141  can receive measurements from one or more temperature sensors (not shown) which are in or in thermal communication with the cooking chamber  104 . Controller  141  may also provide information such as a status indicator, e.g., a temperature indication, to the user with display  130 . Controller  141  can also be provided with other features as will be further described herein. 
     The various controllers described herein, e.g., the touchscreen controller  140  and the main controller, Controller  141  may include a memory and one or more processing devices such as microprocessors, CPUs, or the like, such as general or special purpose microprocessors operable to execute programming instructions or micro-control code associated with operation of appliance  100 , where the appliance  100  may be, e.g., in various embodiments, the oven appliance  100  as in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , or the dryer appliance  100  as in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , or other similar domestic appliance  100 . The memory may represent random access memory such as DRAM or read only memory such as ROM or FLASH, or electrically erasable, programmable read only memory (EEPROM). In one embodiment, the processor executes programming instructions stored in memory. The memory may be a separate component from the processor or may be included onboard within the processor. The memory can store information accessible by the processor(s), including instructions that can be executed by processor(s). For example, the instructions can be software or any set of instructions that when executed by the processor(s), cause the processor(s) to perform operations. For the embodiment depicted, the instructions may include a software package configured to operate the system, e.g., to execute exemplary methods of operating the oven appliance  100  (or other domestic appliances in various embodiments). It should be noted that controllers as disclosed herein are capable of and may be operable to perform any methods and associated method steps as disclosed herein. For example, in some embodiments, methods disclosed herein may be embodied in programming instructions stored in the memory and executed by the controller or controllers. 
     Controller  141  may be positioned in a variety of locations throughout oven appliance  100 . In the illustrated embodiment, controller  141  is located next to user interface  128  within interface panel  132 . In other embodiments, controller  141  may be located under or next to the user interface  128 , otherwise within interface panel  132 , or at any other appropriate location with respect to oven appliance  100 . Generally, the main controller  141  will be positioned within the cabinet  102 . In the embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 1 , input/output (“I/O”) signals are routed between the main controller  141  and various operational components of oven appliance  100  such as heating elements  124 ,  126 ,  136 , convection fan  138 , controls  134 , display  130 , camera  180  in the door  108 , alarms, and/or other components as may be provided. In one embodiment, user interface  128  may represent a general purpose I/O (“GPIO”) device or functional block. 
     While oven  100  is shown as a wall oven, the present invention could also be used with other cooking appliances such as, e.g., a stand-alone oven, an oven with a stove-top, or other configurations of such ovens. Numerous variations in the oven configuration are possible within the scope of the present subject matter. As an example, the oven appliance  100  may include multiple doors  108  instead of or in addition to the single door  108  illustrated. Such examples include a dual cavity oven, a French door oven, and others. As still another example, one or more of the illustrated electrical resistance heating elements may be substituted with gas burners or microwave heating elements, or any other suitable heating elements. The examples described herein are provided by way of illustration only and without limitation. 
     In additional embodiments, the appliance  100  may be a laundry appliance, such as the dryer appliance  100  illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
       FIG. 3  provides a perspective view of dryer appliance  100  according to one or more additional exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.  FIG. 4  provides another perspective view of dryer appliance  100  with a portion of a cabinet or housing  12  of dryer appliance  100  removed in order to show certain components of dryer appliance  100 . Dryer appliance  100  generally defines a vertical direction V, a lateral direction L, and a transverse direction T, each of which is mutually perpendicular, such that an orthogonal coordinate system is defined. While described in the context of a specific embodiment of dryer appliance  100 , using the teachings disclosed herein, it will be understood that dryer appliance  100  is provided by way of example only. Other dryer appliances having different appearances and different features may also be utilized with the present subject matter as well. 
     Cabinet  12  includes a front panel  14 , a rear panel  16 , a pair of side panels  18  and  20  spaced apart from each other by front and rear panels  14  and  16 , a bottom panel  22 , and a top cover  24 . Within cabinet  12 , an interior volume  29  is defined. A drum or container  26  is mounted for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis within the interior volume  29 . Drum  26  defines a chamber  25  for receipt of articles of clothing for tumbling and/or drying. Drum  26  extends between a front portion  37  and a back portion  38 . Drum  26  also includes a back or rear wall  34 , e.g., at back portion  38  of drum  26 . A supply duct  41  may be mounted to rear wall  34  and receives heated air that has been heated by a heating assembly or system  40 . 
     As used herein, the terms “clothing” or “articles” includes but need not be limited to fabrics, textiles, garments, linens, papers, or other items from which the extraction of moisture is desirable. Furthermore, the term “load” or “laundry load” refers to the combination of clothing that may be washed together in a washing machine or dried together in a dryer appliance  100  (e.g., clothes dryer) and may include a mixture of different or similar articles of clothing of different or similar types and kinds of fabrics, textiles, garments and linens within a particular laundering process. 
     A motor  31  is provided in some embodiments to rotate drum  26  about the horizontal axis, e.g., via a pulley and a belt (not pictured). Drum  26  is generally cylindrical in shape, having an outer cylindrical wall  28  and a front flange or wall  30  that defines an opening  32  of drum  26 , e.g., at front portion  37  of drum  26 , for loading and unloading of articles into and out of chamber  25  of drum  26 . A plurality of lifters or baffles  27  are provided within chamber  25  of drum  26  to lift articles therein and then allow such articles to tumble back to a bottom of drum  26  as drum  26  rotates. Baffles  27  may be mounted to drum  26  such that baffles  27  rotate with drum  26  during operation of dryer appliance  100 . 
     Drum  26  includes a rear wall  34  rotatably supported within main housing  12  by a suitable fixed bearing. Rear wall  34  can be fixed or can be rotatable. Rear wall  34  may include, for instance, a plurality of holes that receive hot air that has been heated by a heating assembly or system  40 , as will be described further below. Motor  31  is also in mechanical communication with an air handler  48  such that motor  31  rotates a fan  49 , e.g., a centrifugal fan, of air handler  48 . Air handler  48  is configured for drawing air through chamber  25  of drum  26 , e.g., in order to dry articles located therein. In alternative example embodiments, dryer appliance  100  may include an additional motor (not shown) for rotating fan  49  of air handler  48  independently of drum  26 . 
     Drum  26  is configured to receive heated air that has been heated by a heating assembly  40 , e.g., via holes in the rear wall  34  as mentioned above, in order to dry damp articles disposed within chamber  25  of drum  26 . For example, heating assembly  40  may include a heating element (not shown), such as a gas burner, an electrical resistance heating element, or heat pump, for heating air. As discussed above, during operation of dryer appliance  100 , motor  31  rotates drum  26  and fan  49  of air handler  48  such that air handler  48  draws air through chamber  25  of drum  26  when motor  31  rotates fan  49 . In particular, ambient air enters heating assembly  40  via an inlet  51  due to air handler  48  urging such ambient air into inlet  51 . Such ambient air is heated within heating assembly  40  and exits heating assembly  40  as heated air. Air handler  48  draws such heated air through supply duct  41  to drum  26 . The heated air enters drum  26  through a plurality of outlets of supply duct  41  positioned at rear wall  34  of drum  26 . 
     Within chamber  25 , the heated air may accumulate moisture, e.g., from damp clothing disposed within chamber  25 . In turn, air handler  48  draws moisture-saturated air through a screen filter (not shown) which traps lint particles. Such moisture-statured air then enters an exit duct  46  and is passed through air handler  48  to an exhaust duct  52 . From exhaust duct  52 , such moisture-statured air passes out of dryer appliance  100  through a vent  53  defined by cabinet  12 . After the clothing articles have been dried, they are removed from the drum  26  via opening  32 . A door  33  ( FIG. 3 ) provides for closing or accessing drum  26  through opening  32 . The door  33  may be movable between an open position and a closed position, the open position for access to the chamber  25  defined in the drum  26 , and the closed position for sealingly enclosing the chamber  25  defined in the drum  26 . 
     In some embodiments, a user interface  128  including one or more selector inputs  70 , such as knobs, buttons, touchscreen interfaces, etc., may be provided or mounted on the cabinet  12  (e.g., on a backsplash  71  of the cabinet  12 ) and in operable communication (e.g., electrically coupled) with a processing device or controller  141 . A display  130  may also be provided on the backsplash  71  and may also be in operable communication with the controller  141 , e.g., the display  130  may be or include a touchscreen for receiving user input and a touchscreen controller  140  for relaying such input to the controller  141 , e.g., as described above with respect to the oven embodiments. Controller  141  may also be provided in operable communication with motor  31 , air handler  48 , and/or heating assembly  40 . In turn, signals generated in controller  141  direct operation of motor  31 , air handler  48 , and/or heating assembly  40  in response to the user inputs or selections received, e.g., from the touchscreen display  130  via the touchscreen controller  140 . In the example illustrated in  FIG. 4 , the user interface  128  also includes mechanical inputs  70 , e.g., provided as knobs. In other embodiments, inputs  70  may also or instead include buttons, switches, touchpads and/or some or all of the user-operable controls may be incorporated in a touchscreen type interface on display  130 . 
     The controllers  140  and  141  in the dryer appliance embodiment is generally the same as the controllers  140  and  141  described above in the context of the oven appliance embodiment. In embodiments where the appliance  100  is a dryer appliance, e.g., as in the example embodiments illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the controllers may be programmed to operate dryer appliance  100  by executing instructions stored in the memory (e.g., non-transitory media), where embodiments of the memory associated with the dryer appliance  100  embodiment include each example described above with respect to the controller embodiments for the oven appliance  100  embodiments. 
     In some exemplary embodiments, the dryer appliance  100  may include one or more temperature sensors, such as inlet temperature sensor  43  and/or outlet temperature sensor  47 . The temperature sensor(s) may be in operative communication with the controller  141 . For example, in various embodiments, the controller  141  may be operable to detect, measure, and/or monitor one or more temperatures within the dryer appliance  100 . Such temperatures which may be detected, measured, and/or monitored include, for example, an inlet temperature measured with the inlet temperature sensor  43  and/or an outlet temperature measured with the outlet temperature sensor  47 . The temperature sensors  43  and  47  may be, in some embodiments, thermistors. 
     In various embodiments, the appliance  100  disclosed herein may be any domestic appliance with a user interface having an interlock, such as a domestic appliance which includes one or more heating elements or heaters of various types, e.g., an oven appliance or a clothes dryer appliance. The interlock may be configured to prevent unintended activation of the heating element. For example, the interlock may ensure that only valid user input on a touchscreen of the appliance is relayed to the heating element (e.g., by a touchscreen controller and/or via a main controller of the appliance) to activate or modify operation of the heating element. Additionally, it should be noted that references to “domestic” appliances herein are not intended to exclude, e.g., dryers in a laundromat, apartment building, hotel, dormitory, etc., or oven appliances in a commercial kitchen or other commercial/industrial setting. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an exemplary control system or portion thereof for a domestic appliance according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure. As illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the appliance controls include an inter-integrated circuit (I2C) master, e.g., the controller  140  as in the above-described embodiments, and an I2C peripheral, e.g., the touchscreen  130  and an associated controller or board thereof as in the above-described embodiments, where the I2C master  140  and the I2C peripheral  130  are in communication via an I2C bus  200 . Also as may be seen, e.g., in  FIG. 5 , the exemplary appliance controls also include a serial peripheral interface (SPI) monitor  202  which is also in communication with the I2C bus  200 . For example, in some embodiments, the SPI monitor may be in communication with the I2C bus  200  by connecting the SCK (serial clock) pin of the SPI monitor  202  to the SCL (clock) pin and by connecting the MOSI (master out slave in) pin of the SPI monitor  202  to the SDA (data) pin. Such connection allows the SPI monitor  202  to receive a synchronous bitstream between the I2C devices  130  and  140  in a byte-quantized fashion, e.g., one byte (eight bits) at a time, via the MOSI input of the SPI monitor  202 . Thus, the SPI monitor  202  may be in operative communication with the inter-integrated circuit bus  200 . As a result of such communication, the SPI monitor  202  may be operable to and configured to receive and monitor communication between the I2C peripheral (e.g., user interface  128  and/or touchscreen  130  thereof) and the controller (e.g., controller  140 ). In some embodiments, e.g., where the domestic appliance  100  includes an interlock or lock-out feature on the controls, such as on the touchscreen  130 , to avoid unintentional activation of the domestic appliance  100 , the SPI monitor  202  may be operable to and configured to verify that the domestic appliance  100  is operating as intended, e.g., that the domestic appliance  100  has not been inadvertently activated due to a false touch or unauthorized input on the user interface  128 , and in particular the touchscreen  130  thereof. 
     In some embodiments, the control system or portion thereof for a domestic appliance may also include a tri-state buffer  204 , e.g., as illustrated in  FIG. 6 . In such embodiments, the tri-state buffer  204  may be in communication with the SPI monitor  202 . The tri-state buffer  204  may be operable to and configured to transmit a fake “clock” signal to the SPI monitor  202 , which will result in termination of any in-progress SPI bytes, e.g., SPI bytes for which alignment and validation, as described in more detail below, have not been completed. The tri-state buffer  204  and the “clock” signal may advantageously be employed after a transaction has been determined to have been completed, e.g., by means of a timer, to terminate the in-progress SPI bytes (if any) in order to reduce or minimize latency. For example, at the end of a transaction, the tri-state buffer  204  may be disabled and the fake “clock” line may be configured as an output to generate “clock” edges until reception of an SPI byte. Once the byte has been received, the fake “clock” line may be configured as an input and the tri-state buffer  204  may be re-enabled. 
     In order for the SPI monitor  204  to monitor the synchronous bitstream travelling over the I2C bus  200 , differences between I2C bitstreams and SPI bitstreams must be accounted for. Although both I2C and SPI are byte-oriented protocols, the I2C bitstream will also include signaling bits, such as bits used to signal acknowledge/negative acknowledge (ACK/NACK) and/or start/stop conditions. Therefore, a byte sent via the I2C bus  200  will be received as nine or ten bits by the SPI monitor  202  due to the presence of the signaling bits in addition to the eight bits of the I2C byte. Thus, the received SPI bitstream needs to be aligned to the I2C stream before traffic can be reconstructed. 
     In some embodiments, I2C transactions may be initially identified based on known timing characteristics. In such embodiments, identification of I2C transactions based on known timing characteristics may be performed by measuring the delay between bytes. For example, such known timing characteristics may include a known frequency of queries from the I2C master  140  to the I2C peripheral  130 . In embodiments where the I2C master is the touchscreen controller  140  of the domestic appliance  100  and the I2C peripheral is the touchscreen  130  of the user interface  128  of the domestic appliance  100 , the touchscreen controller  140  may scan for a touch on the touchscreen  130  with a known time interval between queries or a known scanning frequency. When the measured delay is large enough, e.g., is greater than a predetermined minimum threshold, the SPI bitstream, which is byte quantized, may be captured for processing and capture of the SPI bitstream for the next transaction may be started. 
     In some instances, there may be overlap between the SPI bitstreams of two adjacent transactions because a transaction is not guaranteed to have byte-divisible size and because a SPI bitstream is not guaranteed to be aligned with the beginning of a transaction. 
     In order to align the captured SPI bitstream, an offset is applied to the SPI bitstream. The offset may be between zero bits and seven bits. Applying each potentially valid offset, which in some embodiments may encompass the entire range from zero to seven (including zero and seven, integers only), an I2C byte stream is created from the captured SPI bitstream and compared against known transaction data. Such comparison may include validating the applied offset, e.g., determining that the offset is valid when the recreated I2C byte stream matches the known characteristics of the I2C byte stream, e.g., the known transaction data, and/or determining that the offset is invalid when the recreated I2C byte stream does not match the known transaction data. For example, the known transaction data may include one or more of an I2C device address, a memory location or a command that indicates the type of data, a register address, etc. 
     The I2C byte stream is created from the captured SPI bitstream by extracting the individual bits, skipping the signaling bits, and recreating the I2C bytes from the remaining bits. The signaling bits to skip are identified based on the applied offset. For example, where the applied offset is zero bits, an I2C byte will be created from the first through eighth bits and the subsequent bits will be skipped, where the applied offset is one bit, the first bit will be skipped and an I2C byte will be recreated using bits two through nine, etc. Once all offsets, e.g., zero through seven, have been applied and the resulting byte streams compared to the known transaction data, if one and only one offset into the bitstream matches the known characteristics of the I2C byte streams (that is, there is only one valid offset such that the match is unambiguous) then the transaction has been identified and unknown/variable data can be extracted. 
     Turning now to  FIG. 7 , in some embodiments, an optional fingerprinting check may be employed. For example, the fingerprint check may narrow down the number of potentially valid offsets to apply and validate. As illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the fingerprint check may include comparing the SPI bitstream against only certain bits in the I2C bitstream, such as signaling bits, e.g., ACK and NACK bits, at known locations in the I2C bitstream. For example,  FIG. 7  illustrates a comparison of the SPI bitstream against every ninth bit, which is a known location in the I2C bitstream for a signaling bit because every byte in the I2C bitstream is followed by an ACK/NACK bit. Thus, the first through eighth bits in the I2C bitstream are skipped (as indicated by X&#39;s in  FIG. 7 ) to create the fingerprint. In the example illustrated in  FIG. 7 , the offset of zero is invalid, as the ninth bit in the SPI bitstream does not match the fingerprint, e.g., does not match the ninth bit in the I2C bitstream (although the eighteenth bit does match, any discrepancy indicates the offset is invalid and further testing of that offset may be avoided). Thus, the first through eighth bits in the SPI bitstream do not correspond to a byte of date in the I2C bitstream, and the steps of creating an I2C byte stream from the captured SPI bitstream and comparing it against known transaction data using the offset of zero can be omitted in the example illustrated by  FIG. 7 . 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure also include methods of monitoring an inter-integrated circuit bus, such as an inter-integrated bus in a domestic appliance. For example, the domestic appliance usable in such methods may be the domestic appliance  100  as described above, embodiments of which include, but are not limited to, an oven appliance such as the exemplary oven appliance  100  of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a dryer appliance such as the exemplary dryer appliance  100  illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , or other similar appliances. 
     One example embodiment of such methods is the method  400  illustrated in  FIG. 8 . As illustrated in  FIG. 8 , the method  400  may include scanning, by a controller which is part of the appliance, e.g., the touchscreen controller  140  described above, for user input on a user interface. Such scanning may include querying a touchscreen at a known time interval, as described above. The touchscreen controller may be in communication with the user interface via an I2C bus, such that the step  402  of scanning includes scanning over the I2C bus. The method  400  may further include, e.g., as illustrated at  404  in  FIG. 8 , receiving and monitoring the communication between the user interface and the touchscreen controller via the I2C bus with a serial peripheral interface monitor. 
     Another example method according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated in  FIG. 9 . Method  500  illustrated in  FIG. 9  comprises the capture and alignment phases of the overall process of capturing, aligning, and interpreting the I2C bitstream with the SPI monitor. As shown in  FIG. 9 , the method  500  may include receiving an I2C bitstream with a SPI monitor, e.g., at step  502  in  FIG. 9 . The SPI monitor may be configured and operable to align and interpret the I2C bitstream, e.g., according to the methods disclosed herein such as method  500 . For example, the method  500  may further include a step  504  of identifying an I2C transaction in the received I2C bitstream based on a known time delay between bytes of the I2C stream, such as the known query frequency between the I2C master and I2C peripheral described above. Method  500  may further include a step  506  of aligning the SPI bitstream to the I2C bitstream by applying an offset to the SPI bitstream. The offset may be N bits, where N may be, as mentioned above, zero through seven, inclusive, integers only. The method  500  may then include reconstructing the I2C bitstream with the SPI monitor. For example, as indicated at step  508  in  FIG. 9 , the signaling bits of the I2C bitstream may be skipped or removed and the remaining bits comprise a reconstructed I2C byte stream in the SPI monitor. The offset applied in step  506  may then be verified, e.g., validated, as indicated at step  510  in  FIG. 9  by comparing certain reconstructed I2C bytes against known transaction data, e.g., the reconstructed I2C bytes which correspond in stream sequence with the known transaction data. As mentioned above, the known transaction data may be one or more of an I2C device address, a memory location or a command that indicates the type of data, a register address, etc. As generally described above, each possible offset, from zero to seven, inclusive, may be applied and validated in some embodiments. Thus, the initial N offset may be zero, and the method  500  may include a step  514  of determining whether N equals seven. When N is not equal to seven, e.g., when N is zero in the initial iteration of the method  500 , the method  500  continues to step  512  of applying the next possible offset, e.g., N+1, such as an offset of one in the initial iteration of step  512 . The aligned SPI bitstream using the iterated offset may then be used as the basis for a reconstructed I2C bitstream, e.g., the method  500  may return to step  508  after step  512  and then validate the iterated offset by comparing the reconstructed I2C stream based thereon against known transaction data at step  510 . In at least some embodiments, the method  500  may include testing all possible offsets, e.g., repeating steps  508 ,  510 , and  512  until N equals seven, at which time the method  500  may end, e.g., as illustrated at  516  in  FIG. 9 . The results of the method  500  may then be used to interpret the I2C bitstream, e.g., to extract data therefrom. For example, when there is an unambiguous match between one of the reconstructed I2C bitstreams and the known transaction data, e.g., when one and only one offset is valid, then the transaction may be identified and unknown data may be extracted from the one and only one reconstructed I2C bitstream with the valid offset. 
     This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal language of the claims.