Patent Publication Number: US-2013229492-A1

Title: Method and apparatus for an operating unit for a home appliance

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims priority to German Application No. 10 2012 203 458.7, filed Mar. 5, 2012, the contents of which are hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. 
     TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD 
     The invention relates to an operating unit for a home appliance. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Operating units being deposited, spaced or offset from an operated device (in the following called offset operating unit) allow a comfortable operation control of home appliances, wherein multiple home appliances can be operation controlled by means of one single operating unit. 
     Generally, such offset operating units comprise keys, buttons, rotary knobs, etc. which allow an entry of operating commands. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY 
     The object underlying the invention is to provide an offset operating unit for a home appliance which allows a most comfortable operation control of the home appliance. 
     The invention achieves this object by means of an operating unit. 
     The offset or deposited operating unit for a home appliance comprises: a camera, for example having a camera chip and associated optics, an evaluation unit, for example in the form of a microprocessor, which evaluates picture data generated by the camera for recognition of an operating gesture from a predefined set of operating gestures, wherein the operating gestures serve for operator control of the home appliance, wherein the home appliance comprises a control device or control unit spaced apart from the operating unit, a bidirectional or unidirectional interface for wireless data transmission between the operating unit and the control device, wherein information regarding the recognized operating gesture is transmitted to the control device via the interface in a wireless manner, and a housing in which the camera, the evaluation unit and the interface are integrated. 
     In particular, an offset operating unit refers to a portable operating unit corresponding to a remote control which in the operation mode is not coupled to the home appliance to be controlled or the control device thereof by direct or galvanic couple. For example, the offset operating unit can be arranged on a functional position provided therefor on a housing of the home appliance. 
     The operating unit preferably comprises all components and functions for a gesture operation control and thus forms a gesture control user interface which can be coupled to the control device of the home appliance in a wireless manner. Via the wireless interface between the operating unit and the control device of the home appliance, preferably merely basic information in the form of generic operating data is transmitted. This is to allow that the control device does not need to perform any calculations or the like for recognizing the operating gesture. In the operating unit, a number of predefined operating gestures can be stored. Upon recognition of an operating gesture, for example only the identifier of the operating gesture and the X-, Y- and Z-position of a finger and/or of a hand of an operator who performs the operating gesture are transmitted via the wireless interface. With some operating gestures, there is a contingency that an appropriate correlation of such position data is not possible. 
     By means of one of the operating gestures, for example a cooking area of a cooktop having multiple cooking areas can be selected, and subsequently by means of another of the operating gestures, a desired heating capacity of the cooktop can be set. Furthermore, specific functions of the home appliance can be selected or activated, for example in the form of a program setting, a program parameter setting, etc. 
     The operating unit can comprise an energy supply unit for generation of operating energy for the operating unit from an externally-generated alternating magnetic field by means of which an inductive power supply is made possible. The operating unit can be operated without batteries. 
     The operating unit can comprise a controllable illuminant, wherein the evaluation unit synchronizes the illuminant and the camera. For example, the controllable illuminant can be an infrared illuminant, wherein, in the simplest case, controllable refers to adapted to be switched-on and switched-off. The evaluation unit can effect the actuation of the illuminant, for example synchronically with a so-called shutter of the camera. This can be advantageous since the illuminant generates a light pulse only at the instant the camera takes a picture. 
     Alternatively, the illuminant can be provided separate from the operating unit, for example underneath a glass-ceramics cooktop, wherein the evaluation unit synchronizes the camera and a controllable illuminant provided externally in relation to the control device, for example by means of wireless transmission of a synchronization signal. 
     The housing can comprise a support device by means of which the operating unit can be fixed for example to a housing of the home appliance, a cooktop and/or an extractor hood. 
     The camera can be a 2-dimensional (2D) camera or a 3-dimensional (3D) camera, for example a so-called Time-Of-Flight camera or a stereo camera. 
     For example, the wireless interface can be an infrared interface, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) interface or a Bluetooth interface. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
       The invention is subsequently described with reference to the drawing which shows embodiments of the invention. In a schematic illustration is shown in: 
         FIG. 1  an offset operating unit according to the invention for a home appliance. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows an offset operating unit  100  according to the invention for offset operation control or remote control of a home appliance  200 . 
     The home appliance  200  in the form of an electric stove shown in  FIG. 1  comprises a control device  201 , for example in the form of a microcontroller, which serves for function control of the home appliance  200  for example by suitable control of actuators, in this case heating means  204 , reading-out of sensors, realizing of control loops, executing of program sequences which can be selected by the user, etc. It is understood that the operating unit  100  can also be used for example for the operator control of a washing machine, a laundry drier, etc. The operating unit can also serve to operate multiple home appliances. 
     The operating unit  100  comprises a conventional 2D camera or 3D camera  101 , an evaluation unit  102 , for example in the form of a microcontroller or of a FPGA which evaluates picture data generated by the camera  101  for recognition of an operating gesture from a predefined set of operating gestures, an infrared (IR) illuminant  104  actuated by the evaluation unit  102 , a wireless, bidirectional IR interface  103  for coupling of the operating unit  100  to the control device  201  via a correspondent, bidirectional IR interface  203 , a display  108  for displaying operational parameters, an energy supply unit  105 , and a housing  106  in which the aforementioned components are integrated. 
     The energy supply unit  105  serves for generating operating energy for the operating unit  100  from an alternating magnetic field which is generated by means of a power source  202  of the home appliance  200 . 
     The predefined set of operating gestures serves for operator control of the home appliance  200 , wherein the set can comprise the following gestures: pointing by means of the forefinger, closed hand, splayed fingers, fist, fist with thumb on the right side or on the left side, etc. A unique operating gesture identifier is assigned to each operating gesture from the predefined set of operating gestures. 
     In addition to the actual operating gesture, the operating unit  100  recognizes associated position information and/or direction information, for example X-coordinates and Y-coordinates to which a finger of a hand of an operating person points, X-coordinates and Y-coordinates of the hand, and a Z-coordinate of the hand, as the case may be. For determination of the Z-coordinate, a 3D-camera can be used. As an alternative, a (pseudo) Z-coordinate can be determined by means of a 2D-camera by evaluating a size change of the hand. When the hand is recognized by the camera for the first time, a default Z-coordinate can be defined which is then changed in response to a relative size change of the hand detected in the camera  101 . 
     Upon recognition of an operating gesture by means of the operating unit  100 , the associated operating gesture identifier as well as associated position information, as the case may be, are transmitted to the control device  201  via the interface  103  in a wireless manner. The control device  201  correspondingly implements the operating gesture in connection with the available position information, as the case may be, for example by starting a function of the home appliance  200  associated to the gesture, by selecting a cooking area, by changing a desired value, etc. 
     For example, the operating unit  100  can be arranged on a predefined position on a glass-ceramics plate  205  of the home appliance, wherein for example correspondent (not shown) magnetic fixation means can be provided in the operating unit  100  and underneath the glass-ceramics plate  205 , which effect a detachable fixation and orientation of the operating unit on the glass-ceramics plate  205 . 
     The IR illuminant  104  can alternatively also be provided underneath the glass-ceramics  205  plate translucent for IR light, wherein in this case the infrared illuminant  104  can be synchronized with the camera  101  by exchanging synchronization signals transmitted in a wireless manner. 
     Due to the modular configuration of the operating unit, an offset operating control with gesture recognition can be connected to diverse controls with little effort. Since the operating unit already performs the complete evaluation of the picture data delivered by the camera, the subsequent control can be realized using a more cost-efficient and lower performance processor, or existing controls can be supplemented with a gesture control without any change.