HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCE HAVING A DISPENSER FOR BEVERAGES AND/OR ICE
A household appliance having a dispenser for beverages and/or ice. The appliance includes a recess with a supporting surface for a container and a rear wall. A dispenser for a product including at least one of a beverage and ice is disposed in the recess. A user control and display unit configured for selection and display of the type of product being dispensed is included on the appliance. A trigger that is operable to dispense the product includes at least one sensor array configured to detect the container. The at least one sensor array has a sensor range and is disposed on the rear wall of the recess. A controller coupled to the user control and display unit is operable to control the dispensing process such that selection of at least one of the product and the amount to be dispensed is determined by movement of the container relative to the dispenser within the sensing range of the at least one sensor array.
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This application claims priority to German Patent Application No. DE 10 2009 044 032.1, filed on Sep. 17, 2009, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
FIELDThe present invention relates to a household appliance having a dispenser for beverages and/or ice, and further having a user control and display unit which is coupled to a controller for controlling the dispensing process and used to select and display the type of product to be dispensed (beverages and/or ice), the dispenser being disposed in a recess of the household appliance, said recess including a supporting surface for a container to be filled and having provided therein at least one trigger for causing the dispensing of the product.
BACKGROUNDEuropean Patent Application EP 1 607 700 A1 describes a refrigerator having a dispenser for ice and water, in which triggers are disposed in the dispensing area, and in which the amount of ice or water dispensed is determined by the actuation of a trigger.
German Patent Application DE 103 17 386 A1 describes a refrigerator having a dispenser in which two separate actuating levers are disposed in the dispensing area and can be used to activate the dispensing of water or ice, respectively.
Further, some beverage preparing devices have a user control and display unit in which the type of beverage is selected by pressing a button in a corresponding button field in the user control and display unit. The beverage selected is indicated by a highlighted indicator field.
German Patent Application DE 10 2007 062 001 A1 describes beverage preparing devices with sensors for container recognition.
SUMMARYAn aspect of the present invention is to provide a household appliance having a dispenser for beverages and/or ice as well and a user control and display unit for the household appliance that are advantageous over conventional systems.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides a household appliance having a dispenser for beverages and/or ice. The appliance includes a recess with a supporting surface for a container and a rear wall. A dispenser for a product including at least one of a beverage and ice is disposed in the recess. A user control and display unit configured for selection and display of the type of product being dispensed is included on the appliance. A trigger that is operable to dispense the product includes at least one sensor array configured to detect the container. The at least one sensor array has a sensor range and is disposed on the rear wall of the recess. A controller coupled to the user control and display unit is operable to control the dispensing process such that selection of at least one of the product and the amount to be dispensed is determined by movement of the container relative to the dispenser within the sensing range of the at least one sensor array.
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described in more detail below and are shown schematically in the drawings, in which:
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, one-handed selection of the product is possible by moving the container within the recess. This allows control to be effected using only one hand, namely the hand holding the container. It is no longer absolutely necessary to press a button in order to select the product via the user control and display unit.
However, in another embodiment of the present invention, the selection of the product may also be done by pressing a button in the user control and display unit as an alternative way of control.
Dispensing area 1 has associated therewith a user control and display unit 5, in which the type of product selected can be displayed. The user control and display unit is provided with control buttons for selecting the product to be dispensed and/or the amount to be dispensed.
The user control and display unit 5 shown in
Using a user control and display unit 5 of this kind, a product can be selected by touching the respective area and holding the buttons “cubes”, “crushed” or “water”. The product is dispensed as long as the button is held. Releasing the button stops the dispensing process. Embodiments of the present invention further improve such button-based control by providing the option of one-handed operation, where the selection of the product is determined by the user's movement of container 2 within the recess of dispensing area 1. In the embodiment shown in
Ultrasonic transmitter 6.1 emits an ultrasonic signal, which is reflected by container 2 and received by the two ultrasonic receivers 6.2. These sensors 6.1, 6.2 make it possible to detect the insertion of container 2 into dispensing area 1. Moreover, it is also possible to detect the direction of movement of container 2 within dispensing area 1; i.e., within the sensing range. As can be seen in the top view of
When the user inserts a container 2 into dispensing area 1 of the refrigerator, as is shown in
The product selection can be changed by moving container 2 within the sensing range. Moving container 2 to the right moves the indicator in user control and display unit 5 one field to the right, and the field next to the previous product selection will be highlighted (here “crushed”). If container 2 is not moved any further, the dispensing of the product starts after a few seconds. The dispensing process can be stopped by a further movement of container 2 within the sensing range.
The exemplary embodiment shown in
The arrangement of sensors in the recess of the dispensing area can be freely selected, depending on the configuration of the recess. For example, the sensors may also be disposed in the ceiling of the recess, or in the region of the supporting surface for container 2.
The selection of the sensor array is not limited to an ultrasonic sensor system. For example, it is also possible to use a light barrier system for detecting the movement of the container within the dispensing area of the recess.
As an alternative to moving the container within the sensing range, the amount of selected product to be dispensed may also be monitored and controlled using standard methods for fill level monitoring.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
1: A household appliance comprising:
- a recess including a supporting surface for a container and a rear wall;
- a dispenser for a product including at least one of beverages and ice, the dispenser being disposed in the recess;
- a user control and display unit configured for selection and display of a type of product being dispensed;
- at least one trigger operable to dispense the product, the at least one trigger including at least one sensor array configured to detect the container and having a sensor range, the at least one sensor array being disposed on the rear wall of the recess; and
- a controller coupled to the user control and display unit and operable to control a dispensing process such that selection of at least one of the product and an amount to be dispensed is determined by movement of the container relative to the dispenser within the sensing range of the at least one sensor array.
2: The household appliance recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor array includes at least one ultrasonic transmitter and at least one ultrasonic receiver.
3: The household appliance recited in claim 1, wherein the rear wall of the recess includes a shape of a semicircle and surrounds the supporting surface, and
- wherein the at least one sensor array is disposed on the rear wall.
4: The household appliance recited in claim 2, wherein the rear wall of the recess includes a shape of a semicircle and surrounds the supporting surface, and
- wherein the at least one sensor array is disposed on the rear wall.
5: The household appliance recited in claim 1, wherein the recess is bordered by wall portions having a shape of a U, the wall portions including the rear wall and at least one side wall, and
- wherein the at least one sensor array is disposed on the rear wall and at least one additional sensor array is disposed on the side wall.
6: The household appliance recited in claim 2, wherein the recess is bordered by wall portions having a shape of a U, the wall portions including the rear wall and at least one side wall, and
- wherein the at least one sensor array is disposed on the rear wall and at least one additional sensor array is disposed on the side wall.
7: The household appliance recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor includes at least one ultrasonic transmitter disposed in a plane perpendicular to a filling axis of the dispenser.
8: The household appliance recited in claim 7, wherein the at least one sensor includes at least one ultrasonic receiver associated with the ultrasonic transmitter and disposed to a right or a left side of the ultrasonic transmitter.
9: The household appliance recited in claim 1, wherein the control and display unit is configured to display the at least one product selected by the movement of the container.
10: The household appliance recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor array includes a light barrier system.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 15, 2010
Publication Date: Mar 17, 2011
Applicant: MIELE & CIE. KG (Guetersloh)
Inventors: Dominic BEIER (Guetersloh), Alexander NEUFELD (Bielefeld)
Application Number: 12/882,288
International Classification: B65B 3/28 (20060101);