This invention relates to customising appliances

Appliances are available that are capable of being connected to a network, such as the internet, to send and receive data. This provides the possibility of being able to upgrade the programming of such an appliance. For example, the manufacturer of a washing machine might identify that there is an error in the programming of a model of appliance that has been sold to customers. Those appliances in the field could all be rectified by downloading new operating software from a network connection.

Domestic appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers, fridges, ovens and vacuum cleaners can typically operate in a number of modes, with the user being capable of selecting which mode the appliance is to operate in. Taking a washing machine as an example, the machine may have numerous cleaning programmes for different types of garments. It may also have programmes for maintenance functions such as draining the washing drum and rinsing fluff out of the machine. The designer of the machine needs to choose which programmes are going to be available to a user. If the designer makes a large number of programmes available then the user might have access to the optimum programmes for a wide range of applications, but the user interface might be too complicated for many users to navigate easily. This can be a particular problem for domestic appliances since they typically have a limited user interface and they might be operated by users of a wide range of technical abilities. The designer also needs to choose how the machine will behave in each programme. Given that a limited number of programmes are available, this may involve a compromise between different functions that a programme is expected to perform. For example, the optimum washing cycle for a load of bed linen may differ from the optimum washing cycle for a load of T-shirts, but if both are made of cotton then the user might be expected to wash them both on a programme labelled "cotton". With this in mind, the designer will typically choose the "cotton" programme of a washing machine to provide acceptable but potentially non-optimal results over the range of likely requirements.

Different users have different patterns of use. For example, one household's washing machine may be used on its "cottons" programme for 80% of its wash cycles, whereas another household's washing machine may be sued on its "cottons" programme for 30% of its wash cycles.

It would be desirable for appliances to be better optimised for expected usage conditions. This might allow them to be used more easily, to reduce energy consumption or to provide better results.

According to the present invention there is provided a method for customising an appliance, the appliance being capable of implementing a programme to perform an operational function and being configured to communicate with a gateway device local to the appliance, the method comprising: storing a plurality of state definitions, each state definition defining one or more states of the appliance; storing a plurality of programme definitions, each programme definition defining a programme capable of being implemented by the appliance and each programme definition corresponding to one or more of the state definitions; routinely receiving from the appliance data indicative of the operational state of the appliance, wherein the data is collected by the appliance in use over a period of time; analysing the received data by means of a computer to identify whether the received data matches one of the state definitions; and if the received data does match a state definition, transmitting to the appliance a programme definition corresponding to that state definition, wherein the storing, receiving, analysing and transmitting steps are performed at the gateway device and wherein each state definition is dependent on the data received from the appliance and environmental data sensed by the gateway device.

The method may comprise storing the transmitted programme definition at the appliance such that it may be implemented by the appliance. The step of transmitting the programme definition may comprise transmitting to the appliance an instruction to store the transmitted programme definition.

The step of transmitting the programme definition may comprise transmitting to the appliance an instruction to disable a programme previously stored at the appliance.

The method may comprise transmitting from the appliance the data indicative of the operational state of the appliance.

The data indicative of the operational state of the appliance may be data representing the power usage of the appliance over time.

The data indicative of the operational state of the appliance may be data representing a programme selected by a user of the appliance to be implemented by the appliance.

One of the state definitions may be indicative of a component of the appliance having a partial fault.

A programme definition corresponding to that state definition may be such as to, when implemented by the appliance, apply less load to the said component than a second programme previously stored on the appliance.

The method may comprise, on detecting the said state and transmitting the said programme definition to the appliance, causing the appliance to disable the second programme.

The method may comprise, on detecting the said state transmitting data to the appliance to cause it to display an indication that it requires servicing.

One of the state definitions may be indicative of a programme of the appliance being used in a manner that uses excess energy and/or results in impaired functioning of the appliance. The method may comprise: transmitting from a server remote from the appliance the state definitions and the programme definitions to a gateway device local to the appliance; and performing the said storing, receiving, analysing and transmitting steps at the gateway device.

The appliance may be a domestic appliance and/or a kitchen appliance.

The method may comprise, in response to determining that the received data does match a state definition, transmitting only a single programme to the appliance.

The transmitted programme may be installed on the appliance independent of the executable firmware of the appliance.

The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing, figure 1 shows the architecture of a communication and control system for a domestic appliance.

Figure 1 shows an environment in which a domestic appliance 1 is connected to a network 2. In the example of figure 1 the appliance might be a domestic washing machine, but it could be an appliance of another type. Examples of other suitable appliances are given below. The appliance comprises a functional subsystem 3. The functional subsystem is equipment capable of performing the essential functions of the appliance. In the case of a washing machine the functional subsystem may include a washing drum, a drum motor, inlet valves, a heater, a drain pump, a detergent dispenser and so on.

The appliance comprises a programme controller 4. The programme controller is configured for controlling the functional subsystem to perform its essential function. In the case of a washing machine the programme controller may be configured to control the functional subsystem to implement one of a number of available wash cycles or programmes by a series of programme steps such as causing an inlet valve to allow a predetermined amount of water to enter the washing drum, causing the heater to heat the water in the drum to a predetermined temperature, causing the drum motor to agitate the drum at a predetermined speed and for a predetermined length of time, and causing the drain pump to drain water from the drum.

The appliance further comprises a data connector 6. The data connector may be a wired connector (e.g. an Ethernet or USB connector) or a wireless connector (e.g. a WiFi or Bluetooth connector). The data connector 6 is communicatively coupled to an interface controller 5. The interface controller controls what data is sent via the data connector and actions data received via the data connector. The interface controller may also implement security protocols, e.g. for encryption, decryption and authentication of data sent or received via the data controller.

The data connector may connect to a local area network (LAN) which provides direct access to the internet, for example a conventional home or office LAN. However, it is preferred that the data connector connects to a local gateway device 7. The local gateway device 7 comprises a second data connector 8 which is capable of communicating with the data connector 5 of the appliance, a gateway processing unit 9 and a third data connector 10. The third data connector is connected to the internet 1 1 via a conventional LAN 12, or via a wide area network (WAN) connection such as a cellular data connection. The gateway processing unit filters traffic between the second and third data connectors as will be described in more detail below.

The gateway device 7 may also be configured to receive data from at least one environmental sensor 20 placed around the room or building that the appliance is located in. The environmental sensor may communicate with the gateway device via a wired connection or a wireless connection, for example a short-range radio frequency connection such as Bluetooth. In one embodiment, the environmental sensor may be integral with the gateway device. A server 13 is connected to the internet and is configured for implementing the functions described below.

The gateway device 7 may be local to the appliance 1 : for example in the same room or building. The server 13 may be remote from the appliance 1 . The server 13 ay be connected to the appliance 1 and/or the gateway device 7 via the internet or another publicly accessible data network.

Each of the units 4, 5, 9, 13 is essentially a computer or microcontroller configured to perform the functions described of it herein. Each of the units comprises a respective processor 4a, 5a, 9a, 13a and a respective memory 4b, 5b, 9b, 13b. Each memory may comprise volatile and/or non-volatile memory areas. Each memory stores in non- transient fashion programme code executable by its respective processor. Each processor can access its respective memory, retrieve programme code therefrom and execute it so that the respective unit will perform its functions. Each memory may also store configuration data for use by the respective programme. Units 4 and 5 may be integrated into a single unit having one processor and a memory storing the code necessary to cause that processor to perform the functions of a programme controller and an interface controller.

The appliance 1 comprises one or more sensors 14 for sensing operational parameters of the appliance. For example, and without limitation, these may include any one or more of the following sensors:

- sensors for sensing the power drawn by the entire appliance;

- sensors for sensing the power drawn by a component of the appliance;

- sensors for sensing the temperature at a location in the appliance;

- sensors for sensing the physical state of a part of the appliance: for example whether a door is open or shut, or whether a part is rotating;

- load on a part of the appliance.

Load may, for example, be represented by any one or more of torque in a drive system of the appliance (e.g. at a motor); or eccentric force on a rotating part (e.g. a bearing of a washing drum), stress on a part of the appliance, vibration and power consumption. Load may be represented by peak load or average load over time.

These sensors may provide input directly to the interface controller 5, or they may provide input directly only to the programme controller 4 in which case the programme controller 4 may forward those inputs to the interface controller.

The appliance 1 comprises a user interface input 15 such as one or more knobs, switches, touchscreens or the like. This allows a user to provide input to the programme controller. The programme controller may report received inputs to the interface controller.

When the appliance 1 is operating, a user selects an operating mode or programme (e.g. a cottons wash) and activates the appliance in that mode using the user interface 15. This signals the programme controller 4 to control the functional subsystem 3 to perform a sequence of operations corresponding to that programme. The sequence of operations is stored in memory 4b.

As the appliance performs the programme, data is gathered by the sensors 14. In general terms, the data gathered by the sensor(s) 14 may indicate (a) the mode in which the functional subsystem is operating and/or (b) the load on the appliance in that mode (this may be physical load and/or electrical load) and/or (c) abnormal aspects of the appliance's operation, such as faults.

The data from the sensors 14 is passed to the interface controller 5. Some or all of that data may be (a) stored by the interface controller, (b) forwarded by the interface controller to the gateway device 7 as an endpoint and/or (c) forwarded by the interface controller to the server 13 as an endpoint. In the latter case, the data may be forwarded to the server 13 via the gateway device 7. The data received by the interface controller may be filtered or otherwise processed by the interface controller in accordance with the programme stored in its memory 5b. Some or all of the received, filtered or processed data may then be forwarded to the gateway device and/or the server. The programme stored in memory 5b may indicate which data is to be forwarded, and to where. The interface controller may transmit together with the forwarded data information for identifying the appliance, which may include any one or more of:

- a serial number of the appliance;

- a model number of the appliance (this may define its hardware and/or firmware version);

- a network address of the appliance;

The data may also be timestamped.

It should be noted that information regarding the load on the appliance and the programme run by the appliance need not be obtained from the user interface 15 and specific load sensors. The programme being run by the appliance could be inferred from the pattern of the appliance's power usage over time during the course of the programme. The load on the appliance could be inferred from the extent to which one or more parts of that pattern deviate from an expected pattern.

The data may be sent from the appliance to the gateway device 7 and/or the server 13 routinely at a certain frequency. The data may be sent automatically without the appliance being interrogated for the data. For example, data collected by the appliance may be sent to the gateway device or server every 10 minutes, every hour, or once per day.

At the gateway device 7 and/or the server 13 the data received from the appliance 1 is processed in accordance with the programme code stored in memories 9b and/or 13b. The aim of that processing is to detect trends in the usage of the appliance. Those trends may relate to any of the following.

1 . The development of potential faults in the appliance. For example the data may indicate that the appliance is heating up more slowly than it used to, or than a reference appliance of the same model, or that the appliance is using more power to perform a certain function that than it used to, or than a reference appliance of the same model. Factors such as this may indicate that a component of the appliance has partially or completely failed; or is under more load than would be expected, which might lead it to fail more quickly.

2. The usage patterns of the appliance. For example, the data may indicate how frequently certain programmes on the appliance are used, or at which time of day they are typically used. The data may indicate how heavily loaded the appliance typically is when a particular programme is run, or when the appliance is run at a certain time of the day. Together with subsequently gathered information regarding the status of components of the appliance, this may indicate that the appliance is undergoing more load than might be expected when certain programmes are run. For example, data from the appliance may indicate that after a cottons programme is run on a Sunday evening the drain pump generally comes under more strain when the next programme is run. This could be due to a particularly large amount of fluff being liberated during the cottons programme and obstructing a drain filter.

The memories of the gateway appliance and/or the server include replacement configuration data which, when stored in the memory 4b of the programme controller 4 will cause it to operate the functional subsystem in a different way. The gateway device and/or the server analyse the received data in accordance with programmes stored in memories 9b and/or 13b. Those programmes define conditions in which the gateway device and/or the server should transmit replacement configuration data to the programme controller. Preferably the conditions are such that they are dependent on the performance and/or usage of the specific appliance in question - i.e. the conditions are preferably not such that the same replacement configuration data would be transmitted to all available appliances of a particular model or version. Preferably the conditions are such that the replacement configuration data transmitted to an appliance adds a programme to the appliance which can then be selected for use by a user, or replaces only a subset of the programmes previously present on the appliance. When such a condition is identified in respect of an appliance, the requisite replacement configuration data is transmitted by the gateway device or the server to the interface controller 5 of that appliance. The interface controller is configured to store that data in the memory 4b of the programme controller and if appropriate delete from that memory data that is to be superseded by the newly stored data. The gateway device or server indicates how the data is to be stored in memory 4b when it transmits the data to the interface controller.

Some examples of how the system may function in practice will now be given, supposing the appliance is a washing machine.

1 . The server 13 may identify from data received from appliance 1 that appliance 1 is frequently used for small loads on its "synthetics" programme and that the appliance's "woollens" programme is never used. The server may be configured to, in response to this determination, transmit to the appliance data defining a new programme for "small load synthetics" with an indication to the interface controller 5 that it is to store this programme in memory 4b so as to replace the "woollens" programme. The result of this may be that the household in which the appliance is located can reduce energy usage without the user interface of the appliance becoming more complicated through an additional programme being available.

2. The server 13 may identify from data received from appliance 1 that there is excessive play in the bearings of the drum. The server may be configured to, in response to this determination, transmit to the appliance data defining one or more new programmes which perform the same nominal washes as the pre-existing programmes but with reduced load on the drum bearings (e.g. by causing the drum to be accelerated and/or decelerated more slowly, or by reducing the maximum rotation speed imposed on the drum, or by reducing the weight in the drum at which the appliance indicates to the user that it is overloaded). The effect of this may be to prolong wash programmes, or reduce wash effectiveness, but it may have the advantage of prolonging the time before a catastrophic failure of the drum bearing. The server may automatically initiate a technician to visit the appliance to inspect the bearing or may cause the appliance to display a message indicating that a service is needed.

3. The server 13 may identify that a programme of the appliance has never been used over a predetermined period of time. The server may be configured to, in response to this determination, transmit to the appliance data that will cause the programme to be suppressed in a menu system of the appliance's user interface. The data transmitted to the appliance may cause it to present a message to a user. That message may be to indicate a fault condition, as discussed above, or to provide a programme recommendation to a user. For example, the server 13 may identify that the appliance is typically used on a hot setting with garments that could be washed efficiently on a cooler setting. The server may be configured to, in response to this determination, transmit to the appliance data that will cause the appliance to recommend to the user that they select a cooler wash programme.

Data defining a new programme may be sent to the appliance in response to the server or gateway device receiving data indicating the typical usage history of the appliance. For example, the gateway device or server may receive data collected by the appliance indicative of the typical operational state of the appliance in use over a period of time. The period may be for example the past week, or month, or six months. The period may be a predetermined period of time. The data sent to the appliance may provide new programmes based on the values of operational parameters measured by the sensors of the appliance while it is in use over this period of time.

The gateway device or server may receive data from the appliance that indicates the frequency of use of specific programmes by the appliance over a predetermined period. In response, new firmware or programme data sent to the appliance may be aimed at giving the appliance new programmes based around its habitual usage. In one example, the data received from the appliance may indicate that a large majority of loads for a washing machine over the past month comprise woollen garments. In response, the server or gateway device may send a new program to the appliance to replace some of the unused programmes with additional woollen programs which are more useful to the user and may remove unused programs, such as synthetics programmes.

It is known to disable parts of an appliance that are detected to be not working. However, the present invention uses data collected by the appliance in use to determine whether there is potential for failure. In response to detecting potential for failure of the appliance or a component of the appliance from the data, the appliance may be sent a new program which limits the load on a potentially faulty component, without disabling the part. The load may for example comprise peak load, average load over time, stress, vibration, electrical load and/or power consumption.

For example, if data received from the sensors of the appliance indicates that the machine is frequently overloaded, data defining a new programme may be sent to a washing machine which spins the drum more slowly during a cycle. This may help to avoid faults developing in the appliance as a result of the regular overloading. Thus, the program may be customised to affect the behaviour of the appliance so as to prevent faults from developing.

In another example, the server may identify from the data received from the appliance that the pump of a washing machine is not functioning correctly. In response to detecting that the pump is not functioning correctly, the server may send data defining a new programme to the appliance that causes less water to be used during the washing cycle. By reducing the amount of water used in the cycle, the load on the pump is reduced, whilst still allowing the programme to perform its primary function of washing clothes and subsequently removing water from the washing machine.

Where the server sends new firmware or data defining a programme to the appliance in response to the data received from the appliance indicating that there is a fault with the appliance, the new firmware or programme sent to the appliance may work around the fault, rather than fixing it. The new firmware or data defining a programme sent to the appliance in response to the gateway device or the server receiving data indicating a fault with the appliance may circumvent the fault whilst still allowing the programme to perform its primary function. For example, the new program may reduce the load on a faulty component whilst still performing the primary function of the programme.

The server or gateway device may determine that a component of the appliance is not functioning correctly in response to the server or gateway device identifying that data received from the appliance indicates that an operational parameter measured in respect of the appliance is outside a predetermined band. That band may be determined (e.g. by the server) in dependence on previous measurements of the same operational parameter for the same device. Preferably, the band is determined in dependence on previous measurements of the same operational parameter solely from that device and/or in accordance with a weighting such that previous measurements of the same operational parameter from that device have more influence on the band than measurements from any other devices. Thus, the server, or another device, may receive over time from the appliance values representing measurements of a parameter. It may process those values to determine a normal operational range of the parameter for that specific device. It may then determine a band of acceptable performance for that device. That band may, for example, be determined as extending by a predetermined amount or proportion on either side of a time-averaged set of the values, or an extreme set of the values. For example, it may be defined as being from 10% above to 10% below the value's mean over time. The period may be predetermined, and may, for example, be the past week, the past month or the past six months.

Alternatively, the data received from the appliance may indicate that the appliance is operating correctly. The server or gateway device may detect that the appliance is operating correctly when the data received from the appliance indicates that the appliance is operating in accordance with the expected load on the appliance for a particular, or each, programme. The gateway device or server may detect that the appliance is using a normal amount of energy and/or water and that running of a programme results in normal operation of the appliance. For example, the server may store the 'normal' values for the correct operation of the appliance. The normal values may be a range of values. If the received values are outside of the normal range, this is an indication that the appliance is not operating correctly.

If the received data indicates that the whole unit is operating correctly, the gateway device or server may send appropriate programmes to optimise the efficiency of the appliance. For example, if the data received from the appliance indicates that a washing machine is operating correctly and is used very frequently, programmes may be sent to the appliance which use a smaller amount of water or lower peak power consumption to reduce utility bills and environmental impact.

The receiving, analysing and transmitting steps may be performed automatically. Therefore, the system may perform automatic reconfiguration of the appliance without human intervention.

The appliance may transmit values representing measured operational parameters of the appliance to the gateway device or server routinely. For example, it may automatically transmit such values at predetermined intervals. It may transmit the values without the intervention of a user to trigger the transmission of the values.

By analysing data received from the appliance locally at the gateway 7 rather than at server 13, traffic over networks 1 1 and 12 can be reduced, and the analysis can take place even if the appliance temporarily does not have access to the internet. This local monitoring is used to reconfigure and alter the performance of the appliance. To this end the server can transmit to the gateway device definitions of conditions in which new programmes or messages will be transmitted to the device, and definitions of those programmes or messages. Alternatively, the conditions, programmes and messages can be stored at the server and the analysis performed there.

Another advantage of analysing the data at a gateway device rather than at the appliance itself is that the data received from the appliance may be analysed with data received from environmental sensors placed around the room or building that the appliance is located in. This may help to determine whether the data received from the appliance is indicative of a fault, or is just abnormal due to fluctuations in the environmental conditions. For example, a sensor located in an appliance measuring a higher temperature than normal may be due to it being a particularly hot day. If a higher ambient temperature than normal is detected by an environmental sensor in a kitchen, this can be used as an indicator that the higher temperature recorded by the appliance is not due to a fault, but is due to the environmental temperature in the kitchen being relatively high at that time. In this case, the gateway device may not send new program data to the appliance. The examples given above relate to a washing machine, but the appliance could be of another type. For example, it could be a dishwasher and the information transmitted to it could alter its programmes, or it could be an oven and the information transmitted to it could alter how quickly it heats up, or it could be a vacuum cleaner and the information transmitted to it could alter how much suction it applies for a given power setting. Other example appliances include cooker hoods, toasters, kettles, refrigerators, freezers, ice makers, coffee makers and food processors. The appliance may be a kitchen appliance or may be used elsewhere. Preferably the appliance is a cleaning appliance and/or a cooking appliance and/or a heating appliance. The appliance may be a domestic appliance or an industrial appliance.

The applicant hereby discloses in isolation each individual feature described herein and any combination of two or more such features, to the extent that such features or combinations are capable of being carried out based on the present specification as a whole in the light of the common general knowledge of a person skilled in the art, irrespective of whether such features or combinations of features solve any problems disclosed herein, and without limitation to the scope of the claims. The applicant indicates that aspects of the present invention may consist of any such individual feature or combination of features. In view of the foregoing description it will be evident to a person skilled in the art that various modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.