公开(公告)号：US20190109723A1

公开(公告)日：2019-04-11

申请号：US16205559

申请日：2018-11-30

Applicant: WHIRLPOOL CORPORATION

Inventor： MATTHEW P. EBROM ,  MARK E. GLOTZBACH ,  RICHARD A. MCCOY ,  ANDREW D. WHIPPLE ,  DONALD E. MAYNARD ,  MATTHEW J. NIBBELINK

IPC: H04L12/28 ,  H04L29/08 ,  H04L29/06 ,  D06F33/02 ,  G06F9/54 ,  H05B6/66 ,  H05B1/02 ,  G05B15/02 ,  G06F9/445 ,  G06F8/38 ,  G06F8/34 ,  H05B6/68

Abstract: Example methods and apparatus for communicatively coupling internal components and accessories appliances, and appliances with external components and accessories are disclosed herein. A disclosed example method of operating a domestic appliance having at least one of an internal communications network and/or an external communications network among at least two components includes identifying the components, communicating the capabilities of each identified component, communicating the status of each identified component, providing a command interface for operating the components, facilitating communication between the components, and operating the appliance using the command interface and the facilitated communication.