Method and device for operating a domestic appliance and system having a domestic appliance

A method for operating a household appliance, the household appliance including a display device having a display theme configured to control an appearance of elements displayed by the display device and a control apparatus configured to control the display device, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) detecting an item of activation information from a physical accessory of the household appliance using an optical sensor of an external device;
• b) processing the detected activation information to generate an activation signal using a processing unit of the external device;
• and
• c) transmitting the generated activation signal to the control apparatus via a communication interface of the household appliance to activate an adjustment of the display theme, such that the appearance of subsequent elements displayed by the display device of the household appliance is controlled by the adjusted display theme;
• wherein the household appliance is selected from the group consisting of a cooking appliance, a refrigeration appliance, a washing appliance, a drying appliance, and a dishwasher and,
• the communication interface comprises a network module coupled to the control apparatus, and the method further comprising:
• transmitting by the external device the activation signal to a server;
• and
• receiving the activation signal at the household appliance from the server via the network module.

A method for operating a household appliance, the household appliance including a display device having a display theme configured to control an appearance of elements displayed by the display device and a control apparatus configured to control the display device, the method comprising the steps of:

• a) detecting an item of activation information from a physical accessory of the household appliance using an optical sensor of an external device;
• b) processing the detected activation information to generate an activation signal using a processing unit of the external device;
• and
• c) transmitting the generated activation signal to the control apparatus to activate an adjustment of the display theme, such that the appearance of subsequent elements displayed by the display device of the household appliance is controlled by the adjusted display theme;
• wherein the household appliance is selected from the group consisting of a cooking appliance, a refrigeration appliance, a washing appliance, a drying appliance, and a dishwasher, and
• the external device comprises a mobile terminal of a user, wherein the processing of the detected item of activation information and the adjustment of the property are carried out by the user via the processing unit running on the mobile terminal and embodied as an application.