1. A domestic equipment group, comprising:
a plurality of free standing domestic electrical appliances, at least two of said appliances being for the preparation of foodstuffs,
each appliance having a different respective function and comprising an outer housing having an upper surface, side surfaces extending downwardly from the upper surface and a front surface extending between the side surfaces,
each housing being shaped so that the appliances can be juxtaposed with contiguous side surfaces on a horizontal support surface with substantially flush adjoining portions of the upper surfaces and substantially flush adjoining portions of the front surfaces.
2. The domestic equipment group of claim 1, wherein the upper surface of each housing is generally rectangular in shape.
3. The domestic equipment group of claim 1, wherein the front surface of each housing is generally rectangular in shape.
4. The domestic equipment group of claim 1, wherein at least one of the upper surface and the front surface of each housing is flat.
5. The domestic equipment group of claim 1, wherein each housing comprises a rear surface opposite the front surface, each housing being shaped so that the appliances can be juxtaposed with contiguous side surfaces on a horizontal support surface with substantially flush front surfaces and substantially flush rear surfaces.
6. The domestic equipment group of claim 1, wherein edges between the surfaces of each housing are chamfered, each chamfer having a radius of less than 5 mm.
7. The domestic equipment group of claim 1, wherein each housing comprises a control panel for controlling the function of the appliance.
8. The domestic equipment group of claim 7, wherein the control panel is located in a recessed portion of the upper surface of the housing, the control panel having an upper surface which is substantially flush with the upper surface of the housing.
9. The domestic equipment group of claim 1, wherein the appliances are juxtaposed and connected together so that adjoining portions of the front surfaces and adjoining portions of the upper surfaces of the housings are substantially flush.
10. The domestic equipment group of claim 1, wherein each appliance comprises a base connected to the lower surface of the housing.
11. The domestic equipment group of claim 10, wherein the base comprises a connector for connecting the appliance to one of the other appliances so that both adjoining portions of the front surfaces and adjoining portions of the upper surfaces of the housings are substantially flush.
12. The domestic equipment group of claim 11, wherein the connector is moveable between a stowed position and a deployed position in which it is connectable to the base of one of the other appliances.
13. The domestic equipment group of claim 12, wherein the base comprises a retainer for retaining a deployed connector of one of the other appliances.
14. The domestic equipment group of claim 13, wherein the retainer comprises a profiled portion of the base which is shaped to receive a deployed connector of one of the other appliances.
15. The domestic equipment group of claim 1, wherein the appliances are portable.
16. The domestic equipment group of claim 1, wherein at least one of the appliances has a function which is other than for the preparation of foodstuffs.
17. The domestic equipment group of claim 16, wherein said at least one of the appliances comprises an audiovisual appliance, a television, a display screen, a radio, a DVD player or a CD player, a clock, a loudspeaker, a steriliser or a drinks cooler.
18. The domestic equipment group of claim 1, comprising a water tank for supplying water to at least one of the appliances, wherein the water tank comprises an outer housing having an upper surface, side surfaces extending downwardly from the upper surface and a front surface extending between the side surfaces, the housing of the water tank being shaped so that the water tank can be juxtaposed with a said appliance on a horizontal support surface with contiguous side surfaces and with substantially flush adjoining portions of the front surfaces and substantially flush adjoining portions of the upper surfaces.
19. The domestic equipment group of claim 1, wherein said appliances comprise at least two of a juice extractor, a toaster, a beverage maker, a hot water dispenser, a kettle, and a coffee grinder.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method for determining network topology of a bus system having a number of bus subscribers arranged on mutually connected bus segments of a bus line, comprising:
sending each bus subscriber an initiating measurement message;
responding to the initiating measurement message by a diagnosis repeater, having a measurement device for reflection measurement and connecting a number of bus segments, with a data message containing a segment identifier;
responding to the initiating measurement message by other bus subscribers with a response message;
sending a measurement signal from the diagnosis repeater to a responding bus subscriber;
reflecting the measurement signal at the responding bus subscriber; and
determining a distance between the responding bus subscriber and the diagnosis repeater based on a time interval between said sending of the measurement signal and detection of the measurement signal by the diagnosis repeater after said reflecting.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:
incrementing a cascading identifier of a received data message by the diagnosis repeater; and
passing the cascading identifier on a segment-specific basis.
3. The method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising storing the distance to the responding bus subscriber in a topology table associated with the diagnosis repeater.
4. The method as claimed in claim 3, further comprising storing a segment identifier for the responding bus subscriber in the topology table.
5. The method as claimed in claim 4, further comprising storing a status identifier for the responding bus subscriber in the topology table.
6. The method as claimed in 5, further comprising determining a fault location of a line fault between two bus subscribers by the measurement device using the topology table.
7. An apparatus for determining network topology of a bus system having a number of bus subscribers arranged on bus segments of a bus line, comprising
at least one measurement initiator, connected to the bus line, to send a measurement message to the bus subscribers, to which every other bus subscriber responds with a response message; and
diagnosis repeaters, connecting the bus segments to one another, each of said diagnosis repeaters having a segment-specific measurement device for reflection measurement and responding to the measurement message by sending a data message which has a segment identifier, identifying each responding bus subscriber, sending a measurement signal to the responding bus subscriber, and determining a distance to the responding bus subscriber based on a time interval between transmission of the measurement signal and arrival of a reflection signal.
8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein each diagnosis repeater further includes a topology table, in which the distance to each bus subscriber is entered, and which is identified by an associated bus segment.
9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein addressed bus subscribers in the topology table of each diagnosis repeater are associated with at least one of
a status field for identifying the responding bus subscriber,
a subscriber-specific bus segment field for association of a bus segment connected to said diagnosis repeater,
a distance field for entering the distance to the responding bus subscriber,
a type field for identifying a type of bus subscriber, and
a repeater-specific bus segment field for identifying an adjacent diagnosis repeater on a segment-specific basis.
10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 9,
wherein each diagnosis repeater includes at least two measurement devices for reflection measurement, with each bus segment having only one associated measurement device, and
wherein said at least one measurement initiator includes at least one measurement initiator arranged on at least one bus segment.