DISTRIBUTED NETWORKED LAUNDRY MACHINE CONTROL AND OPERATION

FIELD

The present invention relates generally to the controlling, managing, and operation of laundry machines, and more particularly, to methods and systems for intelligently interfacing with laundry machines and resolving issues related to the operation of the laundry machines.

BACKGROUND

In typical commercial laundry facilities, errors, malfunctions and failures of laundry machines require a technician to be dispatched to troubleshoot and repair the machines. A large number of the errors, malfunctions and failures are false positives, and the machine is rendered non-functional until the technician is able to resolve the issue. The dispatching of a technician for false positive cases can be very costly and time consuming. A system and method that eliminates the need of a technician to be dispatched for false positive errors, malfunctions and failures needed to improve the profitability, efficiency and overall operation of the laundry facility.

SUMMARY

The systems and methods described herein provide for the monitoring and controlling of laundry machines in a laundry facility. In one embodiment, the laundry machine monitoring system may comprise a remote network, one or more remote servers, one or more client devices and one or more laundry facilities. The one or more laundry facilities may further comprise a local network, one or more local servers and one or more laundry machines.

The one or more laundry facilities may be in communication with the one or more remote servers through the remote network. The one or more laundry machines may include one or more washing machines and one or more dryers. In some embodiments, the one or more laundry machines may further comprise a unique identifier, a power supply unit, one or more front control boards, one or more sensors and a machine control unit. The machine control unit may comprise a network module in communication with the local network, and a reset control module. The reset control module may further comprise a power diverter module installed between the power supply unit and the one or more front control boards.

In some embodiments, the power diverter module may be configured to receive, from the power supply unit, an input voltage for each of the one or more front control boards and supply, to each of the front control boards, an output voltage. The power diverter module may also be configured to receive power cycle requests from the one or more local servers and/or the one or more remote servers.

In some embodiments, the one or more local servers may be configured to monitor the one or more laundry machines over the local network. The monitoring may comprise tracking, for each laundry machine, a current duration and an expected duration of each operation performed. Based on the tracking, the local server may identify one or more malfunctioning laundry machines. A power cycle request may be sent by the local server, over the local network, to each of the one or more malfunctioning laundry machines.

In some embodiments, each of the one or more malfunctioning machines may be further configured to receive, from the local server, the power cycle request and initiate, by the reset control module, a power cycle procedure. The power cycle procedure may comprise generating a reset control signal and sending the reset control signal to the power diverter module. The power diverter module may then turn off the output voltage to each of the one or more front control boards based on the reset control signal. After the power has been turned off, the power diverter module may then turn on the output voltage to each of the one or more front control boards after a predetermined amount of time. In some embodiments, the predetermined amount of time may be set based on a type and model of the laundry machine. In other embodiments, an admin user or technician may specify a power down duration for the reset requests. Upon returning power to the one or more front control boards, the machine control unit may then send, by the network module, a completion notification to the local server. In some embodiments, the functions of the local server may be performed by the remote server, or the functions of the remote server may be performed by the local server. In some embodiments, a single server may be used that performs the function of both the local server and remote server.

The local server may receive the completion notification from the machine control unit of each of the one or more malfunctioning laundry machines. A malfunction notification may then be generated for each of the one or more malfunctioning laundry machines. In some embodiments, each machine may have a malfunction notification generated for it. In some embodiments, a single malfunction notification may be generated for multiple malfunctioning laundry machines. The malfunction notification may include a unique identifier for the malfunctioning laundry machine and information related to the malfunction and the power cycle performed on the machine.

In some embodiments, the system (server, local server or remote server) receives, from a user, a report of a malfunction. The identification of a failed laundry machine may then be based on the received user report. In some embodiments, the report of a malfunction may be generated through a graphical user interface on a client device.

In some embodiments, the local server or remote server may be configured to monitor all operations performed by each of the one or more laundry machines. Each operation may have an expected duration associated with it. The current duration of each of the operations performed by each of the one or more laundry machines may be compared against that of the corresponding expected duration of the operation.

Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, the claims and the drawings. The detailed description and specific examples are intended for illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will become better understood from the detailed description and the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary environment in which some embodiments may operate.

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary environment in which some embodiments may operate.

FIG. 1C is a diagram illustrating an exemplary server in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1D is a diagram illustrating an exemplary remote server in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1E is a diagram illustrating an exemplary local server in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1F is a diagram illustrating an exemplary client device in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1G is a diagram illustrating an exemplary washing machine in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1H is a diagram illustrating an exemplary laundry dryer in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an exemplary washer and/or dryer unit in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method that may be performed in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary computer/control system that may perform processing in some embodiments and in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary computer/control system that may perform processing in some embodiments and in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating an exemplary computer/control system that may perform processing in some embodiments and in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4D is a diagram illustrating an exemplary computer/control system that may perform processing in some embodiments and in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In this specification, reference is made in detail to specific embodiments of the invention. Some of the embodiments or their aspects are illustrated in the drawings.

For clarity in explanation, the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, however it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the described embodiments. On the contrary, the invention covers alternatives, modifications, and equivalents as may be included within its scope as defined by any patent claims. The following embodiments of the invention are set forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposing limitations on, the claimed invention. In the following description, specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. The present invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In addition, well known features may not have been described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention.

In addition, it should be understood that steps of the exemplary methods set forth in this exemplary patent can be performed in different orders than the order presented in this specification. Furthermore, some steps of the exemplary methods may be performed in parallel rather than being performed sequentially. Also, the steps of the exemplary methods may be performed in a network environment in which some steps are performed by different computers in the networked environment.

Some embodiments are implemented by a computer system. A computer system may include a processor, a memory, and a non-transitory computer-readable medium. The memory and non-transitory medium may store instructions for performing methods and steps described herein.

The following generally relates to a system for monitoring for and power cycling malfunctioning laundry machines in a laundry facility.

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary environment in which some embodiments may operate. The diagram shows an example of a laundry control environment 100A for monitoring and controlling laundry machines in a laundry facility, in accordance with some embodiments. The example shown includes client device 105, server 110, washing machines 115A-N, dryers 120A-N and network 130. Server 110 may be an example of, or include aspects of, the corresponding element or elements described with reference to FIG. 1C. Client 105 may be an example of, or include aspects of, the corresponding element or elements described with reference to FIG. 1F. Washing machine 115 may be an example of, or include aspects of, the corresponding element or elements described with reference to FIG. 1G. Dryer 120 may be an example of, or include aspects of, the corresponding element or elements described with reference to FIG. 1H.

Client device 105 may be one or more personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), tablet computing devices, laptop computers, smart phones, e-readers or other systems capable of operating a standalone application or web-based application in a browser.

Server 110 may be any computing device(s) capable of executing the operation of the control system, including the operation of the modules of FIG. 1C. Server 110 may be connected through a network 130 to client device 105, washing machines 115A-N and dryers 120A-N.

Network 130 may be an intranet, interne, mesh, LTE, GSM, peer-to-peer or other communication network that allows the server 110 to communicate with client 105, washing machines 115A-N and dryers 120A-N.

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating an exemplary environment in which some embodiments may operate. The diagram shows an example of a laundry control environment 100B for monitoring and controlling laundry machines in a laundry facility. The example shown includes client device 105, remote server 111, local server 112, washing machines 115A-N, dryers 120A-N remote network 131 and local network 132. Remote Server 111 may be an example of, or include aspects of, the corresponding element or elements described with reference to FIG. 1D. Local Server 112 may be an example of, or include aspects of, the corresponding element or elements described with reference to FIG. 1E. Client 105 may be an example of, or include aspects of, the corresponding element or elements described with reference to FIG. 1F. Washing machine 115 may be an example of, or include aspects of, the corresponding element or elements described with reference to FIG. 1G. Dryer 120 may be an example of, or include aspects of, the corresponding element or elements described with reference to FIG. 1H.

Remote server 111 may be any computing device(s) capable of executing the operation of the control system, including the operation of the modules of FIG. 1D. Server 111 may be connected through a remote network 131 to client device 105 and to local network 132. Through the connection with local network 132, the server may communicate with local server 112, washing machines 115A-N and dryers 120A-N.

Local server 112 may be any computing device(s) capable of executing the operation of the control system, including the operation of the modules of FIG. 1E. Server 112 may be connected to washing machines 115A-N and dryers 120A-N through local network 132.

Remote network 131 may be an intranet, internet, mesh, LTE, GSM, peer-to-peer or other communication network that allows the server 110 to communicate with client 105, local network 132, local server 112, washing machines 115A-N and dryers 120A-N.

Local network 132 may be configured to operate independently and from remote network 131. The local network 132 may be an intranet, wired and/or short range wireless network, WIFI, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Z-Wave, machine to machine networks, low power wide area network (LPWAN), LoRaWAN, Narrow Band IOT, or combination thereof. Local network 132 may also be any communication protocol or technology that facilitates communication between local machines (washing machines 115A-N and dryers 120A-N) and local server 112. Local Network 132 may also be configured to receive and transmit information and commands between the local machines/local server 112 and devices operating on remote network 131 (remote server 111 and client 105). In some embodiments, the local server 112 may communicate with the laundry machines through a machine to machine network protocol for message queueing such as MQ telemetry transport (MQTT).

FIG. 1C is a diagram illustrating an exemplary server 110 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Server 110 may comprise a network module 140, datastore module 141, processing unit 142, dashboard module 143, machine management module 146 and facility management module 152.

Network module 140 may transmit and receive data from other computing systems via a network. In some embodiments, the network module 140 may enable transmitting and receiving data from the Internet. Data received by the network module 140 may be used by the other modules. The modules may transmit data through the network module 140.

Datastore module 141 may be a storage media, such disk drives, solid state drives, tape drives, RAM, ROM, or anything other media that can be read from and written to. The datastore module 141 may comprise one or more structured or unstructured databases or other data structures. The datastore module 141 may be configured to store information received from client device 105, washing machines 115A-N, dryers 120A-N, network module 140, processing Unit 142, dashboard module 143, machine management module 146, facility management module 152 or other sources of data connected to the server. Datastore module 141 may be connected to a cloud based or network-area storage solution. Datastore module 141 may store user information, machine information, facility information, machine learning models, predictive models, maintenance logs, energy and water consumption logs, as well as time-series data on the operation of the machines and their sensor readings.

Processing unit 142 may be configured to receive information and instructions from other modules in the server 110 and perform functions corresponding to the instructions and information received.

Dashboard module 143 may comprise UI module 144 and analytics module 145. The dashboard module 143 may control and manage the UI module 144. The UI module may generate one or more dashboards. A request for a user dashboard from a client device 105 may be received by the dashboard module 143. The UI module 144 may then access historical data for the user from datastore module 141. Data on the user's previous purchases, historic machine usage, energy consumption, environmental impact, profile preferences or combination thereof, may be analyzed by the analytics module 145 to generate useful data visualizations to be presented to the user on the client device user interface and/or user dashboard.

A request for an administrator or facility operator dashboard from a client device 105 may be received by the dashboard module 143. The UI module 144 may then access historical data for the desired facility or group of facilities from datastore module 141. Data relating to the facility or group of facilities may include machine status, current and historical machine usage, repair and maintenance logs, user information for all users of the facility or group of facilities, administrator or facility operator profile information, energy consumption and environmental impact for the facility, group of facilities or individual machines or groups of machines or combination thereof, may be analyzed by the analytics module 145 to generate useful data visualizations to be presented to the administrator or facility operator on the client device user interface and/or dashboard.

The dashboard module 143 may provide administrators, facility operators and technicians (admin users) information related to the operational status of facilities and the machines located at said facilities. In some embodiments, machine errors, failures and malfunctions identified by machine management module 146 and/or facility management module 152 may be displayed to the admin user on a displayed dashboard. An admin user may access information related to a failed machine, which may be any machine in an error, failed or malfunctioning state, and issue a command for the failed machine to perform a power cycling procedure. The power cycling procedure may include diverting or stopping power from reaching a front control board of the failed machine. The power cycling procedure may include a set of commands to be performed by a reset control module. In some embodiments, there may be a plurality of power cycling procedures that can be performed by the reset control module. The admin user may manually choose one or the plurality of power cycling procedures based on the error, state, status, and historical operational information of the failed machine. In some embodiments, one or more power cycling parameters may be selected by the admin user prior to or during the initiation of the power cycling procedure on the failed machine.

Power cycling parameters may include, but not limited to, manual or automatic operation, duration of power down, number of retry attempts and timeout duration.

Machine management module 146 may comprise operation control module 147, machine monitoring module 148 and notification module 149. The machine management module 146 may receive retail user and/or admin user selections from client devices 105 over network module 140 and information relating to the selection from the datastore module 141. Machine management module 146 may be configured to calculate, receive or retrieve a duration of the desired machine operation. The duration of the machine operation may be determined based on the selected machine, service type, one or more operational parameters selected by the retail user and the amount paid by the retail user. The cost of the machine operation may also be based on the selected machine, service type, one or more operational parameters selected by the retail user and the desired duration of operation for the machine. For example, a retail user may choose a specified amount of time for a dryer to operate instead of choosing an amount to pay. The system may determine the cost based at least partly on the duration and the duration based at least partly on the amount paid.

The machine management module 146 may allow a user to transfer operational responsibility and authority of a machine to another retail user or admin user (attendant or technician). For example, if a retail user is unable to complete an operation on a machine and must leave, the retail user may transfer control over the machine to the admin user/attendant at the facility or to another retail user. The attendant or the retail user that has taken over control of the machine from the original retail user may then be able to control the machine as if they were the original retail user. Additional payment may be pulled from the original retail user's electronic wallet or charged to the original retail user.

Operation control module 147 may communicate and manage individual washing machines 115 or dryers 120. Operation control module 147 may initiate a timer corresponding to the duration of the chosen machine operation. The status of the machine may be changed from available to unavailable upon receiving payment confirmation, initiating the timer, or the start of the machine operation. Operation control module 147 may also receive, from the client device 105, a request to start operation of the machine. Alternatively, the retail user may select operational parameters from the machine itself and choose to start operation of the machine. The selections made by the retail user at the physical machine and the initiating the operation of the machine through physical interaction with the machine may be transmitted to the operation control module 147.

Operation control module 147 may also receive, from the client device 105, requests to engage or disengage (lock or unlock) a locking mechanism on the selected machine. The lock/unlock request is transmitted from the operation control module 147 to the washing machine 115 or dryer 120. A locking status of the chosen machine may then be updated by the operation control module 147, and displayed on the client device 105.

Operation control module 147 may also receive requests to add time to the timer, to extend the duration of operation of the machine. Along with the request, the operation control module 147 may receive an additional payment confirmation associated with the received request. The operational control module 147 may then send a request to the washing machine 115 or dryer 120 to add time to the duration of the operation.

Machine monitoring module 148 may receive information from one or more machines. The machine monitoring module 148 may track the usage of each machine. Energy consumption, operating parameters, operational status, lock status, and sensor readings may all be monitored and tracked. The information obtained from the machine monitoring module 148 may be analyzed to determine if a machine is in an error, failed or malfunctioning state. In some embodiments, the information obtained from the machine monitoring module 148 may be used in the training of one or more machine learning models.

Notification module 149 may generate notifications to be sent to the client device 105. The notification module 149 may send and receive information from the client device 105, network module 140, datastore module 141, operation control module 147, machine monitoring module 148 or combination thereof. The notification module 149 may be configured to send a notification to the client device 105 once the timer on the operation reaches a predetermined level (time remaining), the operation has been completed successfully or there is no time left on the timer. The determination that the operation has been completed successfully may be based on time and/or sensor readings. Based on sensor data, it may be determined that the operation has successfully completed even if there is still time remaining on the timer. For example, a retail user may be using a dryer to dry a load of clothing. The time required to completely dry the load of clothing is determined by a number of different variables. The size of the load, material of the articles making up the load, temperature of the dryer drum, temperature of the air entering the dryer, humidity level of the air entering the dryer and many other environmental, load, and machine variables can all affect the drying time of the load.

When the timer reaches the threshold, a notification may be sent to the client device 105 to inform the retail user that the time remaining on the operation is running out. The notification may also inform the retail user on the status of the operation, such as if the operation has been completed or will complete before time runs out (based on sensor data), if additional time may be needed to complete the operation or an estimated/predicted amount of additional time and cost to complete the operation. The retail user may be provided with an option to pay for additional time to be added to the operation and timer of the operation. The retail user may select an amount of time to add or an amount of money to add. When the retail user selects the amount of time to add, the cost of the addition may be calculated and presented to the user for payment. When the retail user selects the amount of money to add, the amount of additional time may be calculated and displayed for the retail user on the client device 105.

If a retail user chooses to add additional time and/or money to the operation on the machine, they may submit an additional payment, resulting in addition of time to the operation of the machine and the timer for the operation.

Notification module 149 may also generate notifications to be sent to the client device 105 of an admin user. The notification module 149 may be configured to send a notification to the admin user once the timer on the operation reaches a predetermined level (time overrun) or the operation has not been completed successfully. In some embodiments, the notification can be initiated based on the monitoring of machine usage, duration of an operation, power consumption, error signals, or a retail user reporting an issue. A retail user may report an issue with a machine through client device 105, informing an admin user such as an attendant at the facility or contacting customer support. In the case that the retail user reports an issue with a machine, such as an error message appearing, power going off on the machine, or other failures/malfunctions, a notification may be generated by the notification module 149 and transmitted to the client device 105 of an admin user (technician). The admin user may then initiate a power cycle procedure for the failed machine based on the retail user reported issues.

In some instances, a machine may be identified as being in an error, failure or malfunctioning status based on comparing the actual duration and the expected duration of one or more operations being performed by the machine. For example, if an operation, such as a wash cycle, has an expected duration of one hour, and the machine has been in the wash cycle for more than an hour, the machine may be malfunctioning and a notification may be sent to an admin user so that they may power cycle the machine. A machine may be identified as a malfunctioning machine if the current duration of an operation is longer than the expected duration. In some embodiments, a current duration threshold may be set for each process. The threshold may be set to a value greater than the expected duration, to reduce the number of false positive malfunction identifications. The threshold may be equal to the expected duration plus a predetermined value of time or a percentage of the expected duration. For example, the expected duration of a wash cycle may be one hour, and the threshold may be set to the expected duration plus fifteen minutes or 25%.

In some embodiments, an error, failure or malfunctioning state may be determined based on the actual overall duration of operation falling a predetermined amount below an expected duration. For example, if a wash cycle on a machine regularly finishes halfway through the expected wash cycle duration, an issue may be identified with the machine. A notification may be sent to an admin user, and a power cycle procedure may be initiated to resolve the issue. After the notification of an error, failure or malfunction, and the power cycling of the failed machine, the machine monitoring module 148 may perform additional monitoring steps to determine the health and ongoing status of the failed machine. In some embodiments, the operational control module may be configured to run one or more test operations on the failed machine after the power cycle procedure to verify that the machine has been returned to a normal working state. If the state of the machine does not return to a normal working state after a power cycle procedure, one or more power cycle procedures may be initiated. In some embodiments, after one or more power cycle procedures fail to bring the failed machine back into a working state, the notification module 149 may generate a dispatch notification. The dispatch notification may be sent to one or more technicians, and the failed machine may be removed from operation until a technician is able to resolve the issue.

The facility management module 152 may comprise facility monitoring module 156 and attendant control module 157. The facility management module 152 may control aspects of the facility apart from the operation of the machine. Facility management module 152 may control environmental conditions, infrastructure, utilities and services provided at the facility. Additional services managed through the facility management module 152 may include folding services, dry cleaning, alterations, washing, drying or other laundry based processes.

The facility management module 152 may receive a request from a retail user to contact a previous retail user or a subsequent retail user of a specific machine. For example, the facility management module 152 may coordinate anonymous communication between retail users of a machine to aid in recovery of lost or forgotten items. For example, if a retail user finds a sock or other article of clothing in a washing machine or dryer, they may be allowed to send a message to the person who used the machine before them to inform them that the article of clothing was found and will be returned to an attendant or left in a specific location such as a lost and found bin. Alternatively, if a person who has used the machine realizes after leaving the facility that they have forgotten something, they may send a message to the next retail user in an attempt to recover the forgotten item.

The facility management module 152 may be configured to analyze the usage and operation of the machines and the usage of the facility as a whole. Machine, facility, user, environmental and geo-contextually relevant information, including hyperlocal events (e.g. parades, local holiday celebration) and conditions (e.g. extreme weather events, pandemic, fires, just really cold), both current and historic, may be used in the analysis and prediction of machine usage, failure, maintenance, efficiency, profitability or combination thereof.

Facility monitoring module 156 may be used to retrieve operational data from each machine. The retrieved data may be preprocessed by the facility monitoring module 156 to create a time-series object of the machine's operation session. These objects may be provided to the facility management module 152 for analysis.

Attendant control module 157 may allow an attendant at a facility to control the operation of machines. The retail user control of the machines may be transferred to an attendant or if the situation demands, control may be overridden by the attendant. The attendant may be provided with the authorization to lock, unlock, start, stop and power cycle machines. The attendant control module 157 may also be used to track the operations performed by the attendant. For example, the attendant may be requested to perform a service for a retail user not at the facility, and the attendant control module 157 may allow the attendant to control the machines as if they are the retail user. The responsibilities of the retail user may be transferred to the attendant, so that the attendant may complete the laundry operations as a proxy for the retail user. The attendant control module 157 may keep track of the status of the operations and services requested and being performed by the attendant. The status of the attendant and the retail user's laundry may be updated continually during the servicing requested by the retail user and carried out by the attendant. An update to the current status of the laundry operation and service request may be provided to the server 110 from attendant control module 157. The status may also be updated on the user interface on the client device 105.

FIGS. 1D and 1E are diagrams illustrating exemplary servers 111 and 112 in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Remote server 111 and local server 112 may be configured so that they perform the same or similar functions to that of server 110. The remote server 111 of FIG. 1D may comprise a network module 140, datastore module 141, processing unit 142, dashboard module 143 and facility management module 152. The network module 140, datastore module 141, processing unit 142, dashboard module 143 and facility management module 152 may be the same or similar to those described in relation to server 110 and FIG. 1C.

The local server 112 of FIG. 1E may comprise a network module 140, datastore module 141, processing unit 142 and machine management module 146. The modules of FIG. 1E may be the same or similar to those described in relation to server 110 and FIG. 1C.

FIGS. 1F is a diagram illustrating an exemplary client device 105, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Lock control mobile application 160 may operate on client device 105 and, network module 160, datastore module 161, processor module 162, display module 163 and UI module 164.

Network module 160, datastore module 161 and processor unit 162 may be the same or similar to those described in reference to FIG. 1C (network module 140, datastore module 141 and processing unit 142). UI module 163 may generate a retail user interface to allow a retail user to control all aspects of their laundry session. UI module 163 may also generate an admin user interface to allow an admin user to control operation of the one or more machines at each facility. In some embodiments, the admin user interface may be configured to allow an admin user to view machines in an error, failure or malfunctioning state (failed machines), and to initiate a remote power cycle process on the failed machines. UI module 163 may send and receive information through the network module 160. The UI module 163 may receive facility and machine information through network module 160. The facility and machine information may be used by the UI module to display a list of available and unavailable machines. The machines in the list may be selectable. Information regarding current operations being performed by the machines may be displayed to both retail and admin users. The UI may display operational parameters to be selected by the retail or admin user and associated with a selected machine. The UI module 163 may send selections from the retail or admin user, to the server 110. The selections and requests generated by the retail or admin user in the UI module 163 may be sent to the machine itself, through the server or directly. Information displayed on the interface may be updated based on selections made on the machine itself. The UI module 163 may be used to trigger lock and unlock functions at the machine, engaging and disengaging a locking mechanism. UI module 163 may be in communication with display module 164, allowing the display module to render the interface on the device.

UI module 163 may be configured to provide admin users with an admin dashboard. The admin dashboard may be generated by dashboard module 143 of server 110 or remote server 111, and visualizations and control functions of the admin dashboard may be generated and managed by the UI module 163.

Display module 164 may be a touch-screen display, a head-up display, a head-mounted display, an optical see-through display, an optical see-around display, a video see-through display, a flat-panel display, a light-emitting diode (LED) display, an electroluminescent display (ELD), an electrophoretic display (EPD or electronic paper), a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic LED (OLED) display, an active-matrix organic light-emitting diode display or any other type of display.

FIG. 1G is a diagram illustrating an exemplary washing machine 115, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Washing machine 115 may comprise a machine controller 170A, network module 171A, reset control module 172A, power diverter module 173A, OEM controller module/front control board 174A and sensor module 175A. The network module 171A may be similar to that described with regard to FIGS. 1C-1F.

Machine controller 170A may be configured to receive operational parameters from the operation control module 147, and cause the machine to perform the desired functions. The washing machine controller 170A may directly control all aspects of the machine's operation, or be an interface that relays the requests to the front control board 174A. In some embodiments, there may be one or more front control boards 174A in the washing machine 115. The one or more front control boards 174A may be built-in controllers for the machine. In some embodiments, the machine controller 170A may be a board that is retrofitted to the washing machine to enable control, management and monitoring of the machine.

In some embodiments, machine controller 170A may further comprise network module 171A and reset control module 172A. Reset control module may further include a power diverter module 173A. Machine controller 170A may receive, from server 110, remote server 111 or local server 112 a request to perform a power cycle procedure. Based on the received power cycle request, the machine controller 170A may trigger the initiation of the power cycle procedure by the reset control module 172A. The reset control module 172 A may generate a reset control signal that is to be sent to the power diverter module 173A. In some embodiments, the reset control signal may be a voltage applied to a control input of a double pole double throw relay. In response to the reset control signal being received by the power diverter module 173A, the relay may break the circuit that provides power from the power supply unit to the front control board 174A, causing the front control board to completely lose power. The diverter module 173A may then reestablish the circuit connection and begin supplying power to the front control board 174A after a predetermined period of downtime. The loss of power at the front control board 174A may reset or clear any errors that were present at the time of the power cycle request.

Sensor module 175A may comprise cold line-in temperature sensor 176, hot line-in temperature sensor 177, line-out temperature sensor 178, line-out flow sensor 179, drum weight sensor 180A and voltage/current sensor 181A. Cold line-in temperature sensor 176 and hot line-in temperature sensor 177 measure the temperature of water entering the washing machine. The line-out temperature sensor 178 measures the water temperature as it is being drained from the washing machine. Line-out flow sensor 179 may measure the flow rate of water as it leaves the washing machine. Drum weight sensor 180A may be used to measure the weight of the load at multiple times during the washing cycle. The initial weight, weight during wash, weight after first draining, weight during rinse and weight after final draining may all be determined and stored for analysis. Additional readings from the drum weight sensor 180A may be taken and stored. There may be more or less stages during a washing cycle and the weight readings at the start, during and after each may be needed for analysis. Voltage/current sensor 181A may be continually read during operation of the machine. The voltage/current sensor 181A may be used to determine efficiency of the machine and to help in detecting malfunctioning machines.

For example, the sensor readings may be used to determine malfunctions or failures. By analyzing the series of readings from the sensors, inferences may be made as to ideal readings at future times. Deviation from the expected readings may signal that there is a malfunction or failure in the machine or the sensor. Much can be determined from the readings during a single operation of a machine. For example, the weight of the laundry before the start of the operation and the weight of the laundry after the water has been added may be used to determine the volume of water added to the machine. If the determined volume of water is different than the expected volume of water, there may be a leak or there may be obstructions in the line or other issues causing a reduced flow of water on the lines into the machine. The weight may also be measured continuously. A continuous measure of weight as the washer is being filled may be used to determine a flow rate into the machine. The measured out-flow volume at the completion of the wash and rinse cycles may also be compared to the weight of the laundry during the cycle (when water is full) and after draining. The difference in weight at the two times may be used to calculate the volume of water that has been removed from the machine. If the volume of water that has been removed is more than measured by the line-out flow sensor 179, there may be a leak in the machine. Changes in water temperature may be analyzed to detect failures in insulation, or problems with the cold or hot water line before reaching the machine. The voltage/current sensor 181A may also show spikes in power drawn when the machine becomes overloaded. Over time the power usage of the machine may change for many reasons. The motor may draw more power to spin the drum than usual due to more friction caused by wear on bearings, rust or corrosion.

FIG. 1H is a diagram illustrating an exemplary dryer 120, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Dryer 120 may comprise machine controller 170B, network module 171B, reset control module 172B, power diverter module 173B, OEM controller module/front control board 174B and sensor module 175B. The network module 171B may be similar to that described with regard to FIGS. 1C-1G.

Machine controller 170B, network module 171B, reset control module 172B, power diverter module 173B and OEM controller module/front control board 174B may be the same or similar to that of the same components described in regard to FIG. 1G. Machine controller 170B may be configured to relay commands and operational parameters to the machine, or control the machine directly as described with regard to machine controller 170A of FIG. 1D.

The sensor module 175B may comprise drum weight sensor 180B, voltage/current sensor 181B, exhaust temperature sensor 182, exhaust humidity sensor 183, drum temperature sensor 184 and drum humidity sensor 185. The drum weight sensor 180B and voltage/current sensor 181B are the same or similar to that described in regard to FIG. 1D. The exhaust temperature sensor 182, exhaust humidity sensor 183, drum temperature sensor 184 and drum humidity sensor 185 may all continually take readings during the operation of the dryer. Monitoring the temperature of the exhaust and the temperature of the drum, and the time required to reach those temperatures may be used to determine how efficiently the machine is operating. Deviations from heating efficiency may require preventative maintenance to reduce the risk of failure and downtime. The heating efficiency may take into consideration the power drawn by the machine, weight of the load, temperature and humidity in the drum and temperature and humidity of the exhaust. Additional information may be used from the washing machine to estimate the amount of water still absorbed by the laundry (difference between initial laundry weight and the laundry weight as measured either at completion of the washing operation or as loaded into the dryer). The amount of water in the laundry may be calculated as a hydration percentage of weight. The hydration percentage may be used in determining a suggested duration of operation to completely dry the laundry at the desired operational parameters.

Heating efficiency may be more accurately determined, and predictions on drying times for a load may be automatically determined by incorporating the calculated hydration percentage into the calculations. For example, users may regularly try to fit their clothing into as few washing machines as possible, and then split the loads to speed up drying. Therefore, there are situations where each load from a single washing machine is dried in two or more dryers. Each dryer may be able to calculate the exact amount of time required to dry each load by taking into consideration the hydration percentage. With no prior knowledge of the load being dried, it becomes more difficult to predict the operation time required because the amount of water that needs to be removed from the clothing is unknown. Without prior knowledge, a small load of very damp laundry and a large load of fairly dry laundry may weigh the same, but will take drastically different amounts of time to dry. When the hydration percentage is known for the laundry, a machine may more accurately estimate the amount of water present at the start of the drying operation and therefore make a more accurate prediction of operation duration.

The exhaust temperature and exhaust humidity may also be used to estimate how much water remains in the laundry and determine completion of a drying operation. Efficiency trends for a machine may be used to determine failures or malfunctions. Time to reach the desired operation temperature, how well the temperature is maintained, the maximum temperature reached, and rate of temperature drop after completion may all be analyzed to determine malfunctions or degradation of functionality.

FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an exemplary washer/dryer unit 200, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. Washer/dryer unit 200 may comprise a power supply 202, a reset control board, a first front control board 205 and a second front control board 206.

Power supply 202 may be configured to receive wall power input 201A from a power source 201. Power source 201 may be a power outlet, battery, mains power or any other electrical power source. In some embodiments, power supply 202 may be configured to convert, condition and/or transform the wall power input 201A, and generate a plurality of power outputs. In some embodiments, the power supply 202 may be configured to provide power to control circuitry of the washer/dryer unit 200 as well as electromechanical units within the machine, such as motors, heating elements, actuators, and other units that facilitate washing/drying operations. In some embodiments, the power supply may provide a supply output 1202A, supply output 2202B and a supply output 3202C, to be supplied to the reset control board 203.

In some embodiments, supply output 2202B and a supply output 3202C may be used to power first front control board 205 second front control board 206. In some embodiments, the washer/dryer unit 200 may be retrofitted with reset control board 203. For example, a washing machine or dryer may have a power supply 202 that provides power directly to the first front control board 205 through supply output 2202B and the second front control board 206 through supply output 3202C. The retrofitting of reset control board 203 may be accomplished by inserting the reset control board 203 into the washing machine or dryer between the power supply 202 and the front control boards 205 and 206, so that supply output 2202B and a supply output 3202C are connected to a diverter circuit 204 in the reset control board 203. This may allow the reset control board to manage the power being supplied to the front control boards 205 and 206.

Reset control board 203 may comprise a diverter circuit 204 and microprocessor 205. Microprocessor 205 may be configured to receive instructions and control the operation of the diverter circuit 204. Diverter circuit 204 may comprise diverter input 1204A, diverter input 2204B, diverter output 1204C and diverter output 2204D. Diverter circuit 204 may be a relay that controls the supply of power between power supply 202 and the front controller boards 205 and 206. In some embodiments, front controller boards 205 and 206 may be original equipment manufacturer boards that control operation of washer/dryer function.

Diverter circuit 204 may be configured to receive supply output 2202B at diverter input 1204A, and supply output 3202C at diverter input 204B. Diverter circuit 204 may further be configured to output control board input 1205A from diverter output 1204C, and control board input 2206A from diverter output 2204D. Diverter circuit 204 may be configured to selectively provide power to first front control board 205 and second front control board 206.

In some embodiments, the diverter circuit 204 may be configured to receive one or more power cycle commands. The commands may include a designation of which front control board to power off and a power off duration. The diverter circuit may power down a single front control board, both front control boards at the same time, or both boards in a sequence. The diverter circuit may also control which front control board to power up, and in the case when both front control boards are powered down, the sequence in which they are powered up. If both the front control boards are powered down, they may also be powered up simultaneously. In some embodiments, the diverter circuit may comprise a double pole double throw (DPDT) relay.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for monitoring and power cycling malfunctioning laundry machines 300 that may be performed in accordance with some embodiments.

At step 301A, the system may be configured to receive, from a user, a report of a laundry machine malfunction, wherein the report of a malfunction is generated through a graphical user interface on a client device.

At step 302A, the system may be configured to identify one or more malfunctioning laundry machines based on the received user report.

Alternatively, or in conjunction with steps 301A and 302A, the system may perform steps 301B and 302B. At step 301B, the system may be configured to monitor, at a local server on a local network, one or more laundry machines at a laundry facility, and track, for each laundry machine, a current duration and an expected duration of each operation performed. At step 302B, the system may be configured to identify one or more malfunctioning laundry machines based on comparing the current duration of an operation versus the expected duration of the operation.

From steps 302A and 302B, the process proceeds to step 303. At step 303, the system may be configured to generate, by the local server, a power cycle request for each of the identified one or more malfunctioning laundry machines.

At step 304, the system may be configured to send, over the network, to each of the one or more malfunctioning laundry machines, the corresponding power cycle request generated.

At step 305, the system may be configured to receive, by a machine control unit in each of the one or more malfunctioning laundry machines, the corresponding power cycle request from the local server.

At step 306, the system may be configured to initiate, by the reset control module, a power cycle procedure on each of the one or more malfunctioning laundry machines, wherein the power cycle procedure comprises generating a reset control signal and sending the reset control signal to a power diverter module installed between a power supply unit and one or more front control boards of the malfunctioning laundry machine.

At step 307, the system may be configured to turn off, at the power diverter module of each of the one or more malfunctioning laundry machines, an output voltage to each of the one or more front control boards based on the reset signal.

At step 308, the system may be configured to turn on, for each of the one or more malfunctioning laundry machines, the output voltage to each of the one or more front control boards after a predetermined amount of time.

At step 309, the system may be configured to send, from each of the one or more malfunctioning laundry machines, a completion notification to the local server.

At step 310, the system may be configured to generate, by the local server, a malfunction notification for each of the one or more malfunctioning laundry machines.

At step 311, the system may be configured to send, to the remote server, over the remote network, the generated malfunction notification for each of the one or more malfunctioning laundry machines.

FIG. 4A illustrates an example machine of a computer system within which a set of instructions, for causing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may be executed. In alternative implementations, the machine may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines in a LAN, an intranet, an extranet, an ad-hoc network, a mesh network, and/or the Internet. The machine may operate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in a client-server network environment, as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment, or as a server or a client machine in a cloud computing infrastructure or environment.

The machine may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a web appliance, a server, a network router, a switch or bridge, or any machine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 400A includes a processing device 402, a main memory 404 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), etc.), a static memory 406 (e.g., flash memory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), and a data storage device 418, which communicate with each other via a bus 460.

Processing device 402 represents one or more general-purpose processing devices such as a microprocessor, a central processing unit, or the like. More particularly, the processing device may be complex instruction set computing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, or processor implementing other instruction sets, or processors implementing a combination of instruction sets. Processing device 402 may also be one or more special-purpose processing devices such as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor, or the like. The processing device 402 is configured to execute instructions 426 for performing the operations and steps discussed herein.

The computer system 400A may further include a network interface device 408 to communicate over the network 420. The computer system 400S also may include sensor modules 10. Sensor modules 410 may comprise temperature sensors 411, humidity sensors, 412, weight sensors 413 and power sensors 414. Sensor modules 410 may be the same or similar to that of sensor module 175A/175B of FIG. 1G and 1H.

The data storage device 418 may include a machine-readable storage medium 424 (also known as a computer-readable medium) on which is stored one or more sets of instructions or software 426 embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. The instructions 426 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory 404 and/or within the processing device 402 during execution thereof by the computer system 400A, the main memory 404 and the processing device 402 also constituting machine-readable storage media.

The computer system 400A may further include a machine control module 432 may comprise reset control module 434 and power diverter module 436. Machine control module 432, reset control module 434 and power diverter module 436 may be the same or similar to machine controller 170A/170B, reset control module 172A/172B power diverter module 173A/173B of FIGS. 1G and 1H.

The computer system 400A may further include front control board 438 and power supply unit 440. Front control board 438 may be the same or similar to front control board 174A/174B of FIGS. 1G and 1H, and the same or similar to the first front control board 205 and second front control board 205 of FIG. 2. Power supply unit 440 may be the same or similar to power supply 202 of FIG. 2.

In one implementation, the instructions 426 include instructions to implement functionality corresponding to the components of a device to perform the disclosure herein. While the machine-readable storage medium 424 is shown in an example implementation to be a single medium, the term “machine-readable storage medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readable storage medium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable of storing or encoding a set of instructions for execution by the machine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologies of the present disclosure. The term “machine-readable storage medium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories, optical media and magnetic media.

Regarding FIGS. 4B-4D, processing device 402, a main memory 404, static memory 408, network interface device 408, data storage devices 418, machine readable storage medium 424, instructions 426, network 420 and bus 460 may be the same or similar to that described in FIG. 4A.

The computer system 400B of FIG. 4B may further include a machine management module 462, a dashboard module 470 and a facility management module 476.

Machine management module 462 may further comprise operation control module 464, machine monitoring module 466 and notification module 468. Machine management module 462, operation control module 464, machine monitoring module 466 and notification module 468 may be the same or similar to Machine management module 146, operation control module 147, machine monitoring module 148 and notification module 149 of FIG. 1C.

Dashboard module 470 may further comprise UI module 472 and analytics module 474. Dashboard module 470, UI module 472 and analytics module 474 may be the same or similar to that of dashboard module 143, UI module 144 and analytics module 145 of FIG. 1C.

Facility management module 476 may further comprise facility monitoring module 478 and attendant control module 480. Facility management module 476, facility monitoring module 478 and attendant control module 480 may be the same or similar to facility management module 152, facility monitoring module 156 and attendant control module 157 of FIG. 1C.

The computer system 400C of FIG. 4C corresponds to remote server 111 of FIG. 1D and the computer system 400D of FIG. 4D corresponds to local server 112 of FIG. 1E. The components of FIGS. 4C and 4D are the same or similar to those described in FIG. 4B and 1C above.

Some portions of the preceding detailed descriptions have been presented in terms of algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are the ways used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a self-consistent sequence of operations leading to a desired result. The operations are those requiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like.

It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the above discussion, it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing terms such as “identifying” or “determining” or “executing” or “performing” or “collecting” or “creating” or “sending” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage devices.

The present disclosure also relates to an apparatus for performing the operations herein. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the intended purposes, or it may comprise a general purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but not limited to, any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), random access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable for storing electronic instructions, each coupled to a computer system bus.

Various general purpose systems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachings herein, or it may prove convenient to construct a more specialized apparatus to perform the method. The structure for a variety of these systems will appear as set forth in the description above. In addition, the present disclosure is not described with reference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciated that a variety of programming languages may be used to implement the teachings of the disclosure as described herein.

The present disclosure may be provided as a computer program product, or software, that may include a machine-readable medium having stored thereon instructions, which may be used to program a computer system (or other electronic devices) to perform a process according to the present disclosure. A machine-readable medium includes any mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a machine-readable (e.g., computer-readable) medium includes a machine (e.g., a computer) readable storage medium such as a read only memory (“ROM”), random access memory (“RAM”), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, etc.

In the foregoing disclosure, implementations of the disclosure have been described with reference to specific example implementations thereof. It will be evident that various modifications may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of implementations of the disclosure as set forth in the following claims. The disclosure and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative sense rather than a restrictive sense.

DISTRIBUTED NETWORKED LAUNDRY MACHINE CONTROL AND OPERATION

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