Patent Application
20230295856
The present subject matter relates generally to systems and methods for securing a laundry appliance.
Laundry appliances generally include washing machine appliances and dryer appliances. Some laundry appliances are publicly available, such as commercial laundry appliances available for rent, e.g., in a laundromat. Operation cycles of laundry appliances, e.g., wash cycles in a washing machine or drying cycles in a dryer appliance, can take a significant amount of time. For this reason, many users choose not to wait while the laundry appliance is running. Instead, such users may run errands or otherwise leave the laundry appliance unattended during operation.
Unattended operation of a laundry appliance in a public place can be risky, however. In some cases, the user's clothes may be stolen, or another person may co-opt the user's paid for laundry cycle by removing the user's laundry and replacing it with the other person's laundry.
Thus, systems and methods for enhancing security of public or commercial laundry appliances would be beneficial. For example, systems and methods for ensuring that only the authorized user can adjust or interrupt the operation cycle of the commercial laundry appliance and/or access the laundry appliance when the operation cycle is complete are desired.
Aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the following description, or may be obvious from the description, or may be learned through practice of the invention.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of operating a laundry appliance is provided. The method includes performing an operation cycle of the laundry appliance and locking the laundry appliance during the operation cycle. The method also includes providing a status notification on a remote user interface device. The status notification comprising a status of the operation cycle. The method further includes authorizing a user of the laundry appliance via the remote user interface device after providing the status notification.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of operating a laundry appliance is provided. The method includes initiating an operation cycle of the laundry appliance and locking the laundry appliance after initiating the operation cycle of the laundry appliance. The method also includes providing a status notification on a remote user interface device after initiating the operation cycle. The status notification comprising a status of the operation cycle. The method further includes authorizing a user of the laundry appliance via the remote user interface device after providing the status notification.
These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following description and appended claims. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
A full and enabling disclosure of the present invention, including the best mode thereof, directed to one of ordinary skill in the art, is set forth in the specification, which makes reference to the appended figures.
Reference now will be made in detail to embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are illustrated in the drawings. Each example is provided by way of explanation of the invention, not limitation of the invention. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one embodiment can be used with another embodiment to yield a still further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers such modifications and variations as come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
As used herein, terms of approximation, such as “generally,” or “about” include values within ten percent greater or less than the stated value. When used in the context of an angle or direction, such terms include within ten degrees greater or less than the stated angle or direction. For example, “generally vertical” includes directions within ten degrees of vertical in any direction, e.g., clockwise or counter-clockwise.
Exemplary laundry appliances are illustrated in
As may be seen generally throughout
In various embodiments, the user interface panel 100 may represent a general purpose I/O (“GPIO”) device or functional block. In some embodiments, the user interface panel 100 may include or be in operative communication with user input device 102, such as one or more of a variety of digital, analog, electrical, mechanical or electro-mechanical input devices including rotary dials, control knobs, push buttons, and touch pads. The user interface panel 100 may include a display component 104, such as a digital or analog display device designed to provide operational feedback to a user. The display component 104 may also be a touchscreen capable of receiving a user input, such that the display component 104 may also be a user input device in addition to or instead of the user input device 102.
Generally, each appliance may include a controller 210 in operative communication with the user input device 102. The user interface panel 100 and the user input device 102 may be in communication with the controller 210 via, for example, one or more signal lines or shared communication busses. Input/output (“I/O”) signals may be routed between controller 210 and various operational components of the appliance. Operation of the appliance can be regulated by the controller 210 that is operatively coupled to the user interface panel 100. A user interface panel 100 may for example provide selections for user manipulation of the operation of an appliance, e.g., via user input device 102 and/or display 104. In response to user manipulation of the user interface panel 100 and/or user input device 102, the controller 210 may operate various components of the appliance. Controller 210 may include a memory and one or more microprocessors, CPUs or the like, such as general or special purpose microprocessors operable to execute programming instructions or micro-control code associated with operation of the appliance. The memory may represent random access memory such as DRAM, or read only memory such as ROM or FLASH. In one embodiment, the processor executes programming instructions stored in memory. The memory may be a separate component from the processor or may be included onboard within the processor. Alternatively, a controller 210 may be constructed without using a microprocessor, e.g., using a combination of discrete analog and/or digital logic circuitry (such as switches, amplifiers, integrators, comparators, flip-flops, AND gates, and the like) to perform control functionality instead of relying upon software.
The controller 210 may be programmed to operate the appliance by executing instructions stored in memory. For example, the instructions may be software or any set of instructions that when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations. Controller 210 can include one or more processor(s) and associated memory device(s) configured to perform a variety of computer-implemented functions and/or instructions (e.g. performing the methods, steps, calculations and the like and storing relevant data as disclosed herein). It should be noted that controllers 210 as disclosed herein are capable of and may be operable to perform any methods and associated method steps as disclosed herein.
In some embodiments, for example, as illustrated in
As generally seen throughout
Additional exemplary details of each laundry appliance are illustrated in
Referring again to
Wash basket 120 may define one or more agitator features that extend into wash chamber 126 to assist in agitation and cleaning of articles disposed within wash chamber 126 during operation of washing machine appliance 10. For example, as illustrated in
Referring generally to
A window 136 in door 134 permits viewing of wash basket 120 when door 134 is in the closed position, e.g., during operation of washing machine appliance 10. Door 134 also includes a handle (not shown) that, e.g., a user may pull when opening and closing door 134. Further, although door 134 is illustrated as mounted to front panel 130, it should be appreciated that door 134 may be mounted to another side of cabinet 12 or any other suitable support according to alternative embodiments.
Referring again to
A spout 150 is configured for directing a flow of fluid into wash tub 124. For example, spout 150 may be in fluid communication with a water supply (not shown) in order to direct fluid (e.g., clean water) into wash tub 124. Spout 150 may also be in fluid communication with the sump 142. For example, pump assembly 144 may direct wash fluid disposed in sump 142 to spout 150 in order to circulate wash fluid in wash tub 124.
As illustrated in
Additionally, a bulk reservoir 154 is disposed within cabinet 12. Bulk reservoir 154 is also configured for receipt of fluid additive for use during operation of washing machine appliance 10. Bulk reservoir 154 is sized such that a volume of fluid additive sufficient for a plurality or multitude of wash cycles of washing machine appliance 10 (e.g., five, ten, twenty, fifty, or any other suitable number of wash cycles) may fill bulk reservoir 154. Thus, for example, a user can fill bulk reservoir 154 with fluid additive and operate washing machine appliance 10 for a plurality of wash cycles without refilling bulk reservoir 154 with fluid additive. A reservoir pump 156 is configured for selective delivery of the fluid additive from bulk reservoir 154 to wash tub 124.
During operation of washing machine appliance 10, e.g., during a wash cycle of the washing machine appliance 10, a laundry items are loaded into wash basket 120 through opening 132, and washing operation is initiated through operator manipulation of input selectors 102. Wash tub 124 is filled with water, detergent, and/or other fluid additives, e.g., via spout 150 and/or detergent drawer 152. One or more valves (not shown) can be controlled by washing machine appliance 10 to provide for filling wash basket 120 to the appropriate level for the amount of articles being washed and/or rinsed. By way of example for a wash mode, once wash basket 120 is properly filled with fluid, the contents of wash basket 120 can be agitated (e.g., with ribs 128) for washing of laundry items in wash basket 120.
After the agitation phase of the wash cycle is completed, wash tub 124 can be drained. Laundry articles can then be rinsed by again adding fluid to wash tub 124, depending on the particulars of the cleaning cycle selected by a user. Ribs 128 may again provide agitation within wash basket 120. One or more spin cycles may also be used. In particular, a spin cycle may be applied after the wash cycle and/or after the rinse cycle in order to wring wash fluid from the articles being washed. During a spin cycle, basket 120 is rotated at relatively high speeds. After articles disposed in wash basket 120 are cleaned and/or washed, the user can remove the articles from wash basket 120, e.g., by opening door 134 and reaching into wash basket 120 through opening 132.
While described in the context of a specific embodiment of horizontal axis washing machine appliance 10, using the teachings disclosed herein it will be understood that horizontal axis washing machine appliance 10 is provided by way of example only. It should be appreciated that the present subject matter is not limited to any particular style, model, or configuration of washing machine appliance. Other washing machine appliances having different configurations, different appearances, and/or different features may also be utilized with the present subject matter as well, e.g., vertical axis washing machine appliances.
Cabinet 12 includes a front side 22 and a rear side 24 spaced apart from each other along the transverse direction T. Within cabinet 12, an interior volume 29 is defined. A drum or container 26 is mounted for rotation about a substantially horizontal axis within the interior volume 29. Drum 26 defines a chamber 25 for receipt of articles of clothing for tumbling and/or drying. Drum 26 extends between a front portion 37 and a back portion 38. Drum 26 also includes a back or rear wall 34, e.g., at back portion 38 of drum 26. A supply duct 41 may be mounted to rear wall 34 and receives heated air that has been heated by a heating assembly or system 40.
As used herein, the terms “clothing” or “articles” includes but need not be limited to fabrics, textiles, garments, linens, papers, or other items from which the extraction of moisture is desirable. Furthermore, the term “load” or “laundry load” refers to the combination of clothing that may be washed together in a washing machine or dried together in a dryer appliance 11 (e.g., clothes dryer) and may include a mixture of different or similar articles of clothing of different or similar types and kinds of fabrics, textiles, garments and linens within a particular laundering process.
A motor 31 is provided in some embodiments to rotate drum 26 about the horizontal axis, e.g., via a pulley and a belt (not pictured). Drum 26 is generally cylindrical in shape, having an outer cylindrical wall 28 and a front flange or wall 30 that defines an opening 32 of drum 26, e.g., at front portion 37 of drum 26, for loading and unloading of articles into and out of chamber 25 of drum 26. A plurality of lifters or baffles 27 are provided within chamber 25 of drum 26 to lift articles therein and then allow such articles to tumble back to a bottom of drum 26 as drum 26 rotates. Baffles 27 may be mounted to drum 26 such that baffles 27 rotate with drum 26 during operation of dryer appliance 11.
The rear wall 34 of drum 26 may be rotatably supported within the cabinet 12 by a suitable fixed bearing. Rear wall 34 can be fixed or can be rotatable. Rear wall 34 may include, for instance, a plurality of holes that receive hot air that has been heated by heating system 40. The heating system 40 may include, e.g., a heat pump, an electric heating element, and/or a gas heating element (e.g., gas burner). Moisture laden, heated air is drawn from drum 26 by an air handler, such as blower fan 48, which generates a negative air pressure within drum 26. The moisture laden heated air passes through a duct 44 enclosing screen filter 46, which traps lint particles. As the air passes from blower fan 48, it enters a duct 50 and then is passed into heating system 40. In some embodiments, the dryer appliance 11 may be a conventional dryer appliance, e.g., the heating system 40 may be or include an electric heating element, e.g., a resistive heating element, or a gas-powered heating element, e.g., a gas burner. In other embodiments, the dryer appliance may be a condensation dryer, such as a heat pump dryer. In such embodiments, heating system 40 may be or include a heat pump including a sealed refrigerant circuit. Heated air (with a lower moisture content than was received from drum 26), exits heating system 40 and returns to drum 26 by duct 41. After the clothing articles have been dried, they are removed from the drum 26 via opening 32. A door (
In some embodiments, one or more selector inputs 102, such as knobs, buttons, touchscreen interfaces, etc., may be provided or mounted on the cabinet 12 (e.g., on a backsplash 71) and are in operable communication (e.g., electrically coupled or coupled through a wireless network band) with the processing device or controller 210. Controller 210 may also be provided in operable communication with components of the dryer appliance 11 including motor 31, blower 48, or heating system 40. In turn, signals generated in controller 210 direct operation of motor 31, blower 48, or heating system 40 in response to the position of inputs 102. As used herein, “processing device” or “controller” may refer to one or more microprocessors, microcontroller, ASICS, or semiconductor devices and is not restricted necessarily to a single element. The controller 210 may be programmed to operate dryer appliance 11 by executing instructions stored in memory (e.g., non-transitory media). The controller 56 may include, or be associated with, one or more memory elements such as RAM, ROM, or electrically erasable, programmable read only memory (EEPROM). For example, the instructions may be software or any set of instructions that when executed by the processing device, cause the processing device to perform operations. It should be noted that controllers as disclosed herein are capable of and may be operable to perform any methods and associated method steps as disclosed herein. For example, in some embodiments, methods disclosed herein may be embodied in programming instructions stored in the memory and executed by the controller 210.
Turning now to
The laundry appliance 1002 may be in communication with the remote user interface device 1000 device through various possible communication connections and interfaces. The laundry appliance 1002 and the remote user interface device 1000 may be matched in wireless communication, e.g., connected to the same wireless network. The laundry appliance 1002 may communicate with the remote user interface device 1000 via short-range radio such as BLUETOOTH® or any other suitable wireless network having a layer protocol architecture. As used herein, “short-range” may include ranges less than about ten meters and up to about one hundred meters. For example, the wireless network may be adapted for short-wavelength ultra-high frequency (UHF) communications in a band between 2.4 GHz and 2.485 GHz (e.g., according to the IEEE 802.15.1 standard). In particular, BLUETOOTH® Low Energy, e.g., BLUETOOTH® Version 4.0 or higher, may advantageously provide short-range wireless communication between the appliance 10 and the remote user interface device 1000. For example, BLUETOOTH® Low Energy may advantageously minimize the power consumed by the exemplary methods and devices described herein due to the low power networking protocol of BLUETOOTH® Low Energy.
The remote user interface device 1000 is “remote” at least in that it is spaced apart from and not physically connected to the laundry appliance 1002, e.g., the remote user interface device 1000 is a separate, stand-alone device from the laundry appliance 1002 which communicates with the laundry appliance 1002 wirelessly. Any suitable device separate from the laundry appliance 1002 that is configured to provide and/or receive communications, information, data, or commands from a user may serve as the remote user interface device 1000, such as a smartphone (e.g., as illustrated in
The remote user interface device 1000 may include a memory for storing and retrieving programming instructions. Thus, the remote user interface device 1000 may provide a remote user interface which may be an additional user interface to the user interface panel 100. For example, the remote user interface device 1000 may be a smartphone operable to store and run applications, also known as “apps,” and the remote user interface may be provided as a smartphone app.
As mentioned above, the laundry appliance 1002 may also be configured to communicate wirelessly with the cloud 1100, e.g., one or more remote computing devices, such as a remote database, remote server, etc., in a distributed computing environment. For example, the cloud 1100 may be or include a remote database which may be, e.g., a cloud-based data storage system. For example, the laundry appliance 1002 may communicate with the cloud 1100 over the Internet, which the laundry appliance 1002 may access via WI-FI®, such as from a WI-FI® access point in a user's home.
The remote user interface device 1000 may include a memory for storing and retrieving programming instructions. Thus, the remote user interface device 1000 may provide a remote user interface which may be an additional user interface to the user interface panel 100. For example, the remote user interface device 1000 may be a smartphone operable to store and run applications, also known as “apps,” and the remote user interface may be provided as a smartphone app.
In some embodiments, the performance of exemplary methods and associated method steps as disclosed herein may be distributed, e.g., performed in part by the controller 210 and in part by one or more remote computing devices in the cloud 1100 and/or remote user interface device 1000.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Method 400 may further include a step 420 of locking the laundry appliance, such as locking the laundry appliance during the operation cycle. Locking the laundry appliance may include locking a door or lid of the laundry appliance. Locking the laundry appliance may also or instead include locking the controls of the laundry appliance, such as disabling the local interface or local input devices, e.g., input device 102 (
As illustrated in
In some embodiments, method 400 may include a step 440 of authorizing a user of the laundry appliance via the remote user interface device after providing the status notification. For example, the user may be authenticated and/or authorized using any suitable means, such as entering a password, drawing a predetermined unlock pattern, etc., or using biometrics such as voice recognition, facial recognition, or fingerprint scan, or other biometrics. In some embodiments, the user authorization may include combinations of any two or more of the foregoing authorization means, such as a password and retina scan, among numerous other possible examples and combinations.
Referring now specifically to
Method 500 may further include a step 520 of locking the laundry appliance, such as locking the laundry appliance after initiating the operation cycle. Locking the laundry appliance may include locking a door of the laundry appliance. Locking the laundry appliance may also or instead include locking the controls of the laundry appliance, such as disabling the local interface or local input devices, e.g., input device 102 (
As illustrated in
In some embodiments, method 500 may include a step 540 of authorizing a user of the laundry appliance via the remote user interface device after providing the status notification. For example, the user may be authenticated and/or authorized using any suitable means, such as entering a password, drawing a predetermined unlock pattern, etc., or using biometrics such as voice recognition, facial recognition, or fingerprint scan, or other biometrics, including combinations of any two or more of the foregoing authorization means, such as a password and retina scan, among numerous other possible examples and combinations.
Referring now generally to
One or more exemplary methods according to the present disclosure may be location-based. For example, the laundry appliance may only be locked when the user is away and the laundry appliances is unattended. For example, exemplary methods according to the present disclosure may also include determining the remote user interface device is more than a predetermined threshold distance away from the laundry appliance before providing the status notification. For example, where the remote interface device is a smartphone or smartwatch or other similar device which is typically carried on the user's person, the location of the remote user interface device may be inferred as the same location of the user. The predetermined threshold distance may be, for example, about fifty meters, or any other suitable distance which is large enough to indicate that the user has left the laundromat, e.g., any distance which is greater than common dimensions of a laundromat building and/or curtilage thereof, including associated parking lots and other ancillary areas adjacent to the laundromat building.
In some embodiments, exemplary methods according to the present disclosure may further include receiving a user input with the remote user interface device after providing the status notification. For example, a pop-up or other prompt may be provided, such as on the remote user interface device, asking whether the user wants to continue with a selection, e.g., a pause input, or otherwise wants to unlock the laundry appliance. In such embodiments, the step of authorizing the user may be performed in response to the user input. In particular, when the user input is affirmative that the laundry appliance is intended to be unlocked or the operation cycle paused, etc., then the step of authorizing the user may be performed in response to such input.
In additional embodiments, such as when the user input is negative, e.g., the user does not wish to unlock the laundry appliance, exemplary methods may include steps to make sure the laundry appliance is not held unavailable to other paying customers of the laundromat for an extended period of time. For example, in some embodiments, the method may further include receiving a user input with the remote user interface device after providing the status notification and keeping the laundry appliance locked in response to the user input, e.g., in response to a negative user input as described above. Such embodiments may also include, after performing the operation cycle, keeping the laundry appliance locked for a predetermined amount of time. The predetermined amount of time may be, for example, about fifteen minutes. Such embodiments may further include, after keeping the laundry appliance locked for the predetermined amount of time, providing a prompt to purchase additional time. Thus, exemplary methods according to the present disclosure may help to prevent or reduce diminished income for the laundromat owner from the laundry appliance while the user is away after the operation cycle has completed, e.g., if the user forgets about the laundry, another paying customer may have access to the laundry appliance after the predetermined amount of time has elapsed and/or the user may pay to keep the laundry appliance locked after the predetermined amount of time.
This written description uses examples to disclose the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they include structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
