Patent Grant
10273623
Laundry washing machines are used in many single-family and multi-family residential applications to clean clothes and other fabric items. Due to the wide variety of items that may need to be cleaned by a laundry washing machine, many laundry washing machines provide a wide variety of user-configurable settings to control various aspects of a wash cycle such as water temperatures and/or amounts, agitation, soaking, rinsing, spinning, etc. The settings cycle can have an appreciable effect on washing performance, as well as on energy and/or water consumption, so it is generally desirable for the settings used by a laundry washing machine to appropriately match the needs of each load washed by the machine.
Some laundry washing machines also support user selection of load types, typically based on the types of fabrics and/or items in the load. Some laundry washing machines, for example, have load type settings such as colors, whites, delicates, cottons, permanent press, towels, bedding, heavily soiled items, etc. These manually-selectable load types generally represent specific combinations of settings that are optimized for particular load types so that a user is not required to select individual values for each of the controllable settings of a laundry washing machine.
While manual load type selection in many cases simplifies a user's interaction with a laundry washing machine, such manual selection still can lead to suboptimal performance due to, for example, user inattentiveness or lack of understanding. Therefore, a significant need continues to exist in the art for a manner of optimizing the performance of a laundry washing machine for different types of loads, as well as reducing the burden on users when interacting with a laundry washing machine.
The herein-described embodiments address these and other problems associated with the art by providing a laundry washing machine and method that utilize a distance sensor to determine dry and wet distance values associated with a height of a load disposed in a wash tub respectively before and after water has been dispensed into the wash tub, such that one or more settings of a wash cycle may be dynamically configured based upon the dry and wet distance values. In some instances, for example, the dry and wet distance values may be used to determine a fabric type and/or a load size such that various operating settings of a wash cycle may be dynamically adapted for different loads.
Therefore, consistent with one aspect of the invention, a laundry washing machine may include a wash tub disposed within a housing, a water inlet configured to dispense water into the wash tub, a distance sensor oriented to sense a distance within the wash tub, and a controller coupled to the water inlet and the distance sensor, the controller configured to perform a wash cycle on a load disposed in the wash tub. The controller may be configured to determine dry and wet distance values associated with the load using the distance sensor, the dry distance value associated with a height of the load in the wash tub prior to dispensing of water into the wash tub by the water inlet and the wet distance value associated with a height of the load in the wash tub after water is dispensed into the wash tub, and dynamically configure one or more settings of the wash cycle based upon the determined dry and wet distance values.
In some embodiments, the distance sensor is a laser distance sensor, an ultrasonic distance sensor or a three-dimensional imaging sensor. Some embodiments also include one or more additional sensors, where the controller is configured to dynamically configure the one or more settings of the wash cycle based upon data from one or more of the additional sensors. In addition, in some embodiments, the one or more additional sensors includes a digital camera configured to image a top profile of the load, and in some embodiments, the controller is configured to detect a potential out-of-balance load based upon the imaged top profile.
In addition, in some embodiments, the distance sensor is mounted on a hinged door coupled to the housing and oriented to sense the distance within the wash tub when the hinged door is in a closed position, and the distance sensor is automatically disabled when the hinged door is in an open position. Some embodiments further include a rotatable wash basket disposed in the wash tub, where the controller is configured to determine the dry and wet distance values based upon distances sensed by the distance sensor during rotation of the wash basket. In some embodiments, the controller is configured to sense a potential out-of-balance load based upon distance variations sensed by the distance sensor during rotation of the wash basket, in some embodiments, the controller is configured to average multiple sensed distances from the distance sensor during rotation of the wash basket, and in some embodiments, the dry distance value is a first dry distance value, and the controller is configured to determine a second dry distance value associated with the load using the distance sensor, and wherein the controller is configured to temporarily increase a rotational speed of the wash basket, determine the first dry distance value based upon a distance sensed by the distance sensor before temporarily increasing the rotational speed of the wash basket, determine the second dry distance value based upon a distance sensed by the distance sensor after temporarily increasing the rotational speed of the wash basket, and dynamically configure the one or more settings of the wash cycle further based upon the second dry distance value. Further, in some embodiments the first and second dry distance values and the wet distance value are each based upon distance from a reference point to a top surface of the load, and the controller is further configured to determine a first dry distance ratio between the first dry distance value and a distance from the reference point to a base of the wash basket, determine a second dry distance ratio between the second dry distance value and a distance from the reference point to a base of the wash basket, determine a first wet distance ratio between the first dry distance value and the wet distance value, determine a second wet distance ratio between the second dry distance value and the wet distance value, and dynamically configure the one or more settings of the wash cycle based upon the first and second dry distance ratios and the first and second wet distance ratios.
In some embodiments, the controller is configured to determine a load size based upon the dry and wet distance values, and in some embodiments, the controller is configured to predict a load size based upon the dry distance value and confirm the predicted load sized based upon the wet distance value. In addition, in some embodiments, the controller further configured to determine a fabric type based upon variations between the dry and wet distance values and dynamically configure the one or more settings based upon the determined fabric type. In some embodiments, the controller is configured to dynamically configure the one or more settings of the wash cycle to enable or disable out-of-balance checking during a spin phase of the wash cycle, and in some embodiments, the controller is configured to dynamically configure the one or more settings of the wash cycle to control an amount of water dispensed during a fill phase of the wash cycle. Further, in some embodiments, the controller is further configured to detect excessive fluid level in the wash tub, excessive foaming in the wash tub, or a floating item in the wash tub using the distance sensor.
Consistent with another aspect of the invention, a method of operating a laundry washing machine of the type including a wash tub disposed within a housing and a water inlet configured to dispense water into the wash tub may include sensing a first distance in the wash tub using a distance sensor, the first distance associated with a height of a load disposed in the wash tub, dispensing water into the wash tub after sensing the first distance, sensing a second distance in the wash tub using the distance sensor after dispensing the water into the wash tub, the second distance associated with a height of the load after dispensing the water into the wash tub, determining dry and wet distance values respectively based upon the first and second distances, and dynamically configuring one or more settings of the wash cycle based upon the determined dry and wet distance values.
Consistent with yet another aspect of the invention, a method of operating a laundry washing machine of the type including a wash tub disposed within a housing and a water inlet configured to dispense water into the wash tub may include sensing, using a distance sensor oriented to sense a distance in the wash tub, excessive fluid level in the wash tub, excessive foaming in the wash tub, or a floating item in the wash tub during a wash cycle, and dynamically modifying the wash cycle in response to sensing the excessive fluid level in the wash tub, excessive foaming in the wash tub, or floating item in the wash tub.
These and other advantages and features, which characterize the invention, are set forth in the claims annexed hereto and forming a further part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, and of the advantages and objectives attained through its use, reference should be made to the Drawings, and to the accompanying descriptive matter, in which there is described example embodiments of the invention. This summary is merely provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description, and is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
Embodiments consistent with the invention may be used to dynamically configure one or more settings of a wash cycle based at least in part on distance sensed by a distance sensor oriented to sense distance within a wash tub. In some embodiments, for example, a distance sensor may be used to determine dry and wet distance values associated with a height of a load disposed in a wash tub respectively before and after water has been dispensed into the wash tub, such that one or more settings of a wash cycle may be dynamically configured based upon the dry and wet distance values. As will become more apparent below, dry and wet distance values may be used in some instances to determine a fabric type and/or a load size such that various operating settings of a wash cycle may be dynamically adapted for different loads. Further, as will also become more apparent below, sensed distance from a distance sensor may also be used in some instances to detect potential out-of-balance load conditions and/or various potentially problematic conditions such as excessive fluid level, excessive foaming, or a floating item in a wash tub.
In some embodiments, for example, sensed distances may be used in the determination of a load type, which may be considered to represent one of a plurality of different characteristics, categories, classes, subclasses, etc. that may be used to distinguish different loads from one another, and for which it may be desirable to define particular operational settings or combinations of operational settings for use in washing loads of that particular load type. Load types may be defined, for example, to distinguish between colors, darks, whites, etc.; between different fabric types (e.g., natural, cotton, wool, silk, synthetic, polyester, permanent press, wrinkle resistant, blends, etc.); between different article types (e.g., garments, towels, bedding, delicates, etc.); between lightly, normally or heavily soiled loads; etc. Load types may also represent categories of loads that are unnamed, and that simply represent a combination of characteristics for which certain combinations operational settings may apply, particularly as it will be appreciated that some loads may be unsorted and may include a combination of different items that themselves have different characteristics. Therefore, in some embodiments, a load type may be associated with a combination of operational settings that will be applied to a range of different loads that more closely match that load type over other possible load types.
An operational setting, in this regard, may include any number of different configurable aspects of a wash cycle performed by a laundry washing machine including, but not limited to, a wash water temperature, a rinse water temperature, a wash water amount, a rinse water amount, a speed or stroke of agitation during washing and/or rinsing, a spin speed, whether or not agitation is used during washing and/or rinsing, a duration of a wash, rinse, soak, or spin phase of a wash cycle, a number of repeats of a wash, rinse, soak or spin phase, selection between different rinse operation types such as a spray rinse operation or a deep fill rinse operation, pre-treatment such as soaking over time with a prescribed water temperature and specific agitation stroke, periodic checking of out-of-balance conditions during spinning, etc. Further, dynamically configured may be considered to incorporate the configuration of a wash cycle based at least upon some data that is determined after the wash cycle has been started, i.e., not solely based upon data input by a user through a user interface.
Numerous variations and modifications will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, as will become apparent from the description below. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the specific implementations discussed herein.
Turning now to the drawings, wherein like numbers denote like parts throughout the several views,
The embodiments discussed hereinafter will focus on the implementation of the hereinafter-described techniques within a top-load residential laundry washing machine such as laundry washing machine 10, such as the type that may be used in single-family or multi-family dwellings, or in other similar applications. However, it will be appreciated that the herein-described techniques may also be used in connection with other types of laundry washing machines in some embodiments. For example, the herein-described techniques may be used in commercial applications in some embodiments. Moreover, the herein-described techniques may be used in connection with other laundry washing machine configurations, including combined washer/dryers and other washing machine designs.
Disposed within wash tub 16 is a wash basket 34 that is rotatable about a generally vertical axis A by a drive system 36. Wash basket 34 is generally perforated or otherwise provides fluid communication between an interior 38 of the wash basket 34 and a space 40 between wash basket 34 and wash tub 16. Drive system 36 may include, for example, an electric motor and a transmission and/or clutch for selectively rotating the wash basket 34. In some embodiments, drive system 36 may be a direct drive system, whereas in other embodiments, a belt or chain drive system may be used.
In addition, in some embodiments an agitator 42 such as an impeller, auger or other agitation element may be disposed in the interior 38 of wash basket 34 to agitate items within wash basket 34 during a washing operation. Agitator 42 may be driven by drive system 36, e.g., for rotation about the same axis as wash basket 34, and a transmission and/or clutch within drive system 36 may be used to selectively rotate agitator 42. In other embodiments, separate drive systems may be used to rotate wash basket 34 and agitator 42.
A water inlet 44 may be provided to dispense water into wash tub 16. In some embodiments, for example, hot and cold valves 46, 48 may be coupled to external hot and cold water supplies through hot and cold inlets 50, 52, and may output to one or more nozzles 54 to dispense water of varying temperatures into wash tub 16. In addition, a pump system 56, e.g., including a pump and an electric motor, may be coupled between a low point, bottom or sump in wash tub 16 and an outlet 58 to discharge greywater from wash tub 16. In some embodiments, laundry washing machine 10 may also include a dispensing system 60 configured to dispense detergent, fabric softener and/or other wash-related products into wash tub 16, either from a bulk supply storing sufficient products for dispensing to multiple loads or from a single-use supply filled by a user prior to the start of a wash cycle.
Further, laundry washing machine 10 may also include various sensors for use in at least partially automating a wash cycle, e.g., one or more of a weight sensor, a fluid level sensor, a fluid property sensor and a flow sensor. A weight sensor may be used to generate a signal that varies based in part on the mass or weight of the contents of wash tub 16. A fluid level sensor may be used to generate a signal that varies with the level or height of fluid in wash tub 16, and as will be discussed in greater detail below, a fluid level sensor may be implemented using a distance sensor capable of determining a height of a surface of the fluid in the wash tub, among other purposes. A fluid property sensor, e.g., a turbidity sensor, may be used in some embodiments to measure one or more of the turbidity, clarity, conductivity or temperature of the fluid in wash tub 16, e.g., to sense the presence or relative amount of various wash-related products such as detergents or fabric softeners and/or to sense the presence or relative amount of soil in the fluid. A flow sensor, e.g., one or more flowmeters, may be used to sense an amount of water dispensed into wash tub 16. Representative locations of these various types of sensors are not illustrated in
It will be appreciated that the particular components and configuration illustrated in
Now turning to
As shown in
In some embodiments, controller 70 may operate under the control of an operating system and may execute or otherwise rely upon various computer software applications, components, programs, objects, modules, data structures, etc. In addition, controller 70 may also incorporate hardware logic to implement some or all of the functionality disclosed herein. Further, in some embodiments, the sequences of operations performed by controller 70 to implement the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented using program code including one or more instructions that are resident at various times in various memory and storage devices, and that, when read and executed by one or more hardware-based processors, perform the operations embodying desired functionality. Moreover, in some embodiments, such program code may be distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of computer readable media used to actually carry out the distribution, including, for example, non-transitory computer readable storage media. In addition, it will be appreciated that the various operations described herein may be combined, split, reordered, reversed, varied, omitted, parallelized and/or supplemented with other techniques known in the art, and therefore, the invention is not limited to the particular sequences of operations described herein.
Now turning to
It will be appreciated that wash cycles can also vary in a number of respects. For example, additional phases, such as a pre-soak phase, may be included in some wash cycles, and moreover, some phases may be repeated, e.g., including multiple rinse and/or spin phases. Each phase may also have a number of different operational settings that may be varied for different types of loads, e.g., different times or durations, different water temperatures, different agitation speeds or strokes, different rinse operation types, different spin speeds, different water amounts, different wash product amounts, etc.
As noted above, one or more distance sensors may also be incorporated into a laundry washing machine to sense a distance that varies with the height of a load disposed in a wash tub.
Laser distance sensor may sense a distance from a reference point, e.g., the elevation of the sensor, and in a direction toward a bottom of wash tub 16. In some embodiments, the direction may be substantially parallel to generally vertical axis A, while in other embodiments, the direction may be angled relative to axis A. In some embodiments, multiple distance sensors may be used, e.g., to sense distance at a plurality of radial offsets from axis A. In addition, while laser distance sensor 72 is illustrated on the underside of a door, in other embodiments, sensor 72 may be positioned and oriented in other locations relative to an interior compartment of a laundry washing machine.
In addition, in some embodiments the multiple distance sensors may be different types of sensors. Each distance sensor may be implemented, for example, as a laser distance sensor, an ultrasonic distance sensor, a digital camera, a three-dimensional imaging sensor, or any other type of sensor capable of sensing a distance from a reference point.
Further, in some instances a distance sensor may also be configured to image a top profile of a load, e.g., a three-dimensional representation of a top surface of the load. Such a sensor, for example, may be suitable for determining a potential out-of-balance load due to variations in height in the load.
Laser distance sensor 72 may be used to determine one or more distance values representative of the height of a load in wash tub 16, among other purposes that will be discussed in greater detail below.
As shown in
Distance value Y1 is a dry distance value, and is associated with an initial height of the load, and typically at the start of a wash cycle. In some implementations, a single dry distance value may be used, while in other embodiments, multiple dry distance values may be determined.
Each of the distance values may be based upon single sensor measurements in some embodiments, while in other embodiments, distance values may be based on multiple sensor measurements. For example, in some embodiments multiple distance measurements may be taken during rotation of the wash basket such that the distance measurements are taken at multiple points along a circular path at a fixed radius about axis A. A distance value may then be a function of the multiple measurements, e.g., an average, a maximum, a minimum, etc. Furthermore, multiple distance values may be determined from common distance measurements, e.g., where a wet distance value is determined as an average of multiple distance measurements, and a variation between maximum and minimum distance measurements may be used as an indication of a potential out-of-balance condition.
Now turning to
Next, in block 128, one or more dry load distance measurements are taken to determine one or more dry distance values. As noted, above, the dry distance values may be determined prior to dispensing water into the wash tub in some embodiments, so after determining the dry distance values, block 130 may start a fill phase of the wash cycle and begin dispensing water into the wash tub. Block 132 then takes one or more wet load distance measurements and determines one or more wet distance values. Thereafter, in block 134 the distance-based data determined in blocks 128 and 132, including the dry and wet distance values, may be used to dynamically configure one or more operational settings for the wash cycle, and in some embodiments, these configured operational settings may be used in connection with one or more additional operational settings from block 126 to complete the wash cycle.
A wash cycle may be dynamically configured based upon distance measurements in a number of different manners in different embodiments. For example, dry and wet distance values may be used to determine a load size, from which various operational settings, e.g., fill volumes (e.g., the amount of water dispensed during a fill phase), spin speeds, out-of-balance checking, etc. may be varied. In one embodiment discussed hereinafter, for example, a load size may initially be predicted based upon the dry distance value, and then the predicted load size may be confirmed based upon the wet distance value. In addition, in some embodiments a fabric type may be determined based upon variations between dry and wet distance values, as some types of fabrics, are more absorptive than others and will cause greater variations between dry and wet distance values due to the amount and/or rate of absorption of water.
In addition, as illustrated by block 136, during performance of the wash cycle, distance measurements may also be used to monitor for various conditions, e.g., out-of-balance, excessive fluid level, excessive foaming, floating items, etc., and to address those conditions through halting the cycle and/or alerting an operation, e.g., via a control panel, audible and/or visual alerts, electronic messages to a user's computer, mobile device, etc. In addition, in some instances, these conditions may also be based on additional sensor input. For example, in some embodiments, foaming may also be detected based in part on color or texture through image analysis with digital camera 76, with the foaming detection combined with a distance measurement to determine when foaming has reached an excessively high level.
The manner in which dry and wet measurements are taken and used to determine dry and wet distance values may vary in different embodiments.
Next, in block 142, the spin speed is temporarily increased to a higher speed (e.g., about 50 RPM) for a predetermined period of time X1, and then the wash basket may be allowed to coast back to the original slower speed, with the motor current for the drive current summed over this time period to determine an indication of the inertial mass of the load. Then, in block 144, a second dry distance Y2 may be determined, and a second dry distance ratio (Y2/Y0) may be calculated therefrom. In some embodiments, Y2 may be taken from a maximum distance (i.e., shortest height) detected by the distance sensor.
Next, block 146 may predict a dry load size based on the calculated dry distance ratios and zero or more of a current sub, coast time or other operational setting. In some embodiments, for example, a small load size may be predicted based upon the first dry distance ratio (Y1No) being greater than the second dry distance ratio (Y2/Y0). Otherwise, a large load size may be predicted based upon the second dry distance ratio exceeding a limit (e.g., Y2/Y0>limit(Y1/Y0)), with ratios not meeting either condition being classified as of medium load size. The limit may be determined empirically or in other manners. In addition, in other embodiments additional factors, e.g., the summed motor current, may also be used in connection with the distance ratios to determine load size. Next, in block 148 one or more settings may be selected for the wash cycle based on the predicted dry load size and any other operational settings configured by a user, e.g., fill time and/or amount, agitator strokes and time, etc. In addition, a limit for use in wet distance calculations may also be determined at this time.
Now turning to
As a result of the desire to limit such conditions, some wash cycles implement periodic out-of-balance checking, during which the spin speed during a spin phase is periodically reduced and/or controlled to run at a lower speed in order to minimize out-of-balance forces. While for larger loads such checking may useful, out-of-balance checking otherwise increases cycle time, and for smaller loads is generally unnecessary. Thus, as illustrated in block 180, dry and wet distance ratios may be compared in some embodiments, and if the changes meet some threshold (e.g., an empirically-determined threshold), block 182 may pass control to either block 184 or block 186 to configure the spin phase to either disable or enable periodic out-of-balance checking. Block 184, for example, may set the spin phase to only perform a single out-of-balance check at the beginning of a spin phase when the threshold is not met (e.g., when there is a low likelihood of an out-of-balance condition developing), while block 186 may set the spin phase to perform periodic out-of-balance checks when the threshold is met (e.g., when there is a higher likelihood of an out-of-balance condition developing).
Various additional modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiments consistent with the invention. Therefore, the invention lies in the claims hereinafter appended.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5515565 | Maddix et al. | May 1996 | A |
| 5739534 | Estenson et al. | Apr 1998 | A |
| 5822819 | Ferragut et al. | Oct 1998 | A |
| 6784997 | Lorenz et al. | Aug 2004 | B2 |
| 7363780 | Lee | Apr 2008 | B2 |
| 7820995 | Gadini et al. | Oct 2010 | B2 |
| 9243987 | Chanda et al. | Jan 2016 | B2 |
| 20120246835 | Ashrafzadeh | Oct 2012 | A1 |
| 20130247307 | Park | Sep 2013 | A1 |
| 20140326067 | Chanda | Nov 2014 | A1 |
| 20150128357 | Koo | May 2015 | A1 |
| 20150354122 | Kwon et al. | Dec 2015 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 101377045 | Jan 2000 | CN |
| 202247394 | May 2012 | CN |
| 102926163 | Feb 2013 | CN |
| 104746293 | Jul 2015 | CN |
| 204959394 | Jan 2016 | CN |
| 19990049218 | Jul 1999 | KR |
| 20000004075 | Jan 2000 | KR |
| 2016015765 | Feb 2016 | WO |
| Entry |
|---|
| Machine Translation of Won, KR 2000-0004075 A, Jan. 2000. (Year: 2000). |
| Measurement Specialties, Inc.; Sensor Solutions for Home Appliances; Measurement Specialties—Sensing your Wolrd; Sensor Solutions for Home Appliances; 12 Pages; dated Aug. 31, 2014. |
| International Search Report and Written Opinion issued in Application No. PCT/CN2017/101432 dated Dec. 20, 2017. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20180080164 A1 | Mar 2018 | US |
