Laundry washing machine with automatic detergent dispensing and/or rinse operation type selection
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A laundry washing machine, comprising:
- a wash tub disposed within a housing;
a detergent dispenser configured to dispense detergent for washing a load disposed in the wash tub;
a weight sensor operatively coupled to the wash tub to sense a weight associated with the wash tub;
a fluid level sensor configured to sense a fluid level in the wash tub;
a fluid property sensor configured to sense turbidity and/or conductivity of fluid from the wash tub; and
a controller coupled to the detergent dispenser and the weight, fluid level, and fluid property sensors, the controller configured to dynamically select a load type from among a plurality of load types prior to agitating the load based at least upon a weight value sensed by the weight sensor and a fluid level value sensed by the fluid level sensor, and to control a wash cycle at least based upon the selected load type and a fluid property value sensed by the fluid property sensor, wherein the controller is configured to control the wash cycle at least by controlling an amount of detergent dispensed by the detergent dispenser based at least in part upon the fluid property value.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A laundry washing machine and method utilize weight, fluid level and fluid property sensors to dynamically select a load type, control a wash cycle and control an amount of detergent dispensed during a wash cycle.
39 Citations
24 Claims
-
1. A laundry washing machine, comprising:
-
a wash tub disposed within a housing; a detergent dispenser configured to dispense detergent for washing a load disposed in the wash tub; a weight sensor operatively coupled to the wash tub to sense a weight associated with the wash tub; a fluid level sensor configured to sense a fluid level in the wash tub; a fluid property sensor configured to sense turbidity and/or conductivity of fluid from the wash tub; and a controller coupled to the detergent dispenser and the weight, fluid level, and fluid property sensors, the controller configured to dynamically select a load type from among a plurality of load types prior to agitating the load based at least upon a weight value sensed by the weight sensor and a fluid level value sensed by the fluid level sensor, and to control a wash cycle at least based upon the selected load type and a fluid property value sensed by the fluid property sensor, wherein the controller is configured to control the wash cycle at least by controlling an amount of detergent dispensed by the detergent dispenser based at least in part upon the fluid property value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
-
-
14. A laundry washing machine, comprising:
-
a wash tub disposed within a housing; a detergent dispenser configured to dispense detergent for washing a load disposed in the wash tub; a weight sensor operatively coupled to the wash tub to sense a weight associated with the wash tub; a fluid level sensor configured to sense a fluid level in the wash tub; a fluid property sensor configured to sense turbidity and/or conductivity of fluid from the wash tub; a water inlet configured to dispense water into the wash tub; and a controller coupled to the detergent dispenser, the water inlet and the weight, fluid level, and fluid property sensors, the controller configured to dynamically select a load type from among a plurality of load types based at least upon a weight value sensed by the weight sensor and a fluid level value sensed by the fluid level sensor, and to control a wash cycle at least based upon the selected load type and a fluid property value sensed by the fluid property sensor, wherein the controller is configured to control the wash cycle at least by controlling an amount of detergent dispensed by the detergent dispenser based at least in part upon the fluid property value, wherein the controller is further configured to initiate an initial fill phase of a wash cycle by controlling the water inlet to dispense water into the wash tub, and to dynamically select the load type during the initial fill phase after a selected amount of water has been dispensed by the water inlet, wherein the selected amount of water is less than a total amount of water dispensed during the initial fill phase, and wherein the controller is configured to select the load type prior to completing the initial fill phase. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
-
Specification