Laundry appliance having automatic start feature based on selected stain

• US 20030154560A1
• Filed: 01/07/2003
• Published: 08/21/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Maytag Corporation (Whirlpool Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Maytag Corporation (Whirlpool Corporation)
• Inventors: Herr, Nedra A., Lafrenz, Kristi R., Oleson, Brett C., Hood, Kimberly J., Ness, Brian L., Schober, Stephen D., Behrens, Jan D., Woods, Lashelle D.
• Granted Patent: US 7,516,629 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 8/159
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2101/06 Type or material
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2101/12 Washing temperature
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2101/20 Operation modes, e.g. delicate laundry washing programs, service modes or refreshment cycles
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2105/00 Systems or parameters controlled or affected by the control systems of washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 34/28 Arrangements for program selection, e.g. control panels therefor; Arrangements for indicating program parameters, e.g. the selected program or its progress

Abstract

A laundry appliance can be selectively operated in either manual or automatic modes of operation. In the automatic mode, a laundering operation is initiated upon receiving a single cycle input parameter from the user, preferably through a LCD touch screen display, while relying on additional operating cycle parameters established by factory preset settings or prior consumer established preferences. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a consumer need merely select a single cycle parameter, such as a type of stain adapted to be removed, and the appliance will start based on temperature and other setting parameters taken from memory. However, even with the automatic start feature activated, the user will still be able to adjust pre-established cycle parameters by changing default values after the cycle has started.

Claims

1. A method of performing a washing operation in a laundry appliance capable of an automatic mode of operation comprising:

selecting a particular stain to be addressed in a laundering operation; and

performing the laundering operation based on the particular stain selected by the user and additional, pre-established default parameters for the stain.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

enabling at least one of the default parameters to be altered by the user following initiation of the laundering operation.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing the user with a list of stains from which the particular stain can be selected.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

presenting an alpha screen to the user for use in establishing the particular stain.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

providing the list of stains after the user selects a letter from the alpha screen corresponding to the particular stain.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

presenting the user with a series of pre-treating instructions to the user prior to initiating the laundering operation.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

inputting a fabric type as an input parameter from the user in the automatic mode.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

operating in the automatic mode with the default parameters being based on factory settings stored in the laundry appliance.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

operating in the automatic mode with the default parameters being pre-programmed in the laundry appliance by the user.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

employing a screen integrated in the laundry appliance for selecting the particular stain by the user.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

displaying a summary of laundering parameters for review and approval by the user prior to performing the laundering operation.

12. A laundry appliance comprising:

means for inputting a particular stain to be addressed in a laundering operation; and

means for automatically establishing a laundering operation based on the particular stain in combination with additional, default parameters.

13. The laundry appliance according to claim 12, wherein the laundry appliance has the default parameters factory pre-installed therein.

14. The laundry appliance according to claim 12, further comprising:

means for pre-programming the default parameters in the laundry appliance by the user.

15. The laundry appliance according to claim 12, further comprising:

means for displaying a user with a list of stains from which the particular stain can be selected.

16. The laundry appliance according to claim 15, wherein the displaying means presents an alpha screen to the user for use in establishing the particular stain.

17. The laundry appliance according to claim 16, wherein the displaying means provides the list of stains after the user selects a letter from the alpha screen corresponding to the particular stain.

18. The laundry appliance according to claim 17, wherein the displaying means presents the user with a series of pre-treating instructions to the user prior to initiating the laundering operation.

19. The laundry appliance according to claim 15, wherein the displaying means comprises a screen integrated into the laundry appliance.

20. The laundry appliance according to claim 19, wherein the screen comprises an LCD touch screen.