Adaptive Automatic Laundry Washer Water Fill
First Claim
1. An automatic washing machine comprising:
- a wash tub and nested wash basket;
a wash liquid supply flow path arranged to selectively flow wash liquid into said tub;
a pressure sensor configured to measure a liquid pressure in the wash tub;
a motor operably connected to rotate the wash basket in the wash tub; and
control circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the washing machine to perform the steps of;
(a) adding wash liquid into the wash tub through the wash liquid supply flow path;
(b) rotating the wash basket with the motor following step (a);
(c) detecting a first liquid pressure within the wash tub using the pressure sensor during the rotation of the wash basket;
(d) determining whether there is a sufficient amount of wash liquid in the wash tub for any laundry load present in the wash basket, based at least in part on the detected first liquid pressure; and
(e) adding more wash liquid to the wash tub if it is determined in step (d) that there is an insufficient amount of wash liquid in the wash tub.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A washer fill system and method supply a suitable minimum amount of water necessary to wash a particular load of laundry based on readings taken from a pressure sensor that measures liquid pressure in the wash tub. During the fill period, water is initially sprayed over the load to evenly wet the clothes. As the clothes become saturated, excess free water collects at the bottom and begins to fill the tub. Pressure sensor readings are taken intermittently during the fill process to determine when a sufficient amount of free water for washing the load of clothes has accumulated in the tub. This includes pressure readings taken while pulsing the washer motor to spin the wash basket. Other pressure readings may be taken during a pause in filling to measure the water run-off from the wetted clothes above the free water line, and the release of air bubbles from a load portion below the water line. Determining the sufficiency of the amount of wash liquid in the wash tub involves implementation of an algorithm with coefficients determined through regression analyses, and may include other factors such as the water temperature and wash cycle setting for the laundry load. In another embodiment, pressure readings and associated calculations are used to determine a load size, which is in turn used to determine a time fill interval. The fill interval may be adjusted based upon determined water flow rates.
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Citations
46 Claims
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1. An automatic washing machine comprising:
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a wash tub and nested wash basket; a wash liquid supply flow path arranged to selectively flow wash liquid into said tub; a pressure sensor configured to measure a liquid pressure in the wash tub; a motor operably connected to rotate the wash basket in the wash tub; and control circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the washing machine to perform the steps of; (a) adding wash liquid into the wash tub through the wash liquid supply flow path; (b) rotating the wash basket with the motor following step (a); (c) detecting a first liquid pressure within the wash tub using the pressure sensor during the rotation of the wash basket; (d) determining whether there is a sufficient amount of wash liquid in the wash tub for any laundry load present in the wash basket, based at least in part on the detected first liquid pressure; and (e) adding more wash liquid to the wash tub if it is determined in step (d) that there is an insufficient amount of wash liquid in the wash tub. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An automatic washing machine comprising:
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a wash tub; a wash liquid supply flow path arranged to selectively flow wash liquid into said tub; a pressure sensor configured to measure a liquid pressure in the wash tub; and
control circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the washing machine to perform the steps of;(a) adding a first amount of wash liquid into the wash tub through said flow path, wherein adding the first amount of wash liquid results in the wetting of at least some portion of a load of laundry in the wash basket, and wherein after adding the wash liquid into the wash tub, a pool of free water has accumulated in the wash tub and at least some portion of the load of laundry is above the water line of the pool of free water; (b) detecting a first liquid pressure within the wash tub using the pressure sensor; (c) waiting an amount of time following step (b) during which some amount of wash liquid from the portion of the load above the water line has dropped down into the pool of free water and/or air bubbles have been released from a portion of the load below the water line; (d) detecting a second liquid pressure within the wash tub using the pressure sensor, following step (c); (e) determining whether there is a sufficient amount of wash liquid in the wash tub for the load of laundry, based at least in part on the detected first and second liquid pressures; and (f) adding additional wash liquid to the wash tub if it is determined in step (e) that there is an insufficient amount of wash liquid in the wash tub. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An automated method for filling a wash tub of an automatic washing machine, comprising the steps of:
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(a) adding wash liquid into a wash tub; (b) rotating a wash basket in the wash tub; (c) detecting a first liquid pressure within the wash tub during the rotation of the wash basket; (d) determining whether there is a sufficient amount of wash liquid in the wash tub for any laundry load present in the wash basket, based at least in part on the detected first liquid pressure; and (e) adding more wash liquid to the wash tub if it is determined in step (d) that there is an insufficient amount of wash liquid in the wash tub. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. An automated method for filling a wash tub of an automatic washing machine, comprising the steps of:
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(a) adding a first amount of wash liquid into a wash tub, wherein adding the first amount of wash liquid results in the wetting of at least some portion of a load of laundry in a wash basket in the wash tub, and wherein after adding the wash liquid into the wash tub, a pool of free water has accumulated in the wash tub and at least some portion of the load of laundry is above the water line of the pool of free water; (b) detecting a first liquid pressure within the wash tub using a pressure sensor configured to measure liquid pressure in the wash tub; (c) waiting an amount of time following step (b) during which some amount of water from the portion of the load above the water line has flowed down into the pool of free water and/or air bubbles have been released from a portion of the load below the water line; (d) detecting a second liquid pressure within the wash tub using the pressure sensor, following step (c); (e) determining whether there is a sufficient amount of wash liquid in the wash tub for the load of laundry based at least in part on the detected first and second liquid pressures; and (f) adding additional wash liquid to the wash tub if it is determined in step (e) that there is an insufficient amount of wash liquid in the wash tub. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. An automatic washing machine comprising:
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a wash tub; a wash liquid supply flow path arranged to selectively flow wash liquid into said tub; a pressure sensor configured to measure a liquid pressure in the wash tub; and control circuitry, wherein the control circuitry is configured to control the washing machine to perform the steps of; (a) detecting at least a first liquid pressure within the wash tub using the pressure sensor; (b) determining a load size based upon the liquid pressure(s) detected in step (a); (c) determining a flow rate of wash liquid added to the wash tub through said wash liquid supply flow path; (d) calculating a wash tub fill time based on the load size determination of step (b), and the flow rate determined in step (c); and (e) adding wash liquid to the wash tub through the wash liquid supply flow path for a duration of time equal to the wash tub fill time. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. An automated method for filling a wash tub of an automatic washing machine, comprising the steps of:
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(a) detecting at least a first liquid pressure within a wash tub; (b) determining a load size based upon the liquid pressure(s) detected in step (a); (c) determining a flow rate for adding wash liquid into the wash tub; (d) calculating a wash tub fill time based on the load size determination of step (b), and the flow rate determined in step (c); and (e) adding wash liquid to the wash tub for a duration of time equal to the wash tub fill time. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification