Wash liquid level control system for an automatic washer
First Claim
1. A system for controlling the quantity of wash liquid supplied to an automatic washer, said automatic washer having a wash tub, a wash basket rotatably disposed in the wash tub, an agitator rotatably disposed in said basket and a wash liquid inlet device selectively operable to supply wash liquid to the wash basket, wherein said wash basket is adapted for receiving a clothes load, said system comprising:
- a clothes height measuring system for measuring the height of the clothes load disposed in said wash basket;
washing liquid level inference control means using a fuzzy inference operation for making an inference as to an optimum washing liquid level based on the clothes height, andcontrol means for regulating said wash liquid inlet device to fill said wash basket to said optimum washing liquid level.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automatic washing machine having an automatic washing liquid level control system including an ultrasonic apparatus for detecting the height of the clothes load in the washing machine and generating a signal representative of the clothes height, a control panel means for allowing user selection of the agitator speed, and means for generating a signal representative of the desired agitator speed. A control unit is provided including a fuzzy control which performs fuzzy inference on the basis of the signal representative of the clothes height and the signal representative of the agitator speed such that the optimum washing liquid level is achieved. In particular, membership functions according to fuzzy theory are defined for the clothes height and the agitator speed. Rules are defined for the height and agitator speed conditions such as for very high clothes height and low agitator speed, or medium high clothes height and high agitator speed, and so on. Each rule is executed using the fuzzy theory to thereby achieve an optimum washing liquid level.
19 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A system for controlling the quantity of wash liquid supplied to an automatic washer, said automatic washer having a wash tub, a wash basket rotatably disposed in the wash tub, an agitator rotatably disposed in said basket and a wash liquid inlet device selectively operable to supply wash liquid to the wash basket, wherein said wash basket is adapted for receiving a clothes load, said system comprising:
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a clothes height measuring system for measuring the height of the clothes load disposed in said wash basket; washing liquid level inference control means using a fuzzy inference operation for making an inference as to an optimum washing liquid level based on the clothes height, and control means for regulating said wash liquid inlet device to fill said wash basket to said optimum washing liquid level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A system for controlling the quantity of wash liquid supplied to an automatic washer, said automatic washer having a wash tub, a wash basket rotatably disposed in the wash tub, a wash liquid inlet device selectively operable to supply wash liquid to the wash basket, and an agitator rotatably disposed in the wash tub, wherein said wash basket is adapted for receiving a clothes load, said system comprising:
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a clothes height measuring means for measuring the height of the clothes load disposed in said wash basket; a motor drivingly interconnected with said agitator for selectively driving said agitator; means for allowing user input for selectively operating the washer through a programmed sequence of washing, rinsing and spinning steps; means for determining the selected agitator speed; and fuzzy control means for receiving a signal from said clothes height measuring means and said agitator rate determining means for controlling the quantity of wash liquid supplied to said wash tub by said wash liquid inlet device. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
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9. A method of controlling the quantity of wash liquid supplied to an automatic washer, said automatic washer having a wash tub, a wash basket rotatably disposed in the wash tub, a wash liquid inlet device selectively operable to supply wash liquid to the wash basket, an agitator rotatably disposed in the wash tub and a motor drivingly interconnected for selectively rotating the agitator, wherein said wash basket is adapted for receiving a clothes load, the method comprising the steps of:
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measuring a height value of the clothes load disposed in said wash basket; mapping said height value to values in accordance with predetermined input membership functions to obtain input clothes height set values; applying predetermined logic rules to said input clothes height set values to derive values for an output set; applying said output set values to predetermined output membership functions for arriving at a optimal washing liquid fill level; and operating said wash liquid inlet device such as to fill said basket to said optimal washing liquid fill level. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11)
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12. A system for controlling the quantity of wash liquid supplied to an automatic washer, said automatic washer having a wash tub, a wash liquid inlet device selectively operable to supply wash liquid to the wash basket, a wash basket rotatably disposed in the wash tub and an agitator rotatably disposed in the wash tub, wherein said wash basket is adapted for receiving a clothes load, said system comprising:
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a clothes height measuring means for measuring the height of the clothes load disposed in said wash basket; a motor drivingly interconnected with said agitator for selectively driving said agitator; means for allowing user input for selectively operating the washer through a programmed sequence of washing, rinsing and spinning steps; means for determining the selected agitator speed; and means for controlling the quantity of wash liquid supplied to said wash tub by said wash liquid inlet device in response to said clothes height measuring means and said agitator rate determining means. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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Specification