Apparatus and method of drying laundry with drying uniformity determination
First Claim
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1. A method of operating a laundry treating appliance having a treating chamber in which a laundry load is placed for treatment according to a cycle of operation, the method comprising:
- tumbling the laundry load within the treating chamber;
supplying heated air to the treating chamber to dry the laundry load;
repeatedly sensing a surface temperature of the laundry load during tumbling to form a temperature signal;
processing the temperature signal to form an upper envelope of the temperature signal and a lower envelope of the temperature signal;
repeatedly determining a difference between the upper envelope and the lower envelope to form a difference signal;
repeatedly comparing the difference signal to a partially-dry reference indicative of a portion of the laundry load being dry; and
initiating an operational action for the cycle of operation when the comparison indicates the laundry load is partially dry.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method of drying laundry in a treating chamber with a partially dry laundry load determination.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of operating a laundry treating appliance having a treating chamber in which a laundry load is placed for treatment according to a cycle of operation, the method comprising:
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tumbling the laundry load within the treating chamber; supplying heated air to the treating chamber to dry the laundry load; repeatedly sensing a surface temperature of the laundry load during tumbling to form a temperature signal; processing the temperature signal to form an upper envelope of the temperature signal and a lower envelope of the temperature signal; repeatedly determining a difference between the upper envelope and the lower envelope to form a difference signal; repeatedly comparing the difference signal to a partially-dry reference indicative of a portion of the laundry load being dry; and initiating an operational action for the cycle of operation when the comparison indicates the laundry load is partially dry. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A laundry treating appliance, comprising:
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a rotating treating chamber for holding a laundry load for drying; an air supply system for supplying air to the treating chamber and exhausting air from the treating chamber; a heating system selectively operable to heat the air supplied to the treating chamber; an infrared temperature sensor positioned to read the surface of the laundry load while in the treating chamber and outputting a temperature signal indicative of the surface temperature of the laundry load; and a controller receiving the temperature signal and executing a program to process the temperature signal to form an upper envelope of the temperature signal and a lower envelope of the temperature signal, determine a difference between the upper envelope and the lower envelope to form a difference signal, comparing the difference signal to a partially-dry reference indicative of a portion of the laundry load being dry, and initiating an operational action for the cycle of operation when the comparison indicates the laundry load is partially dry. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification