Laundry machine and washing method with steam for the same
First Claim
1. A method of operating a laundry machine comprising:
- sensing that a selected course at a first selector is a course using steam as an only water based substance entering a tub or a drum for cleaning the laundry from a plurality of courses which includes various washing courses for washing laundry using liquid water supplied into the tub or the drum;
enabling a steam generator to generate and supply steam to the tub or the drum; and
performing the selected course by using only the steam entering the tub or the drum for cleaning the laundry,wherein, at the performing the selected course, an operation condition of the selected course is decided according to an initial factor, where the initial factor includes at least an initial interior temperature of the tub or the drum,wherein the operation condition is decided depending upon a result of comparison between the initial interior temperature and a reference temperature range, andthe operation condition includes at least one of an operation progress temperature of the interior the tub or the drum and an operation progress time, in order to decide and control an amount of steam to be supplied to the tub or the drum,wherein when the initial interior temperature is within the reference temperature range, the operation condition is decided based on the operation progress time, and when the initial interior temperature is out of the reference temperature range, the operation condition is decided based on the operation progress temperature.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed herein are a washing method and a laundry machine adopting the same, and more particularly, a steam washing method and a laundry machine that is capable of washing laundry only using steam and effectively performing a washing operation under the optimum operation condition. The steam washing method includes a selection step of allowing a user to select a steam washing course, in which a washing operation is performed only using steam, through an input unit, and an operation step of performing an operation based on the steam washing course while controlling at least one of a steam supply unit, a water supply unit, and a drum drive unit. The laundry machine includes an input unit for selecting a steam washing course, in which a washing operation is performed only using steam, among various washing courses, a steam supply unit for generating steam and supplying the generated steam to a tub or a drum, and a control unit for performing a control operation such that laundry received in the drum can be washed only using the steam when the steam washing course is inputted by the input unit.
26 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method of operating a laundry machine comprising:
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sensing that a selected course at a first selector is a course using steam as an only water based substance entering a tub or a drum for cleaning the laundry from a plurality of courses which includes various washing courses for washing laundry using liquid water supplied into the tub or the drum; enabling a steam generator to generate and supply steam to the tub or the drum; and performing the selected course by using only the steam entering the tub or the drum for cleaning the laundry, wherein, at the performing the selected course, an operation condition of the selected course is decided according to an initial factor, where the initial factor includes at least an initial interior temperature of the tub or the drum, wherein the operation condition is decided depending upon a result of comparison between the initial interior temperature and a reference temperature range, and the operation condition includes at least one of an operation progress temperature of the interior the tub or the drum and an operation progress time, in order to decide and control an amount of steam to be supplied to the tub or the drum, wherein when the initial interior temperature is within the reference temperature range, the operation condition is decided based on the operation progress time, and when the initial interior temperature is out of the reference temperature range, the operation condition is decided based on the operation progress temperature. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A laundry machine comprising:
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a steam generator to generate steam; a first selector to select a course using steam as an only water based substance entering a tub or a drum for cleaning the laundry from a plurality of courses which includes various washing courses for washing laundry using liquid water supplied into the tub or the drum; and a controller configured to decide an operation condition and the selected course, wherein the controller is configured to enable the steam generator to generate steam so that only the steam is supplied to the tub or the drum for cleaning the laundry when the selector indicates to the controller that the selected course is a course using steam, wherein, at the performing the selected course, the operation condition of the selected course is decided according to an initial factor, where the initial factor includes at least an initial interior temperature of the tub or the drum, wherein the operation condition is decided depending upon a result of comparison between the initial interior temperature and a reference temperature range, and the operation condition includes at least one of an operation progress temperature of the interior the tub or the drum and an operation progress time, in order to control an amount of steam to be supplied to the tub or the drum, and wherein when the initial interior temperature is within the reference temperature range, the operation condition is decided based on the operation progress time, and when the initial interior temperature is out of the reference temperature range, the operation condition is decided based on the operation progress temperature. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A method of operating a laundry machine comprising:
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sensing that a selected course at a first selector is a course using steam as an only water based substance entering a tub or a drum for cleaning the laundry from a plurality of courses which includes various washing courses for washing laundry using liquid water supplied into the tub or the drum; enabling a steam generator to generate and supply steam to the tub or the drum; performing the selected course by using only the steam entering the tub or the drum for cleaning the laundry, wherein, at the performing the selected course, an operation condition of the selected course is decided according to an initial factor, where the initial factor includes at least an initial interior temperature of the tub or the drum, wherein when the initial factor is the initial interior temperature of the tub or the drum, the operation condition is decided depending upon a result of comparison between the initial interior temperature and a reference temperature range, wherein the operation condition includes at least one of an operation progress temperature interior of the tub or the drum and an operation progress time, in order to decide and control an amount of steam to be supplied to the tub or the drum; wherein when the initial interior temperature is within the reference temperature range, the operation condition is decided based on the operation progress time, and when the initial interior temperature is out of the reference temperature range, the operation condition is decided based on the operation progress temperature, wherein, when the operation condition is decided based on the operation progress temperature, an amount of steam is supplied to the tub or the drum until an interior temperature of the tub or the drum reaches the operation progress temperature, wherein the operation progress temperature is decided such that the operation progress temperature is increased in proportion to an increase in the load amount of the laundry.
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41. A method of operating a laundry machine comprising:
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sensing that a selected course at a first selector is a course using steam as an only water based substance entering a tub or a drum for cleaning the laundry from a plurality of courses which includes various washing courses for washing laundry using liquid water supplied into the tub or the drum; enabling a steam generator to generate and supply steam to the tub or the drum; performing the selected course by using only the steam entering the tub or the drum for cleaning the laundry, wherein, at the performing the selected course, an operation condition of the selected course is decided according to an initial factor, where the initial factor includes at least an initial interior temperature of the tub or the drum, wherein when the initial factor is the initial interior temperature of the tub or the drum, the operation condition is decided depending upon a result of comparison between the initial interior temperature and a reference temperature range, and the operation condition includes at least one of an operation progress temperature interior of the tub or the drum and an operation progress time, in order to decide and control an amount of steam to be supplied to the tub or the drum; wherein when the initial interior temperature is within the reference temperature range, the operation condition is decided based on the operation progress time, and when the initial interior temperature is out of the reference temperature range, the operation condition is decided based on the operation progress temperature, wherein, when the operation condition is decided based on the operation progress time, steam is supplied to the tub or the drum for a duration equal to the operation progress time, wherein the operation progress time is decided such that the operation progress time is increased in proportion to an increase in the load amount of the laundry.
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Specification