EFFICIENT ENERGY USAGE FOR A LAUNDRY APPLIANCE

• US 20130160219A1
• Filed: 05/11/2012
• Published: 06/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Original Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Inventors: ASHRAFZADEH, FARHAD, JANKE, BRIAN P., ZASOWSKI, PETER E.
• Granted Patent: US 8,819,880 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 8/137
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2103/08 Humidity
• 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 25/00 Washing machines with receptacles, e.g. perforated, having a rotary movement, e.g. oscillatory movement, the receptacle serving both for washing and for centrifugally separating water from the laundry and having further drying means, e.g. using hot air control of washing or of washing and drying D06F33/00, D06F34/00; domestic laundry dryers D06F58/00
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 33/46 Control of the energy or water consumption
• 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 treating appliance has a rotatable drum at least partially defining a treating chamber for receiving a laundry load for treatment according to at least one cycle of operation and operated such that the extraction of liquid from the laundry load is controlled based on the inertia of the laundry load so that the total energy usage by the laundry treating appliance and a laundry drying appliance with which it is operably coupled may be minimized.

Claims

1. A method of controlling the operation of a laundry treating appliance having a rotating drum defining a treating chamber in which a laundry load is received for treatment, the method comprising:

extracting moisture from the laundry load by rotating the drum to apply a centrifugal force to the laundry load;

monitoring the remaining moisture content of the laundry load during the extracting of moisture;

determining at least one of an amount of energy and cost of energy to extract additional moisture; and

terminating the extracting of the moisture when the at least one of an amount of energy and cost of energy satisfies a threshold.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the rotating the drum comprises rotating the drum at a speed wherein at least a portion of the laundry load is satellized within the treating chamber.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the monitoring the remaining moisture content comprises monitoring an operating parameter that is indicative of the mass of the laundry load.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the operating parameter comprises the inertia of at least one of the laundry load and the laundry load in combination with the drum.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the operating parameter comprises the torque of a motor rotating the drum.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the operating parameter comprises the number of electrical closings of two spaced electrodes in the treating chamber.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the satisfying the threshold comprises the at least one of an amount of energy and cost of energy exceeding a corresponding amount of energy and cost of energy to remove the additional moisture by drying.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the corresponding amount of energy and cost of energy is determined by a controller controlling the operation of the laundry treating appliance.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the controller either calculates or looks up the corresponding amount of energy and cost of energy.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the corresponding amount of energy and cost of energy is determined by a laundry drying appliance in communication with the laundry treating appliance.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining at least one of an amount of energy and cost of energy to extract additional moisture comprises determining at least one of an amount of energy and cost of energy to extract a predetermined amount of additional moisture.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the predetermined amount of additional moisture is a percentage of the moisture by weight of the laundry load.

13. A laundry treating appliance configured to implement at least one cycle of operation to treat a laundry load, comprising:

a rotatable drum at least partially defining a treating chamber in which a laundry load is received for treatment;

a motor rotatably driving the drum;

a moisture sensor providing a moisture signal indicative of the remaining moisture content of the laundry load; and

a controller operably coupled to the motor and receiving the moisture signal to extract moisture from the laundry load by rotating the drum to apply a centrifugal force to the laundry load until at least one of an amount of energy and cost of energy to extract additional moisture satisfies a threshold.

14. The laundry treating appliance of claim 13 wherein the controller determines the at least one of an amount of energy and cost of energy to extract additional moisture based on the moisture signal.

15. The laundry treating appliance of claim 13 wherein the moisture sensor comprises an inertia sensor that provides a signal indicative of the inertia of at least one of the laundry load and the laundry load in combination with the drum.

16. The laundry treating appliance of claim 13 wherein the threshold comprises the at least one of an amount of energy and cost of energy to remove the additional moisture by drying.

17. A laundry treating system comprising:

a laundry treating appliance having a rotating treating chamber in which a laundry load is received for treatment according to a treating cycle of operation implemented by a controller, which controls the rotating of the treating chamber to extract moisture from the laundry load by rotating the drum to apply a centrifugal force to the laundry load; and

a laundry drying appliance having a rotating treating chamber in which the laundry load is received for drying according to a drying cycle of operation implemented by a controller, which controls a supply of heated air to the treating chamber after treatment of the laundry load in the laundry treating appliance;

wherein the laundry treating appliance and the laundry drying appliance are in communication, and at least one of the controllers determines at least one of an amount of energy and cost of energy to extract additional moisture from the laundry load in the laundry treating appliance and the laundry drying appliance, and the extracting of moisture in the laundry treating appliance is terminated when the at least one of the amount of energy and cost of energy is lower for the laundry drying appliance than the laundry treating appliance.

18. The laundry treating system of claim 17 wherein the laundry treating appliance is in communication with the laundry drying appliance and data relevant to the determination of the at least one of the amount of energy and cost of energy is transmitted between the laundry treating appliance and the laundry drying appliance.

19. The laundry treating system of claim 18 wherein the data comprises cost data.

20. The laundry treating system of claim 19 wherein the cost data comprises a model identifier.