Energy management of clothes washer appliance
First Claim
1. A clothes washer comprising:
- one or more power consuming, functions including at least one of a tub, a drive system for driving a basket, and a water delivery system comprising a pump for delivering water to the tub; and
,a controller in signal communication with an associated utility company, the controller configured to receive and process a signal indicative of a current state of the associated utility company, wherein the associated utility company indicated current state is at least one of a demand period status, a current energy cost, and an energy availability;
the controller configured to operate the clothes washer in one of a plurality of operating modes, including at least a normal operating mode and an energy sayings mode, in response to the received signal, the controller being;
configured to change the power consuming functions by adjusting one or more of an operation schedule, an operation delay, an operation adjustment, and a selective deactivation of at least one of the one or more power consuming features/functions so that the clothes washer enters a lower energy usage mode.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A clothes washer is provided comprising one or more power consuming functions and a controller in signal communication with an associated utility. The controller can receive and process a signal from the associated utility indicative of current state of an associated utility. The controller operates the clothes washer in one of a plurality of operating modes, including at least a normal operating mode and an energy savings mode in response to the received signal. The controller is configured to change the power consuming functions by adjusting one or more of an operation schedule, an operation delay, an operation adjustment, and a selective deactivation of at least one of the one or more power consuming functions to reduce power consumption of the clothes washer in the energy savings mode.
225 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A clothes washer comprising:
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one or more power consuming, functions including at least one of a tub, a drive system for driving a basket, and a water delivery system comprising a pump for delivering water to the tub; and
,a controller in signal communication with an associated utility company, the controller configured to receive and process a signal indicative of a current state of the associated utility company, wherein the associated utility company indicated current state is at least one of a demand period status, a current energy cost, and an energy availability; the controller configured to operate the clothes washer in one of a plurality of operating modes, including at least a normal operating mode and an energy sayings mode, in response to the received signal, the controller being;
configured to change the power consuming functions by adjusting one or more of an operation schedule, an operation delay, an operation adjustment, and a selective deactivation of at least one of the one or more power consuming features/functions so that the clothes washer enters a lower energy usage mode. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A clothes washer comprising:
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a tub for receiving washing liquid; a perforated basket disposed within the tub for receiving items to be washed; a drive system for driving the basket; and
,a controller configured to control energization of the drive system to selectively implement a plurality of power consuming cycles, and to receive and process an energy signal indicative of a current state of an associated utility company, wherein the associated utility company indicated current state is at least one of a utility peak demand period, a utility off-peak demand period, a current energy cost, and an enemy availability; the controller configured to operate the clothes washer in one of an energy savings mode and a normal operating mode based on the received signal being in the first and second states respectively, the controller being configured to at least one of selectively delay or alter one or more of the power consuming cycles so that the clothes washer enters a lower energy usage mode. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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Specification