Laundry washing machine with automatic selection of load type
AssigneeMidea Group Co., Ltd.
InventorsPhillip C. Hombroek, Christopher G. Hoppe
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A laundry washing machine and method automate the selection of a load type for a laundry washing machine during an initial fill phase of a wash cycle and based in part on weight and fluid level sensed by weight and fluid level sensors operatively coupled to a wash tub and after a selected amount of water has been dispensed into the wash tub.
Claims20
A method of operating a laundry washing machine of the type including a wash tub disposed within a housing and a water inlet configured to dispense water into the wash tub, the method comprising:
- initiating an initial fill phase of a wash cycle by controlling the water inlet to dispense a selected amount of water into the wash tub;
- sensing a weight value associated with the wash tub with a weight sensor operatively coupled to the wash tub after the selected amount of water has been dispensed by the water inlet;
- sensing a fluid level value with a fluid level sensor that senses fluid level in the wash tub after the selected amount of water has been dispensed by the water inlet;
- and
- dynamically selecting a load type from among a plurality of load types during the initial fill phase of the wash cycle and prior to agitating the load based upon the weight and fluid level values.
A method of operating a laundry washing machine of the type including a wash tub disposed within a housing and a water inlet configured to dispense water into the wash tub, the method comprising:
- initiating an initial fill phase of a wash cycle by controlling the water inlet to dispense a selected amount of water into the wash tub;
- sensing a weight value associated with the wash tub with a weight sensor operatively coupled to the wash tub after the selected amount of water has been dispensed by the water inlet;
- sensing a fluid level value with a fluid level sensor that senses fluid level in the wash tub after the selected amount of water has been dispensed by the water inlet;
- and
- dynamically selecting a load type from among a plurality of load types during the initial fill phase of the wash cycle based upon the weight and fluid level values, wherein dynamically selecting the load type includes:
- controlling the water inlet to dispense the selected amount of water into the wash tub;
- determining a first water absorption parameter for the load based upon the weight value sensed by the weight sensor after the selected amount of water is dispensed into the wash tub;
- determining a second water absorption parameter for the load based upon the fluid level value sensed by the fluid level sensor after the amount of water is dispensed into the wash tub;
- and
- selecting the load type based upon the determined first and second water absorption parameters.
A method of operating a laundry washing machine of the type including a wash tub disposed within a housing and a water inlet configured to dispense water into the wash tub, the method comprising:
- initiating an initial fill phase of a wash cycle by controlling the water inlet to dispense a selected amount of water into the wash tub, wherein the selected amount of water is less than a total amount of water dispensed during the initial fill phase;
- sensing a weight value associated with the wash tub with a weight sensor operatively coupled to the wash tub after the selected amount of water has been dispensed by the water inlet;
- sensing a fluid level value with a fluid level sensor that senses fluid level in the wash tub after the selected amount of water has been dispensed by the water inlet;
- and
- dynamically selecting a load type from among a plurality of load types during the initial fill phase of the wash cycle and prior to completing the initial fill phase based upon the weight and fluid level values.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.