US 6,023,950 A · Arrangements provided for determining the type of textiles in the washload of clothes washing machines

Abstract

A clothes washing machine is provided with a wash tub (1) and a rotating arm (2) accommodated within the wash tub and adapted to contain washload items and capable of being driven so as to rotate both at high and low rotating speeds. A pressure switch (3) is arranged within an appropriate air chamber connected with the intake thereof at a location (4) situated below the lower level (5) of the wash tub. An inlet and shut-off (6) governs the water supply from the water delivery mains to the wash tub. The inlet and shut-off is arranged to detect average soaking characteristics of the washload items placed in the drum by first measuring their overall capacity of absorbing a defined amount of water, and then processing the measured capacity on the basis of the weight of the washload items, the weight being known. The machine operates by letting defined water amounts into the wash tub, wherein the water is allowed to be absorbed by the washload up to the maximum soaking capacity thereof and the amount of absorbed water is then measured at the difference between the amount of water let into the tub and the residual amount of water. Alternatively, the machine operates by performing a substantially similar procedure, except the washload undergoes a spin-extraction phase before the amount of residual water is measured and the calculations are made on the basis of the different water retention characteristics of the spin-extracted washload items.

Claims23

Dependent claims

A clothes washing machine comprising a washing tub (1), a drum (2) rotating within said washing tub and adapted to hold washload items and to be rotatably driven at a low speed and a high speed, a pressure switch (3) arranged within an appropriate air pressure switch (3) arranged within an appropriate air chamber connected with a pressure intake of the tub at a point (4) situated below a lowest level (5) of the tub, and inlet and shut-off means (6) governing water supply from water delivery mains to the washing tub, characterized in that the machine is arranged to detect average soaking characteristics of the washload items placed in the drum by first measuring overall capacity of the items for absorbing a definite amount of water and then processing said measured capacity based on a known weight of said washload items to determine a type of textiles comprising the washload items;

the amount of water filled in is based on a flow rate controlled by the water inlet means (6) provided to deliver water into the tub;
and said flow rate is determined by filling water into a known volume between a first reference level (L3) and a second reference level (L4) and recording a time needed for the water level to rise from said first level (L3) to said second level (L4).

A clothes washing machine comprising a washing tub (1), a drum (2) rotating within said washing tub and adapted to hold washload items and to be rotatably driven at a low speed and a high speed, a pressure switch (3) arranged within an appropriate air chamber connected with a pressure intake of the tub at a point (4) situated below a lowest level (5) of the tub, inlet and shut-off means (6) governing water supply from water delivery mains to the washing tub, and a circuit for recirculation of water contained in the tub characterized in that the machine is arranged to detect average soaking characteristics of the washload items placed in the drum by first measuring overall capacity of the items for absorbing a definite amount of water and then processing said measured capacity based on a known weight of said washload items to determine a type of textiles comprising the washload items, wherein said measurement of overall absorbing capacity is carried out by:

filling such an amount of water into the tub that a free surface of the water reaches up to a lowest level of the side wall of the drum, and storing information concerning such an amount;
carrying out a plurality of operation sequences, each one of which comprises a plurality of low-speed rotation and high-speed rotation cycles of the drum under simultaneous recirculation of the water, and recording a water level at the end of each sequence of high-speed rotation cycles of the drum;
carrying out a plurality of level-restoring water additions alternating with said plurality of operation sequences until a condition is reached in which a water level measured at the end of said plurality of high-speed rotation cycles of the drum is equal to or exceeds the previously recorded level, said level-restoring water additions being limited in all cases in such a manner that the free surface of the water in the tub remains constantly below the lowest level of the side wall of the drum;
calculating the amount of water absorbed by the washload contained in the drum by subtracting the amount of water corresponding to the last recorded level from the total amount of water filled in the tub;
and
calculating a washload to weight amount-of-absorbed-water ratio and identifying the mix of types of fabrics in the washload therefrom.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Arrangements provided for determining the type of textiles in the washload of clothes washing machines

Life of this patent

Arrangements provided for determining the type of textiles in the washload of clothes washing machines

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims23