Methods and apparatus to detect treating chemistries in laundry appliances

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9587339-B2
Application number	US-201414506753-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 6, 2014
Priority date	Oct 6, 2014
Publication date	Mar 7, 2017
Grant date	Mar 7, 2017

Abstract

An example laundry treating appliance includes a tub, a rotatable drum disposed in the tub and defining a treating chamber in which laundry is received for treatment according to a cycle of operation, a treating chemistry dispenser having an outlet and a cup having a siphon, configured to dispense a treating chemistry into at least one of the tub or the drum, a sensor, and a controller configured to at least: introduce a predetermined amount of liquid into the cup sufficient to activate the siphon if a predetermined amount of the treating chemistry is present in the cup; detect whether the siphon activates in response to the predetermined amount of liquid based on an output of the sensor; and modify cycle of operation based on whether the siphon activates in response to the predetermined amount of liquid.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A laundry treating appliance comprising;
a tub;
a rotatable drum disposed in the tub and defining a treating chamber in which laundry is received for treatment according to a cycle of operation;
a treating chemistry dispenser having an outlet and a cup having a siphon, configured to dispense a treating chemistry into at least one of the tub or the drum;
a sensor to sense the presence of an amount of liquid; and
a controller configured to:
introduce a predetermined amount of liquid into the cup sufficient to activate the siphon if a predetermined amount of the treating chemistry is present in the cup;
determine whether the siphon activates in response to the predetermined amount of liquid based on an output of the sensor; and
modify the cycle of operation based on whether the siphon activates in response to the predetermined amount of liquid.

2. A laundry treating appliance as defined in claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
introduce an additional predetermined amount of liquid into the cup sufficient to activate the siphon if another predetermined amount of treating chemistry is present in the cup;
determine whether the siphon activates in response to the additional predetermined amount of liquid based the output of the sensor; and
modify the cycle of operation based on whether the siphon activates in response to the additional predetermined amount of liquid.

3. A laundry treating appliance as defined in claim 1 , wherein the sensor comprises an analog pressure sensor output associated with a sump of the laundry treating appliance, and wherein the controller is further configured to:
determine an initial in rush of liquid into the sump based on the analog pressure sensor output; and
collect samples of a signal output by the analog pressure sensor subsequent to the in rush; and
detect a progressive increase of liquid in the sump based on the collected samples.

4. A laundry treating appliance as defined in claim 1 , wherein the sensor is associated with the cup.

5. A laundry treating appliance as defined in claim 4 , wherein the sensor comprises at least one of a displacement sensor, a mass sensor, a Hall Effect sensor, an accelerometer, a capacitive sensor, or a float.

6. A laundry treating appliance as defined in claim 1 , wherein the sensor is associated with the siphon.

7. A laundry treating appliance as defined in claim 6 , wherein the sensor comprises a capacitive sensor.

8. A laundry treating appliance as defined in claim 1 , wherein the sensor is associated with the outlet of the dispenser.

9. A laundry treating appliance as defined in claim 8 , wherein the sensor comprises at least one of a turbidity sensor or a piezoelectric sensor.

10. A laundry treating appliance as defined in claim 1 , wherein the controller comprises:
a processor; and
processor-readable instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to:
introduce the predetermined amount of the liquid into the cup;
determine whether the siphon activates in response to the predetermined amount of liquid; and
modify the cycle of operation based on whether the siphon activates in response to the predetermined amount of liquid.

Assignees

• Whirlpool Co

Inventors

• Goshgarian David P
• Mcallister Karl David

Classifications

• D06F39/022

  in a liquid state (D06F39/024 takes precedence) · CPC title

• D06F2202/10

  Textiles & Paper · mapped topic

• D06F2202/085

  Textiles & Paper · mapped topic

• D06F39/02

  Devices for adding soap or other washing agents · CPC title

• D06F39/028

  Arrangements for selectively supplying water to detergent compartments · CPC title