Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9863080-B2
Application number	US-201514945891-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 19, 2015
Priority date	Nov 19, 2015
Publication date	Jan 9, 2018
Grant date	Jan 9, 2018

Abstract

A method of estimating a water extraction profile in a laundry treating appliance includes accelerating rotation of the drum during a water extraction cycle, determining, during the accelerating rotation, a torque of the motor, an acceleration of the drum, a speed of the drum, and/or an angular position of the drum, and estimating with a parameter estimator, at multiple times during the accelerating rotation, inertia of a laundry load, based on the torque, acceleration, speed, and/or angular position of the drum to establish multiple inertia values. A water extraction profile is then estimated based on the inertia values.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of monitoring water extraction in a laundry treating appliance having a drum at least partially defining a treating chamber for receiving a laundry load for treatment according to a cycle of operation with an unloaded drum inertia value, and a motor operably coupled with the drum to rotate the drum, the method comprising:
accelerating rotation of the drum during a water extraction cycle;
determining, during the accelerating rotation, by a controller communicably coupled with the motor, at least one of a torque of the motor, an acceleration of the drum, a speed of the drum, or an angular position of the drum;
estimating with a parameter estimator algorithm, at more than one time during the accelerating rotation, inertia of a laundry load, using the determined at least one of the torque, acceleration, speed, or angular position of the drum to establish inertia values as an input to the algorithm;
estimating with the parameter estimator algorithm, during the accelerating rotation, at least one of a water extraction rate or water quantity remaining to be extracted of the laundry load using as inputs the estimated inertia values;
comparing the estimated inertia values to a look up table or function to estimate the water extraction rate or water quantity remaining to be extracted; and
adjusting a speed profile of the drum during a spin phase of the water extraction cycle in response to the estimated water extraction rate or water quantity remaining.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the estimated inertia values are multiple inertia values estimated at multiple times.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising determining a dry load inertia from a first inertia value, determining a wet load inertia from a second inertia value, determining a wet to dry ratio of the wet load inertia to the dry load inertia from at least the first and second inertia values, and determining a load type ratio from at least the first and second inertia values, wherein the water extraction rate or water quantity remaining to be extracted is estimated from at least one of the edry load inertia, the wet to dry ratio, or the load type ratio.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the dry load inertia is a difference between the first inertia value and the unloaded drum inertia value.

5. The method of claim 4 wherein the wet to dry ratio is a difference between a wet inertia value and the unloaded drum inertia value divided by the dry load inertia.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the load type ratio is a difference between two wet inertia values divided by the dry load inertia.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein estimating the water extraction rate or water quantity remaining to be extracted utilizes a linear, quadratic or a polynomial fit model comprising:
at least one of the terms J dryload ,W2D, and LTR, where J dryload denotes dry load inertia, W2D denotes wet to dry ratio, and LTR denotes load type ratio.

8. The method of claim 3 further comprising estimating the water extraction rate or water quantity remaining to be extracted utilizing a look-up table comprising at least one of the terms J dryload , W2D, and LTR, where J dryload denotes dry load inertia, W2D denotes wet to dry ratio, and LTR denotes load type ratio.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein estimating the inertia utilizes a first model comprising:
T=J{dot over (ω)}+bω+c+A sin(α+β)

wherein T=torque, J=inertia, {dot over (ω)}=acceleration of the drum, ω=rotational speed of the drum, b=viscous friction, c=coulomb friction, A=a first harmonic torque disturbance magnitude, α=rotational position of the drum, and β=rotational position of an imbalance of the laundry load relative to the rotational position of the drum.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising comparing an estimated water extraction rate or water quantity remaining to be extracted with a threshold, and if the estimated water extraction rate or water quantity remaining to be extracted exceeds the threshold, adjusting a final rotation speed of the drum.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising comparing an estimated water extraction rate or water quantity remaing to be extracted with a threshold, and if the estimated water extraction rate or water quantity remaining to be extracted exceeds the threshold, adjusting one of an acceleration profile of the drum or a duration of a water extraction spin phase.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining a final spin speed of the drum, a maximum allowable acceleration rate of the drum, and a duration of the water extraction cycle as a function of an estimated water extraction rate or water quantity remaining to be extracted through the use of a closed-form formula comprising the estimated water extraction rate or water quantity remaining to be extracted.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining a final spin speed of the drum, a maximum allowable acceleration rate of the drum, and a duration of the water extraction cycle as a function of an estimated water extraction rate or water quantity remaining to be extracted through the use of a look-up table comprising the estimated water extraction rate or water quantity remaining to be extracted.

14. A method of operating a laundry treating appliance having a drum rotationally driven by a motor controlled by a controller, the method comprising:
accelerating the rotational speed of the drum during an extraction phase according to a speed profile implemented by the controller;
generating, in real time and during the accelerating, multiple inertia values indicative of the inertia of a laundry load in the drum;
estimating, in real time and during the accelerating, with a parameter estimator algorithm implemented by the controller, using the multiple inertia values as inputs to the parameter estimator algorithm, a water extraction profile for the extraction phase indicative of at least one of a rate of water extraction or a remaining water amount for the extraction phase
comparing the estimated inertia values to a look up table or function to estimate the water extraction rate or water quantity remaining to be extracted; and
adjusting in real time and during the accelerating, the speed profile in response to the estimated water extraction profile.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the generating the multiple inertia values comprises generating the multiple inertia values using at least one of at least one of a torque of the motor, an acceleration of the drum, or a speed of the drum.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein adjusting the speed profile comprises adjusting at least one of an acceleration rate, a dwell time, a dwell speed, or a final speed for the speed profile.

Assignees

• Whirlpool Co

Inventors

• Fugal Nicholas C
• Janke Brian P
• Morrow Bradley D
• Sumer Erol D

Classifications

• D06F37/304 Primary

  Arrangements or adaptations of electric motors · CPC title

• D06F33/36 Primary

  of washing · CPC title

• D06F33/48

  Preventing or reducing imbalance or noise · CPC title

• D06F2105/48

  Drum speed · CPC title

• D06F2105/00

  Systems or parameters controlled or affected by the control systems of washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers · CPC title