Method to determine fabric type in a laundry treating appliance using motor current signature during agitation

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9945060-B2
Application number	US-201213353347-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 19, 2012
Priority date	Jan 19, 2012
Publication date	Apr 17, 2018
Grant date	Apr 17, 2018

Abstract

Disclosed is a method of operating a laundry treating appliance having a treating chamber that receives a laundry load for treatment according to a cycle of operation. The method includes determining the size of the laundry load in the treating chamber; supplying a predetermined amount of liquid to the treating chamber based on the determined load size; applying mechanical energy to the laundry treating chamber by driving a clothes mover with an electric motor; determining a difference between an in-rush current to the electric motor and a steady-state current of the electric motor during the applying of the mechanical energy; and determining a laundry load type of the laundry load based on the determined difference.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for operating a laundry treating appliance having a treating chamber that receives a laundry load for treatment according to a cycle of operation, the method comprising:
determining the size of the laundry load in the treating chamber,
supplying a predetermined amount of liquid to the treating chamber based on the determined load size;
applying mechanical energy to the laundry treating chamber after supplying the liquid to the treating chamber by driving a clothes mover with an electric motor;
determining a difference in electric current values between an initial electric current to the electric motor, and a steady-state electric current to the electric motor, during the applying of the mechanical energy; and
determining a laundry load type of the laundry load based on the determined difference in electric current values.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the load size is determined from a user input to the laundry treating appliance.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the load size is determined by rotating the treating chamber with the electric motor and determining an operating characteristic of the motor that is indicative of the inertia of the laundry load.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the operating characteristic is torque.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the clothes mover comprises a rotatable drum defining the treating chamber.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the clothes mover comprises an agitator located within the treating chamber.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining the difference in electric current values comprises a controller receiving a current signal from a current sensor, where the current signal is indicative of the motor current and the controller determines the difference in electric current values.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the determining a laundry load type comprises determining a qualitative laundry load type.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the qualitative laundry load type comprises at least one of a light load and a heavy load.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the light load is a relatively non-absorbent load and the heavy load is a relatively absorbent load.

11. The method of claim 1 further comprising supplying liquid to the treating chamber to provide a treating amount of liquid based on the laundry load type.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the treating amount of liquid is determined by supplying liquid to the treating chamber while repeatedly determining the difference in electric current values until the determined difference satisfies a threshold.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the threshold is a maximum difference in electric current values.

Assignees

• Chanda Hirak
• Ghosh Kaustav
• Leitert Andrew J
• Mcallister Karl David
• Rapson Amy L
• Strait Jon D
• Yuan Yingqin
• Whirlpool Co

Inventors

• Chanda Hirak
• Ghosh Kaustav
• Leitert Andrew J
• Mcallister Karl David
• Rapson Amy L
• Strait Jon D
• Yuan Yingqin

Classifications

• D06F34/18

  Condition of the laundry, e.g. nature or weight · CPC title

• D06F13/06 Primary

  wherein the agitator has both rotary, e.g. oscillating rotary, motion and axial motion · CPC title

• D06F39/003

  Textiles & Paper · mapped topic

• D06F2103/46

  of the motor driving the drum · CPC title

• D06F2103/06

  Type or material · CPC title