EP0704568B1 - Improvement in a washing machine with automatic determination of the weight of the wash load - Google Patents

Improvement in a washing machine with automatic determination of the weight of the wash load Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0704568B1
EP0704568B1 EP95112646A EP95112646A EP0704568B1 EP 0704568 B1 EP0704568 B1 EP 0704568B1 EP 95112646 A EP95112646 A EP 95112646A EP 95112646 A EP95112646 A EP 95112646A EP 0704568 B1 EP0704568 B1 EP 0704568B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
drum
washload
speed
motor
machine
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP95112646A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0704568A1 (en
Inventor
Fabio Marcuzzi
Mario Trangoni
Francesco Drius
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Electrolux Zanussi SpA
Original Assignee
Electrolux Zanussi Elettrodomestici SpA
Electrolux Zanussi SpA
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Electrolux Zanussi Elettrodomestici SpA, Electrolux Zanussi SpA filed Critical Electrolux Zanussi Elettrodomestici SpA
Publication of EP0704568A1 publication Critical patent/EP0704568A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0704568B1 publication Critical patent/EP0704568B1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
    • D06F34/00—Details of control systems for washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
    • D06F34/14—Arrangements for detecting or measuring specific parameters
    • D06F34/18—Condition of the laundry, e.g. nature or weight
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
    • D06F2103/00—Parameters monitored or detected for the control of domestic laundry washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
    • D06F2103/02—Characteristics of laundry or load
    • D06F2103/04—Quantity, e.g. weight or variation of weight
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
    • D06F2103/00—Parameters monitored or detected for the control of domestic laundry washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
    • D06F2103/24—Spin speed; Drum movements
    • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
    • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
    • D06F2105/00—Systems or parameters controlled or affected by the control systems of washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
    • D06F2105/46—Drum speed; Actuation of motors, e.g. starting or interrupting
    • D06F2105/48—Drum speed

Definitions

  • the present invention refers to a clothes washing machine, particularly of the household type, provided with improved means for automatically determining the weight of the load of items to be washed.
  • the present invention refers specially to clothes washing machines of the front-loading type, and for the sake of convenient exemplification the following description is actually referred to such a front-loading type of clothes washing machine, it will be appreciated that it may advantageously apply to other types of clothes washing machines as well, particularly to top-loading machines or machines having their drum rotating about an oblique axis.
  • Clothes washing machines provided with means adapted to automatically identify the load of items to be washed are known in the art, wherein the term load, or washload, is used here and in the following description to solely mean the overall mass of the items to be washed, and not their nature or characteristics.
  • the ability of the washing machine to recognize in an automatic manner each washload that is introduced in its drum for processing is a pre-requisite in view of the self-programming ability of the same machine, which will then be able to automatically define all of the parameters to be used in the washing process, such as the amount of detergent, the amount of water to be filled in, the number and the type of washing and rinsing phases to be performed, etc., so as to each time optimize the operation of the machine, while sparing the user the trouble of having to select each time the most suitable programme and in this way avoiding his or her quite frequently introducing in the process programming errors that prevent the machine from operating in optimum conditions.
  • the measurement of the dry washload is performed by successively driving the drum holding the washload at two distinct, pre-determined speeds of rotation, while measuring both the time and the torque needed to reach the first one of said two speeds of rotation, as well as both the time and the torque needed to increase the speed of rotation of the drum from said first speed to a second pre-determined speed with a different motor torque.
  • water is used to equally mean washing liquor or rinsing water.
  • Such a simplification should not, however, affect the clearness and intelligibility of what is set forth in said description, owing to the context in which such terms are used, as anyone skilled in the art will readily appreciate.
  • the described clothes washing machine comprises a washing tub 1, a drum 2 rotatably arranged within said washing tub and adapted to accomodate the washload 3, an electric motor 4 associated with said drum and adapted to drive it at variable, pre-selectable speeds of rotation.
  • the washing machine is provided with a variable-speed motor and an arrangement adapted to deliver the information relating to the instantaneous speed of rotation of the drum (typically this is a tachometer, but any other device capable of delivering such an information would do for the job).
  • appropriate devices capable of acquiring and delivering an information equivalent or corresponding to the output torque of the motor shall be provided accordingly.
  • Such devices are generally known in the art and may be appropriately selected by those skilled in the art among the variety of existing solutions, such as for instance a peak-voltage detector and a phase-delay type motor control, or a circuit capable of integrating a current equivalent to the motor current, etc.
  • a processing element (not shown) is further provided, in which following data are stored:
  • the inertia of the washing machine without washload is determined automatically by the machine by performing the procedure under no load conditions, ie. without any washload introduced in the drum.
  • a kind of self-calibration of each machine can in this way be performed so as to eliminate any manufacturing variable from the calculation of the weight of the washload.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Textile Engineering (AREA)
  • Control Of Washing Machine And Dryer (AREA)
  • Detail Structures Of Washing Machines And Dryers (AREA)
EP95112646A 1994-09-28 1995-08-11 Improvement in a washing machine with automatic determination of the weight of the wash load Expired - Lifetime EP0704568B1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
ITPN940058 1994-09-28
IT94PN000058A IT1267587B1 (it) 1994-09-28 1994-09-28 Lavabiancheria perfezionata con determinazione automatica del peso

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0704568A1 EP0704568A1 (en) 1996-04-03
EP0704568B1 true EP0704568B1 (en) 1998-12-30

Family

ID=11394950

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP95112646A Expired - Lifetime EP0704568B1 (en) 1994-09-28 1995-08-11 Improvement in a washing machine with automatic determination of the weight of the wash load

Country Status (5)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0704568B1 (es)
JP (1) JP3737170B2 (es)
DE (1) DE69506981T2 (es)
ES (1) ES2129162T3 (es)
IT (1) IT1267587B1 (es)

Cited By (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US9863080B2 (en) 2015-11-19 2018-01-09 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US9873968B2 (en) 2015-11-19 2018-01-23 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US9885135B2 (en) 2015-11-19 2018-02-06 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US9890490B2 (en) 2015-11-19 2018-02-13 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US9988751B2 (en) 2015-07-29 2018-06-05 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of reducing tub contact therein
US9988753B2 (en) 2015-11-19 2018-06-05 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US10041202B2 (en) 2015-11-19 2018-08-07 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US10273621B2 (en) 2015-10-01 2019-04-30 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation

Families Citing this family (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CA2181879C (en) * 1995-07-24 2002-04-23 Jonathan David Harwood Water level determination for laundry washing machine
KR100504486B1 (ko) * 2002-12-10 2005-08-03 엘지전자 주식회사 드럼세탁기의 포량 감지방법
BR0300737A (pt) * 2003-03-13 2004-11-16 Multibras Eletrodomesticos Sa Sistema e processo para detecção de carga de roupa em máquina lavadora automática
ATE541076T1 (de) * 2004-03-01 2012-01-15 Arcelik As Verfahren zur bestimmung der ladung
EP2094893B1 (en) * 2006-10-31 2011-09-14 Arçelik Anonim Sirketi Method for determining weight of the load in a washer dryer using the natural frequency response of the loaded drum
US7958584B2 (en) * 2008-02-15 2011-06-14 General Electric Company Load size measuring apparatus and method
CN101526388B (zh) * 2008-03-03 2012-03-07 海尔集团公司 一种滚筒洗衣机自动称重的方法
IT1393158B1 (it) * 2008-10-08 2012-04-11 Appliances Components Companies Spa Motore elettrico controllato e integrato
US8166590B2 (en) 2009-04-16 2012-05-01 Whirlpool Corporation Method and apparatus for determining laundry load size
US8631527B2 (en) 2009-08-10 2014-01-21 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance with tumble pattern control
US8914930B2 (en) 2010-04-13 2014-12-23 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance with load amount detection
JP6437188B2 (ja) * 2013-11-06 2018-12-12 三星電子株式会社Ｓａｍｓｕｎｇ Ｅｌｅｃｔｒｏｎｉｃｓ Ｃｏ．，Ｌｔｄ． 洗濯機
WO2017144085A1 (en) * 2016-02-23 2017-08-31 Electrolux Appliances Aktiebolag Method for the determination of a laundry weight in a laundry treatment appliance

Family Cites Families (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2553881B1 (fr) * 1983-10-25 1987-11-20 Esswein Sa Procede de determination d'une charge de linge dans un tambour tournant, et machine a laver et/ou a secher mettant en oeuvre ce procede
FR2650844B1 (fr) * 1989-07-28 1991-10-11 Ciapem Lave-linge ou seche-linge dans lequel la charge de linge est determinee de facon automatique
NZ248097A (en) * 1989-08-30 1996-10-28 Fisher & Paykel Measuring liquid level in laundry machine by monitoring resistance of wash bowl to rotation
US5161393A (en) 1991-06-28 1992-11-10 General Electric Company Electronic washer control including automatic load size determination, fabric blend determination and adjustable washer means
IT1256270B (it) * 1991-10-11 1995-11-29 Zanussi Elettrodomestici Procedimento di misurazione del peso della biancheria per macchina lavatrice di biancheria.

Cited By (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US9988751B2 (en) 2015-07-29 2018-06-05 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of reducing tub contact therein
US10273621B2 (en) 2015-10-01 2019-04-30 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US11739466B2 (en) 2015-10-01 2023-08-29 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US11486074B2 (en) 2015-10-01 2022-11-01 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US10669663B2 (en) 2015-10-01 2020-06-02 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US10041202B2 (en) 2015-11-19 2018-08-07 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US9863080B2 (en) 2015-11-19 2018-01-09 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US10087565B2 (en) 2015-11-19 2018-10-02 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US9988753B2 (en) 2015-11-19 2018-06-05 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US10301762B2 (en) 2015-11-19 2019-05-28 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US9890490B2 (en) 2015-11-19 2018-02-13 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US9885135B2 (en) 2015-11-19 2018-02-06 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation
US9873968B2 (en) 2015-11-19 2018-01-23 Whirlpool Corporation Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
ES2129162T3 (es) 1999-06-01
ITPN940058A0 (it) 1994-09-28
JPH08107990A (ja) 1996-04-30
EP0704568A1 (en) 1996-04-03
JP3737170B2 (ja) 2006-01-18
DE69506981D1 (de) 1999-02-11
IT1267587B1 (it) 1997-02-07
DE69506981T2 (de) 1999-08-05
ITPN940058A1 (it) 1996-03-28

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