Patent ID: 8432160
Filing Date: 2013-04-30
Classification: D06F

Abstract:
1. A method for estimating a value of a weight of contents of an oscillating assembly of a household appliance, the method comprising: i) providing one of a washing machine, a washing/drying machine and a clothes dryer, adapted to carry out a treatment on said contents, said household appliance being of a electronically controlled type and said oscillating assembly being connected to a frame of said household appliance by means of a suspension system comprising a damper, said damper comprising: at least two mechanical elements adapted to move reciprocally, at least one magnetic element, and at least one magnetic sensor, said at least one magnetic element and said at least one magnetic sensor being housed in said damper so as to detect a reciprocal motion of said at least two mechanical elements, said magnetic sensor being adapted to generate an electric signal depending on a distance between said at least two mechanical elements; ii) reading an initial value associated with a voltage of said electrical signal when said oscillating assembly is empty; iii) identifying a mathematical function based on said initial value and a plurality of predetermined parameters, said mathematical function relating the voltage to the value of the weight; iv) reading a further value associated with the voltage of said electric signal after said contents have been loaded into said oscillating assembly, and v) estimating the value of the weight of said contents by using said mathematical function and said further value.