Patent ID: 8156591
Filing Date: 2012-04-17
Classification: D06F

Abstract:
1. An operating method of a washing machine comprising: detecting an amount of laundry and an eccentricity of laundry; if the detected laundry amount is less than a reference laundry amount and the detected eccentricity of laundry is less than a reference laundry eccentricity, detecting the amount of laundry and the eccentricity a predetermined number of additional times; and if the additional detected laundry amounts are all less than the reference laundry amount and the additional detected laundry eccentricities are all less than a reference laundry eccentricity; performing an operation corresponding to a predetermined laundry load condition which is less than a full load condition, wherein the predetermined number of additional times is one or more, if at least one of the detected laundry amounts is greater than the reference laundry amount or if an additional detected laundry eccentricity is greater than the reference laundry eccentricity, stopping detecting the amount of laundry or the eccentricity of laundry and performing a washing operation corresponding to a second laundry load condition, wherein the second laundry load condition corresponds to the full load condition, wherein if the detected and additional detected laundry eccentricities are less than the reference laundry eccentricity, then: determining that the washing machine has no laundry load, and performing a water discharge operation, and wherein if one of the additional detected laundry eccentricities is greater than the reference laundry eccentricity, then: determining that the washing machine has less than the full load and more than no laundry load, and performing a washing operation based on a pre-stored setting that corresponds to less than the full load but more than no laundry load.