Patent ID: 8186227
Filing Date: 2012-05-29
Classification: D06F

Abstract:
1. A method for determining the amount of laundry in a laundry treating appliance comprising a drum defining a treating chamber for receiving the laundry and a motor for rotating the drum about an axis of rotation, the method comprising: oscillating the drum about a predetermined position by driving the motor in a manner to simulate a torsional spring; determining an angular decay of the drum relative to the predetermined position based on a characteristic of the oscillating of the drum; determining whether the angular decay of the drum relative to the predetermined position satisfies a load threshold characteristic; rotating the drum in accordance with a laundry inertia algorithm to determine the inertia of the load when the angular decay of the drum relative to the predetermined position satisfies the load threshold characteristic; and determining a load amount characteristic based on the inertia of the laundry.