Patent Publication Number: US-11655577-B2

Title: Laundry treating appliance and method of operation for a laundry treating appliance

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/356,653, filed Mar. 18, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,220,773, issued Jan. 11, 2022, which is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/936,488, filed Jul. 8, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,273,619, issued Apr. 30, 2019, all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Laundry treating appliances, such as clothes washers, clothes dryers, refreshers, and non-aqueous systems, may have a configuration based on a rotating drum that defines a treating chamber in which laundry items are placed for treating according to one or more cycles of operation. The laundry treating appliance may have a controller that implements the cycles of operation. The controller may control a user interface to communicate with a user. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION 
     In one aspect, the present disclosure relates to a laundry treating appliance, comprising a treating chamber, a dye sensor configured to provide an output, the output indicative of an amount of dye within liquid in the treating chamber, a controller having a memory in which is stored a set of executable instructions comprising a treating cycle of operation, and a user interface operably coupled with the controller and providing an input and output function for the controller and wherein the controller is configured to receive the output from the dye sensor and determining a dye has been released from the laundry within the treating chamber to define a determined dye release and the controller is further configured to control the user interface to indicate, on the user interface, information related to the determined dye release, where the information is separate from an alert that the released dye has been determined, and where the information comprises educational information to prevent future dye release or information regarding at least one consequence of at least one action taken by the laundry treating appliance including at least one of: that the treating cycle of operation used more water, that the treating cycle of operation was less energy efficient, that the treating cycle of operation time will be longer, or that there was reduced performance during the treating cycle of operation. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       In the drawings: 
         FIG.  1    is a schematic view of a laundry treating appliance in the form of a washing machine according to a first embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG.  2    is a schematic of a control system of the laundry treating appliance of  FIG.  1    according to the first embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG.  3    illustrates a flow chart of a method for operating a laundry treating appliance, such as the washing machines of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIG.  4    illustrates a front view of a portion of the user interface of the washing machine of  FIG.  1   . 
         FIGS.  5 A- 5 C  illustrate alternative front views of a portion of the user interface of the washing machine of  FIG.  1   . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG.  1    is a schematic view of a laundry treating appliance according to a first embodiment of the invention. The laundry treating appliance may be any appliance which performs a cycle of operation to clean or otherwise treat items placed therein, non-limiting examples of which include a horizontal or vertical axis clothes washer; a clothes dryer; a combination washing machine and dryer; a dispensing dryer; a tumbling or stationary refreshing/revitalizing machine; an extractor; a non-aqueous washing apparatus; and a revitalizing machine. 
     As used herein, the term “vertical-axis” washing machine refers to a washing machine having a rotatable drum that rotates about a generally vertical axis relative to a surface that supports the washing machine. However, the rotational axis need not be perfectly vertical to the surface. The drum may rotate about an axis inclined relative to the vertical axis, with fifteen degrees of inclination being one example of the inclination. Similar to the vertical axis washing machine, the term “horizontal-axis” washing machine refers to a washing machine having a rotatable drum that rotates about a generally horizontal axis relative to a surface that supports the washing machine. The drum may rotate about the axis inclined relative to the horizontal axis, with fifteen degrees of inclination being one example of the inclination. 
     The laundry treating appliance of  FIG.  1    is illustrated as a horizontal-axis washing machine  10 , which may include a structural support system including a cabinet  12 , which defines a housing within which a laundry holding system resides. The cabinet  12  may be a housing having a chassis and/or a frame, defining an interior enclosing components typically found in a conventional washing machine, such as motors, pumps, fluid lines, controls, sensors, transducers, and the like. Such components will not be described further herein except as necessary for a complete understanding of the invention. 
     The laundry holding system includes a tub  14  supported within the cabinet  12  by a suitable suspension system and a drum  16  provided within the tub  14 , the drum  16  defining at least a portion of a laundry treating chamber  18  for receiving a laundry load for treatment. The drum  16  may include a plurality of perforations  20  such that liquid may flow between the tub  14  and the drum  16  through the perforations  20 . A plurality of baffles  22  may be disposed on an inner surface of the drum  16  to lift the laundry load received in the treating chamber  18  while the drum  16  rotates. It may also be within the scope of the invention for the laundry holding system to include only a tub with the tub defining the laundry treating chamber. 
     The laundry treating chamber  18  may have an open face that may be selectively closed by a door  24 . More specifically, the door  24  may be movably mounted to the cabinet  12  to selectively close both the tub  14  and the drum  16 . A bellows  26  may couple an open face of the tub  14  with the cabinet  12 , with the door  24  sealing against the bellows  26  when the door  24  closes the tub  14 . 
     The washing machine  10  may further include a suspension system  28  for dynamically suspending the laundry holding system within the structural support system. 
     The washing machine  10  may also include at least one balance ring  38  containing a balancing material moveable within the balance ring  38  to counterbalance an imbalance that may be caused by laundry in the treating chamber  18  during rotation of the drum  16 . More specifically, the balance ring  38  may be coupled with the rotating drum  16  and configured to compensate for a dynamic imbalance during rotation of the rotatable drum  16 . The balance ring  38  may extend circumferentially around a periphery of the drum  16  and may be located at any desired location along an axis of rotation of the drum  16 . When multiple balance rings  38  are present, they may be equally spaced along the axis of rotation of the drum  16 . For example, in the illustrated example a plurality of balance rings  38  are included in the washing machine  10  and the plurality of balance rings  38  are operably coupled with opposite ends of the rotatable drum  16 . 
     The washing machine  10  may further include a liquid supply system for supplying water to the washing machine  10  for use in treating laundry during a cycle of operation. The liquid supply system may include a source of water, such as a household water supply  40 , which may include separate valves  42  and  44  for controlling the flow of hot and cold water, respectively. Water may be supplied through an inlet conduit  46  directly to the tub  14  by controlling first and second diverter mechanisms  48  and  50 , respectively. The diverter mechanisms  48 ,  50  may be a diverter valve having two outlets such that the diverter mechanisms  48 ,  50  may selectively direct a flow of liquid to one or both of two flow paths. Water from the household water supply  40  may flow through the inlet conduit  46  to the first diverter mechanism  48  which may direct the flow of liquid to a supply conduit  52 . The second diverter mechanism  50  on the supply conduit  52  may direct the flow of liquid to a tub outlet conduit  54  which may be provided with a spray nozzle  56  configured to spray the flow of liquid into the tub  14 . In this manner, water from the household water supply  40  may be supplied directly to the tub  14 . 
     The washing machine  10  may also be provided with a dispensing system for dispensing treating chemistry to the treating chamber  18  for use in treating the laundry according to a cycle of operation. The dispensing system may include a dispenser  62  which may be a single use dispenser, a bulk dispenser or a combination of a single use and bulk dispenser. 
     Regardless of the type of dispenser used, the dispenser  62  may be configured to dispense a treating chemistry directly to the tub  14  or mixed with water from the liquid supply system through a dispensing outlet conduit  64 . The dispensing outlet conduit  64  may include a dispensing nozzle  66  configured to dispense the treating chemistry into the tub  14  in a desired pattern and under a desired amount of pressure. For example, the dispensing nozzle  66  may be configured to dispense a flow or stream of treating chemistry into the tub  14  by gravity, i.e. a non-pressurized stream. Water may be supplied to the dispenser  62  from the supply conduit  52  by directing the diverter mechanism  50  to direct the flow of water to a dispensing supply conduit  68 . 
     Non-limiting examples of treating chemistries that may be dispensed by the dispensing system during a cycle of operation include one or more of the following: water, enzymes, fragrances, stiffness/sizing agents, wrinkle releasers/reducers, softeners, antistatic or electrostatic agents, stain repellants, water repellants, energy reduction/extraction aids, antibacterial agents, medicinal agents, vitamins, moisturizers, shrinkage inhibitors, and color fidelity agents, and combinations thereof. 
     The washing machine  10  may also include a recirculation and drain system for recirculating liquid within the laundry holding system and draining liquid from the washing machine  10 . Liquid supplied to the tub  14  through tub outlet conduit  54  and/or the dispensing supply conduit  68  typically enters a space between the tub  14  and the drum  16  and may flow by gravity to a sump  70  formed in part by a lower portion of the tub  14 . The sump  70  may also be formed by a sump conduit  72  that may fluidly couple the lower portion of the tub  14  to a pump  74 . The pump  74  may direct liquid to a drain conduit  76 , which may drain the liquid from the washing machine  10 , or to a recirculation conduit  78 , which may terminate at a recirculation inlet  80 . The recirculation inlet  80  may direct the liquid from the recirculation conduit  78  into the drum  16 . The recirculation inlet  80  may introduce the liquid into the drum  16  in any suitable manner, such as by spraying, dripping, or providing a steady flow of liquid. In this manner, liquid provided to the tub  14 , with or without treating chemistry may be recirculated into the treating chamber  18  for treating the laundry within. 
     The liquid supply and/or recirculation and drain system may be provided with a heating system which may include one or more devices for heating laundry and/or liquid supplied to the tub  14 , such as a steam generator  82  and/or a sump heater  84 . Liquid from the household water supply  40  may be provided to the steam generator  82  through the inlet conduit  46  by controlling the first diverter mechanism  48  to direct the flow of liquid to a steam supply conduit  86 . Steam generated by the steam generator  82  may be supplied to the tub  14  through a steam outlet conduit  87 . The steam generator  82  may be any suitable type of steam generator such as a flow through steam generator or a tank-type steam generator. Alternatively, the sump heater  84  may be used to generate steam in place of or in addition to the steam generator  82 . In addition or alternatively to generating steam, the steam generator  82  and/or sump heater  84  may be used to heat the laundry and/or liquid within the tub  14  as part of a cycle of operation. 
     Additionally, the liquid supply and recirculation and drain system may differ from the configuration shown in  FIG.  1   , such as by inclusion of other valves, conduits, treating chemistry dispensers, sensors, such as water level sensors and temperature sensors, and the like, to control the flow of liquid through the washing machine  10  and for the introduction of more than one type of treating chemistry. 
     The washing machine  10  also includes a drive system for rotating the drum  16  within the tub  14 . The drive system may include a motor  88  for rotationally driving the drum  16 . The motor  88  may be directly coupled with the drum  16  through a drive shaft  90  to rotate the drum  16  about a rotational axis during a cycle of operation. The motor  88  may be a brushless permanent magnet (BPM) motor having a stator  92  and a rotor  94 . Alternately, the motor  88  may be coupled with the drum  16  through a belt and a drive shaft to rotate the drum  16 , as may be known in the art. Other motors, such as an induction motor or a permanent split capacitor (PSC) motor, may also be used. The motor  88  may rotationally drive the drum  16  including that the motor  88  may rotate the drum  16  at various speeds in either rotational direction. 
     The control system may control the operation of the washing machine  10  to implement one or more cycles of operation. The control system may include a controller  96  located within the cabinet  12  and a user interface  98  that may be operably coupled with the controller  96 . The user interface  98  may provide an input and output function for the controller. The user interface  98  may include one or more knobs, dials, switches, displays  99 , touch screens, and the like for communicating with the user, such as to receive input and provide output. For example, the displays may include any suitable communication technology including that of an LCD display, an LED array, or any suitable display that may convey a message to the user. The user may enter different types of information including, without limitation, cycle selection and cycle parameters, such as cycle options. Other communications paths and methods may also be included in the washing machine  10  and may allow the controller  96  to communicate with the user in a variety of ways. For example, the controller  96  may be configured to send a text message to the user, send an electronic mail to the user, or provide audio information to the user either through the washing machine  10  or utilizing another device such as a mobile phone. 
     The controller  96  may include the machine controller and any additional controllers provided for controlling any of the components of the washing machine  10 . For example, the controller  96  may include the machine controller and a motor controller. Many known types of controllers may be used for the controller  96 . The specific type of controller is not germane to the invention. It may be contemplated that the controller may be a microprocessor-based controller that implements control software and sends/receives one or more electrical signals to/from each of the various working components to effect the control software. As an example, proportional control (P), proportional integral control (PI), and proportional derivative control (PD), or a combination thereof, a proportional integral derivative control (PID control), may be used to control the various components. 
     As illustrated in  FIG.  2   , the controller  96  may be provided with a memory  100  and a central processing unit (CPU)  102 . The memory  100  may be used for storing the control software that may be executed by the CPU  102  in completing a cycle of operation using the washing machine  10  and any additional software. For example, the memory  100  may store a set of executable instructions including at least one user-selectable cycle of operation. Examples, without limitation, of cycles of operation include: wash, heavy duty wash, delicate wash, quick wash, pre-wash, refresh, rinse only, and timed wash. The memory  100  may also be used to store information, such as a database or table, and to store data received from one or more components of the washing machine  10  that may be communicably coupled with the controller  96 . The database or table may be used to store the various operating parameters for the one or more cycles of operation, including factory default values for the operating parameters and any adjustments to them by the control system or by user input. For example, a table of a plurality of threshold values  120  may be included. 
     The controller  96  may be operably coupled with one or more components of the washing machine  10  for communicating with and controlling the operation of the component to complete a cycle of operation. For example, the controller  96  may be operably coupled with the motor  88 , the pump  74 , the dispenser  62 , the steam generator  82  and the sump heater  84  to control the operation of these and other components to implement one or more of the cycles of operation. 
     The controller  96  may also be coupled with one or more sensors  104  provided in one or more of the systems of the washing machine  10  to receive input from the sensors, which are known in the art and not shown for simplicity. Non-limiting examples of sensors  104  that may be communicably coupled with the controller  96  include: a treating chamber temperature sensor, a moisture sensor, a weight sensor, a chemical sensor, a position sensor, an imbalance sensor, a load size sensor, and a motor torque sensor, which may be used to determine a variety of system and laundry characteristics, such as laundry load inertia or mass. 
     By way of further example, a dye sensor  106  may be included and operably coupled with the controller  96 . The dye sensor  106  may be configured to output a signal indicative of the amount of dye within liquid in the treating chamber  18 . The dye sensor  106  may be located in any suitable location including within the treating chamber  18  or fluidly coupled with the treating chamber  18 , such as in a sump  72  or recirculation conduit  78 . The dye sensor  106  may be any suitable sensor or any suitable sensor system for determining an amount of dye in the treating liquid, non-limiting examples of which include a turbidity sensor, a reflection device, a colorimeter, a photo-spectrometer-related sensor, a pH sensor, a conductivity sensor, an optical sensor system which may be used to perform UV/Vis absorbance/fluorescence spectroscopy, etc. For example, a UV/Vis absorbance/fluorescence system may provide an output representative of a sensed spectral absorbance and/or fluorescence of the treating liquid. It will also be understood that when referring to absorbance herein, transmittance, which may be related to absorbance, may be used as an alternative to absorbance or in order to determine the absorbance. 
     The dye sensor  106  may output a signal indicative of a presence of dye, including an amount of dye, in the liquid within the treating chamber  18 . The dye sensor  106  may sense the dye and output the signal continuously or intermittently throughout the cycle of operation or at one or more predetermined stages of the cycle of operation. The controller  96  may receive the output signal indicative of the presence of a dye from the dye sensor  106  and determine whether the output signal satisfies a predetermined threshold to define a dye release event. 
     For example, the controller  96  may receive the output from the dye sensor  106  and may compare it with an amount threshold stored in the memory  100  to determine when the amount of the dye satisfies the amount threshold. This may include comparing the output to a predetermined reference value that may be a range of reference values, an upper threshold or a lower threshold. The term “satisfies” the threshold is used herein to mean that the variation satisfies the predetermined threshold, such as being equal to, less than, or greater than the threshold value. It will be understood that such a determination may easily be altered to be satisfied by a positive/negative comparison or a true/false comparison. For example, a less than threshold value may easily be satisfied by applying a greater than test when the data may be numerically inverted. 
     The controller  96  may then correspondingly activate an output on the user interface  98  so that the user interface  98  provides information related to the dye release based on the determined dye release. The information may include at least one of: at least one action taken by the laundry treating appliance in response to the determined dye release, at least one consequence of the at least one action taken by the laundry treating appliance, or educational information to prevent future dye releases. For example, the controller  96  may be configured to alter the cycle of operation to reduce an amount of dye color in the treating liquid and the information may relay to the user the changes made to the washing process. 
     By way of further example, if the user interface  98  includes an LCD, the LCD may provide the user with multiple screens of information related to information indicating actions taken by the laundry treating appliance, information indicating consequences of actions taken by the laundry treating appliance, or educational information to prevent future dye release events. The controller  96  may also activate an audible alert that the released dye has been determined. The controller  96  may also send a text message to the user, send an electronic mail to the user, or provide audio information to the user either alerting the user that the dye has been determined or to provide additional information to the user. 
     Referring now to  FIG.  3   , a flow chart of a method  200  for operating a laundry treating appliance, such as the washing machine  10 , is illustrated. The sequence of steps depicted for this method is for illustrative purposes only, and is not meant to limit the method in any way as it is understood that the steps may proceed in a different logical order or additional or intervening steps may be included without detracting from the invention. The method  200  may be implemented in any suitable manner, such as automatically or manually, as a stand-alone phase or cycle of operation or as a phase of an operation cycle of the washing machine  10 . The method  200  assumes that a user has placed a laundry load within the treating chamber  18  and selected a cycle of operation for the washing machine  10 . 
     The method  200  may begin at  202 , where it may be determined that a dye has been released from the laundry within the treating chamber  18 . For example, determining the dye release may include sensing a released dye within the treating chamber  18 , such as through use of the dye sensor  106 . Sensing the released dye may include sensing an amount of dye color in liquid within the treating chamber. A dye release event may be determined by the controller  96  when the amount of sensed dye color satisfies a threshold. It may alternatively be contemplated that the dye sensor  106  may be located exteriorly of the treating chamber  18  but may be fluidly coupled with the treating chamber  18  such that the dye sensor may sense a released dye in liquid from the treating chamber. The determination step may be repeated multiple times until the output of the dye sensor  106  indicates that the amount of dye in the treating liquid satisfies a predetermined threshold and the controller  96  may determine a dye release event. 
     If the output signal does satisfy the threshold, the controller  96  may determine that dye may be present in the treating liquid. It will be understood that a dye release event may be determined before the dye has transferred to another article in the laundry load or before such a transfer may be perceivable by a user. More specifically, the dye sensor  106  may be sensitive enough to detect the dye(s) in the treating liquid when the concentration may not be enough to cause a visible change in other items in the laundry load. 
     Once it has been determined that dye has been released from the laundry in the treating chamber  18  the controller  96  may indicate, on the user interface  98 , information related to the dye release. The information may include at least one of: at least one action taken by the laundry treating appliance in response to the determined dye release, at least one consequence of the at least one action taken by the laundry treating appliance, or educational information to prevent future dye releases. The information may be provided to the user through text or audio communicated through the user interface  98 . 
     Optionally, the determination of the dye release may be used to modify the cycle of operation. For example, the controller  96  may use the output to determine an amount of dye present in the treating liquid and take at least one action to alter the cycle of operation to reduce the amount of dye color in treating liquid. For example, the controller  96  may alter the cycle of operation by draining the treating liquid and may repeat the wash or rinse phase of the cycle of operation. The controller  96  may also modify cycle parameters such as temperature of the treating liquid, pH of the treating liquid, and/or an amount of a treating agent to add. The controller  96  may also stop the cycle of operation so that no visible dye transfer takes place. The information indicated on the user interface at  204  may include information indicating actions taken by the laundry treating appliance includes information regarding the altering of the cycle of operation. For example, the user interface  98  may indicate information including at least one of: that liquid was drained from the treating chamber  18 , that the cycle of operation was stopped, that a tumble pattern of the laundry was altered, that cool water was added to the treating chamber  18 , that a rinse or a spin phase was added or repeated, etc. 
     The actions taken by the washing machine  10  may cause a variety of consequences. For example, if the rinse phase may be repeated not only will the cycle of operation utilize more water than usual it will also be a longer cycle. The indicating at  204  may thus also include providing the user information indicating consequences of actions taken by the washing machine  10 . For example, the information may include that the cycle used more water that the cycle was less energy efficient, that the cycle time will be longer, that there was reduced performance during the cycle of operation, etc. For example,  FIG.  4    illustrates one example of information regarding at least one action taken by the laundry treating appliance in response to the determined dye release and information regarding at least one consequence of the at least one action taken by the laundry treating appliance. More specifically, the display  99  indicates that dye was detected and that water with the dye was drained by the washing machine  10  and cold water was used for remainder of cycle. The user interface  98  also conveys that such actions resulted in a longer cycle time and more water usage. 
     At  204 , the indicating may also include indicating on the user interface  98  educational information to prevent future dye release events. This may include a variety of useful information including information on proper laundry article separation, information related to treating clothing that may be prone to dye release, etc. For example,  FIG.  5 A  illustrates one example of educational information the user interface  98  may display to prevent future dye releases. The display  99  conveys educational information that items with label care instructions “Color May Wash Down,” “Color Rubs Off,” “Do Not Use Detergent,” “Turn Inside Out to Launder,” “Wash Before Wear” or “Use Cold Water” should be washed by themselves the first time you launder them to rinse out any loose or unstable dyes. By way of further example,  FIG.  5 B  illustrates the display  99  conveying educational information that informs a user that choosing the cold setting on your washing machine will eliminate most problems with color bleeding and may also help clothes last longer. Further still,  FIG.  5 C  illustrates the display  99  conveying educational information that using commercial color catchers when washing clothing with red or orange dyes may aid in preventing dye transfers. 
     It will be understood that the method of operating the laundry treating appliance may be flexible and that the method  200  illustrated is merely for illustrative purposes. For example, it is contemplated that it may also be indicating on the user interface  98  that the released dye has been determined. Further, a user may be alerted in other manners using other communication devices including that a text message may be sent to the user, an electronic mail may be sent to the user, or audio information may be provided to the user to relay various information regarding the determined released dye. It has been contemplated that an audible noise may be combined with any indications on the user interface  98  to additionally alert the user that the dye release has been determined or to alert the user to the additional information. 
     The above described embodiments provided a variety of benefits including that the user interface may indicate useful information when a dye release has been determined. The above described embodiments may also alter the cycle including that the cycle could be stopped to interrupt the bleeding process in an early stage to protect the other items from being dyed, and a rinse and spin phase could be included to decrease the dying effect. The laundry treating appliance may then communicate to the user what happened, what was detected, how the laundry treating appliance saved the load from a color transfer, how to prevent this scenario in the future, etc. This may result in increased user satisfaction as the information may indicate that the load of laundry has been saved from dye transfer damage and educate the user on preventing similar situations. 
     To the extent not already described, the different features and structures of the various embodiments may be used in combination with each other as desired. That one feature may not be illustrated in all of the embodiments is not meant to be construed that it may not be, but is done for brevity of description. Thus, the various features of the different embodiments may be mixed and matched as desired to form new embodiments, whether or not the new embodiments are expressly described. Further, while the above described embodiments have been described with respect to clothes washing machines the embodiments of the invention may be implemented in any suitable laundry treating appliance. 
     While the invention has been specifically described in connection with certain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that this is by way of illustration and not of limitation. Reasonable variation and modification are possible within the scope of the forgoing disclosure and drawings without departing from the spirit of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.