Patent Publication Number: US-10316456-B2

Title: Methods and apparatus to detect treating chemistries in laundry appliances

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application represents a divisional application of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/506,753 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,587,339), entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS TO DETECT TREATING CHEMISTRIES IN LAUNDRY APPLIANCES” filed Oct. 6, 2014, currently allowed. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     This disclosure relates generally to laundry appliances, and, more particularly, to methods and apparatus to detect treating chemistries in laundry appliances. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Many conventional laundry treating appliances, such as a clothes washer, a clothes dryer, a clothes refresher, a non-aqueous clothes system, a dishwasher, etc. have dispensers for dispensing treating chemistry(-ies) into a chamber in which items are placed for treatment. 
     SUMMARY 
     A disclosed example laundry treating appliance includes a tub, a rotatable drum disposed in the tub and defining a treating chamber in which laundry is received for treatment according to a cycle of operation, a treating chemistry dispenser having an outlet and a cup having a siphon, configured to dispense a treating chemistry into at least one of the tub or the drum, a sensor, and a controller configured to at least: introduce a predetermined amount of liquid into the cup sufficient to activate the siphon if a predetermined amount of the treating chemistry is present in the cup; detect whether the siphon activates in response to the predetermined amount of liquid based on an output of the sensor; and modify cycle of operation based on whether the siphon activates in response to the predetermined amount of liquid. 
     A disclosed example method of operating a laundry treating appliance having a tub, a rotatable drum disposed in the tub and defining a treating chamber in which laundry is received for treatment according to a cycle of operation, and a treating chemistry dispenser to dispense a treating chemistry into at least one of the tub or the drum, includes adding a predetermined amount of liquid to a cup of the dispenser sufficient to activate a siphon in the cup if a predetermined amount of the treating chemistry is present in the cup, detecting whether the siphon activates in response to the predetermined amount of liquid, and modifying the cycle of operation based on whether the siphon activates in response to the predetermined amount of liquid. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an example laundry treating appliance implementing treating chemistry detection in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic of an example control system for the example laundry treating appliance of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIGS. 3 and 4  are flowcharts illustrating example methods that may be performed by the example laundry treating application of  FIGS. 1 and 2  to detect treating chemistries. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In conventional laundry treating appliances, detection of treating chemistry(-ies) is not performed. For such appliances, users have to indicate via a user interface what treating chemistry(-ies) have been placed in a dispenser. Accordingly, if they forget to indicate that, for example, bleach has been placed in a cup of the dispenser, they will find after a treating cycle of operation that the bleach remains in the dispenser cup. Such circumstances may result in frustration and decreased customer satisfaction. Alternatively, a laundry treating appliance may always assume that bleach is present, which will for some loads of laundry and cycles of operation unnecessarily increase cycle time and energy consumption, again resulting in decreased customer satisfaction. To overcome at least these problems, the examples disclosed herein detect the presence and absence of treating chemistry(-ies), and automatically adjust their cycles of operation. For example, if bleach is detected, bleach treatment can be automatically performed without a user needing to select bleach on a user interface. Accordingly, the user&#39;s intention of performing bleach treatment is automatically performed without the user having to perform the now unnecessary step of indicating bleach via the user interface. Because the user&#39;s intentions are automatically realized, customer satisfaction is increased. Moreover, by eliminating now unnecessary user interface elements (e.g., buttons and indicators), costs can be reduced and appliance aesthetics improved. It should be understood that any number and/or type(s) of modifications to a cycle of operation may be made in response to the detection of treating chemistry(-ies). For example, the portion of a cycle in which fabric softener is applied may be skipped, rinse cycles may be adjusted and/or skipped, etc. Moreover, the presence or absence of more than one treating chemistry may be detected and used to adjust a cycle of operation. Further still, an amount of detecting treating chemistry(-ies) may be used to adjust a cycle of operation. 
     Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of this disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are described below by referring to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements. Here, configurations of an example laundry treating appliance according to this disclosure will be described with reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 . While the examples disclosed herein are described and illustrated with reference to a horizontal axis washing machine, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the examples disclosed herein may be implemented in any other laundry treating appliance configuration. 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic view of an example laundry treating appliance. The laundry treating appliance may be any appliance that 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 combination washing machine and dryer; a tumbling or stationary refreshing/revitalizing machine; an extractor; a non-aqueous washing apparatus; and a revitalizing machine. 
     The laundry treating appliance of  FIG. 1  is illustrated as a horizontal-axis washing machine  10 , which may include a structural support system comprising a cabinet  12  that defines a housing within which a laundry treating system resides. The cabinet  12  is a housing having a chassis and/or a frame defining an interior that encloses components typically found in a conventional washing machine, such as motors, pumps, fluid lines, controls, sensors, transducers, and the like. The washing machine  10  has one or more pairs of feet  13  extending from the cabinet  12  and supporting the cabinet  12  on a surface. 
     The example laundry treating system of  FIG. 1  comprises a tub  14  supported within the cabinet  12  by a suitable suspension system  15 , and a drum  16  provided within the tub  14 , the drum  16  defining at least a portion of a laundry treating chamber  18 . The drum  16  includes 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  is 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 is also within the scope of this disclosure for the laundry treating system to comprise only a tub with the tub defining the laundry treating chamber. 
     The example laundry treating system further includes a door  24  that is 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  further includes the suspension system  15  for dynamically suspending the laundry treating system within the structural support system. 
     The washing machine  10  may also include at least one ball balancing ring  38  containing a balancing material moveable within the ball balancing ring  38  to counterbalance an imbalance that may be caused by laundry in the treating chamber  18  during rotation of the drum  16 . The balancing material may be in the form of metal balls, fluid or a combination thereof. For example, the ball balancing ring  38  may comprises a plurality of metal balls suspended in a substantially viscous fluid. The ball balancing ring  38  extends 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 ball balancing rings  38  are present, they may be equally spaced along the axis of rotation of the drum  16 . 
     The washing machine  10  further includes 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 includes 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 example washing machine  10  is provided with a dispensing system for dispensing treating chemistry(-ies) to the treating chamber  18  for use in treating the laundry according to a cycle of operation. The dispensing system includes a dispenser  62 , which may be a single use dispenser, a bulk dispenser, or a combination of a single and bulk dispenser. In general, the dispenser  62  includes cups or compartments (one of which is designated at reference number  63 A) into which treating chemistry(-ies) are placed. One or more of the cups  63 A contain a siphon  63 B that flows or transfers liquid from its respective cup  63 A into the treating chamber  18 . Operation(s) of the cups  63 A and siphons  63 B are well known. Non-limiting examples of suitable dispensers are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,196,441 to Hendrickson et al., filed Jul. 1, 2008, entitled “Household Cleaning Appliance with a Dispensing System Operable Between a Single Use Dispensing System and a Bulk Dispensing System,” U.S. Pat. No. 8,388,695 to Hendrickson et al., filed Jul. 1, 2008, entitled “Apparatus and Method for Controlling Laundering Cycle by Sensing Wash Aid Concentration,” U.S. Pat. No. 8,397,328 to Hendrickson et al., filed Jul. 1, 2008, entitled “Apparatus and Method for Controlling Concentration of Wash Aid in Wash Liquid,” U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0000581 to Doyle et al., filed Jul. 1, 2008, entitled “Water Flow Paths in a Household Cleaning Appliance with Single Use and Bulk Dispensing,” U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0000264 to Luckman et al., filed Jul. 1, 2008, entitled “Method for Converting a Household Cleaning Appliance with a Non-Bulk Dispensing System to a Household Cleaning Appliance with a Bulk Dispensing System,” U.S. Pat. No. 8,397,544 to Hendrickson, filed Jun. 23, 2009, entitled “Household Cleaning Appliance with a Single Water Flow Path for Both Non-Bulk and Bulk Dispensing,” and U.S. Pat. No. 8,438,881, filed Apr. 25, 2011, entitled “Method and Apparatus for Dispensing Treating Chemistry in a Laundry Treating Appliance,” all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     The example dispenser  62  may be configured to dispense treating chemistry(-ies) 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, detergent, enzymes, fragrances, stiffness/sizing agents, wrinkle releasers/reducers, softeners, bleach, non-chlorine bleach, antistatic or electrostatic agents, stain repellants, water repellants, energy reduction/extraction aids, antibacterial agents, medicinal agents, vitamins, moisturizers, shrinkage inhibitors, surfactants, color fidelity agents, and combinations thereof. 
     The washing machine  10  may also include a recirculation and drain system for recirculating liquid within the laundry treating 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 that 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 , which may be directly coupled with the drum  16  through a drive shaft  90  to rotate the drum  14  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 to the drum  16  through a belt and a drive shaft to rotate the drum  16 , as is 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 rotate the drum  16  at various speeds in either rotational direction. 
     The washing machine  10  also includes a control system for controlling the operation of the washing machine  10  to implement one or more cycles of operation. The control system includes a controller  96  located within the cabinet  12 , and a user interface  98  that is operably coupled with the controller  96 . The user interface  98  may include one or more knobs, dials, switches, displays, capacitive touch areas, touch screens and the like for communicating with the user, such as to receive input and provide output. The user may enter different types of information including, without limitation, cycle selection and cycle parameters, such as cycle options. 
     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 this disclosure. It is contemplated that the controller is 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 affect 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) or processor  102 . The processor  102  can be implemented by, for example, one or more Atmel®, Intel®, AMD®, and/or ARM® microprocessors. Of course, other processors from other processor families and/or manufacturers are also appropriate. The memory  100  may be used for storing the control software that is executed by the CPU  102  in completing a cycle of operation using the washing machine  10  and any additional software. 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 also 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. 
     The memory  100  may include volatile memory such as synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), RAMBUS® dynamic random access memory (RDRAM) and/or any other type of random access memory (RAM) device(s); and/or non-volatile memory such as flash memory(-ies), or flash memory device(s). 
     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  is coupled with one or more sensors (two of which are designated at reference numerals  104  and  105 ) provided in one or more of the systems of the washing machine  10  to receive input from the sensors  104 ,  105  (i.e., outputs of the sensors  104 ,  105 ). An example sensor  104  is an analog pressure sensor associated with the sump  70 , outputs of which are representative of the amount or level of liquid in the sump  70 . The example sensor  105  may be associated with a cup  63 A of the dispenser  62 , a siphon  63 B in the cup  63 A, or an outlet of the dispenser  62 . The sensors  104 ,  105  and their usage by the controller  92  to detect treating chemistry(-ies) will be discussed below in more detail. Additional sensors that are known in the art and not shown for simplicity may be implemented and/or included. Non-limiting examples of additional sensors 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, a load position sensor, a ball balancing ring ball position sensor, a motor temperature sensor, a motor torque sensor. etc. 
     The amount or level of liquid in the dispenser cup  63 A has to reach a predetermined value or activation amount before the siphon  63 B in the cup  63 A will activate such that the liquid begins flowing upward through the siphon  63 B, thus being transferred from the cup  63 A into the treating chamber  18 . Normally, a user will place at least an expected minimum amount of treating chemistry into the cup  63 A. Additionally, normally the siphon  63 B and the cup  63 B are designed so that the maximum amount of treating chemistry a user is expected to place in the cup  63 A will not activate the siphon  63 B. Accordingly, during a cycle of operation, the washing machine  10  has to add or introduce enough additional liquid (e.g., water) into the cup  63 A so the activation amount is reached and the siphon  63 B is activated. 
     Therefore, some examples disclosed herein detect the presence of treating chemistry in the cup  63 A by introducing into the cup  63 A an amount of a liquid (e.g., water) corresponding to the difference between the activation amount and the expected minimum. If adding that amount of water causes the siphon  63 B to activate, then it can be presumed that treating chemistry was present in the cup  63 A. If the siphon  63 B does not activate, then it can be presumed that treating chemistry was not present in the cup  63 A. 
     In other examples, the additional water is added in a step-wise or incremental fashion. After each amount of water is added, activation of the siphon  63 B is monitored. The amount of water needed to activate the siphon  63 B is representative of the amount of treating chemistry in the cup  63 A. The more water needed to activate the siphon  63 B indicates that a smaller amount of treating chemistry was present in the cup  63 A. Accordingly, cycle of operation adjustments based on the amount of treating chemistry can also be made. For example, if a large amount of detergent is present but a small load size is detected, adjustments to reduce sudsing or increase rinse activity may be made. 
     To detect activation of the siphon  63 A, the example methods and apparatus disclosed herein use one or more of the sensors  104 ,  105  to detect the flow of liquid from the dispenser  62  into the treating chamber  18  and/or the sump  70 . In some examples, the sensor  104  is used to determine the amount of, or a change in the amount of liquid in the sump  70 . As treating chemistry is being dispensed, some water will flow into the cup(s)  63 A, and a usually larger amount of water will flow directly into the outlet  64  and into the treating chamber  18 . Accordingly, the output of the sensor  104  will reflect the initial in rush of water that flowed directly into the outlet  64  subsequently followed by a slower and smaller flow of liquid via the siphon  63 B, assuming the siphon  63 B activated. Thus, in some examples, activation of the siphon  63 B is detected by detecting the initial in rush followed by a steady increase in the amount or level of liquid in the sump  70 . To detect this steady increase, the output signal of the sensor  104  may be sampled and analyzed for an increasing trend in the amount or level of liquid in the sump  70 . For example, the slope of the curve represented by the samples can be compared to a threshold, a difference between samples can be compared to a threshold, a progressive increase between each pair of samples can be detected, etc. In practice, the selection of a threshold depends on, for example, the intended flow rate of the siphon  63 B, variability in the intended flow rate, expected range of fluid viscosity, accuracy of incoming water flow rate or amount, bias toward false positive versus false negative, etc. In some examples, the threshold is determined empirically. 
     In other examples, a sensor  105  associated with the cup  63 A is used. Example sensors  105  that may be used with the cup  63 A include, but are not limited to, a Hall Effect sensor, a load cell, an accelerometer, a float, and a capacitive sensor. Such sensors may be used to directly detect or measure the amount or level of liquid or treating chemistry in the cup  63 A. These sensors may be used to represent a continuum of amounts or levels, or may be used to represent a particular discrete set of amounts or levels (e.g., empty, ¼ full, ½ full, ¾ full, and full). Furthermore, these sensors may be used to monitor the filling of the cup  63 A, and the subsequent emptying of the cup  63 A by the siphon  63 B. 
     In additional examples, a sensor  105  associated with the siphon  63 B is used. An example sensor  105  is a capacitive sensor in the siphon  63 B. When the siphon  63 B is activated so that liquid flows upward through the siphon  63 B, the capacitive sensor  105  would activate, thus providing an indication of siphon activation. 
     In still further examples, the sensor  105  associated with the dispenser outlet  64  or a base of the dispenser  62  is used. Example sensors  105  include, but are not limited to, a turbidity sensor and a piezoelectric sensor. In addition to detecting siphon activation, a piezoelectric sensor could additionally be used to distinguish liquid types due to the differing drag effects on the piezoelectric sensor by different liquid types or viscosities. 
     It should be understood that conventional filtering or other processing may be applied to the output signals of the sensors  104 ,  105  to reduce, for example, noise. 
     When water has been added to the cup  63 A, but siphon activation has not been detected, it is preferable that enough additional water be added to the cup  63 A to activate the siphon  63 B and empty the cup  63 A. Thus, when the user next accesses the dispenser  62  the cup  63 A will be empty. 
       FIGS. 3 and 4  are example methods that may be performed or carried out by, for example, the controller  96  to detect treating chemistry(-ies). The example method of  FIG. 3  begins with the controller  96  turning on an inlet water valve to add water to the cup  63 A (block  305 ). Using the sensor  104 , when a target amount of water has been added, e.g., an amount of water corresponding to the activation level minus the expected minimum amount of treating chemistry (block  310 ), the controller  96  collects N samples of the sensor output (block  315 ). The controller  96  preferably collects the N samples after the initial in rush of water has passed. An example value of N is 3. 
     As discussed above, the controller  96  processes the N samples to determine whether the siphon  63 B activated (block  320 ). If the siphon  63 B activated (block  320 ), the controller  96  adjusts one or more parameters of a cycle of operation (block  325 ) (e.g., activates bleach phase if bleach is detected), and control exits from the example method of  FIG. 3 . If the siphon  63 B does not activate (block  320 ), control exits from the example method of  FIG. 3 . In some examples, differing cycle parameters are adjusted for both outcomes of block  320 . 
     When the sensor  105  is used, it may not be necessary to collect N samples at block  315 , as activation of the siphon  63 B is more directly detectable. 
     The example method of  FIG. 4  detects the presence and amount of treating chemistry in the cup  63 A. Accordingly, water is incrementally added to the cup  63 A. The example method of  FIG. 4  begins with the controller  96  turning on an inlet water valve to add water to the cup  63 A (block  405 ). When a target incremental amount of water has been added (block  410 ), the controller  96  records the current amount of added water (block  415 ). The controller  96  determines whether the siphon  63 B has been activated by, for example, collecting and processing N samples as described above in connection with  FIG. 3 , or taking a measurement with the sensor  105  (block  420 ). 
     If the siphon  63 B activated (block  420 ), the controller  96  adjusts one or more parameters of a cycle of operation (block  425 ), and control exits from the example method of  FIG. 4 . If the siphon  63 B does not activate (block  420 ), the controller  96  determines whether the maximum number of trials have been carried out (block  430 ). If the maximum number of trials have not been performed (block  430 ), control returns to block  410  to add more water. If the maximum number of steps have been carried out (block  430 ), control exits from the example method of  FIG. 3 . In some examples, differing cycle parameters are adjusted as the example method of  FIG. 4  exits from block  430 . 
     The example methods shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4  may, for example, be implemented as machine-readable instructions carried out by one or more processors to implement the example controller  96  of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . A processor, a controller and/or any other suitable processing device may be used, configured and/or programmed to execute and/or carry out the example methods of  FIGS. 3 and 4 . For example, the example methods of  FIGS. 3 and 4  may be embodied in program code and/or machine-readable instructions stored on a tangible and/or non-transitory computer-readable medium accessible by a processor, a computer and/or other machine having a processor. Machine-readable instructions comprise, for example, instructions that cause a processor, a computer and/or a machine having a processor to perform one or more particular processes. Alternatively, some or all of the example methods of  FIGS. 3 and 4  may be implemented using any combination(s) of fuses, application-specific integrated circuit(s) (ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)), field-programmable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)), field programmable gate array(s) (FPGA(s)), discrete logic, hardware, firmware, etc. Also, some or all of the example methods of  FIGS. 3 and 4  may be implemented using any combination of any of the foregoing techniques, for example, any combination of firmware, software, discrete logic and/or hardware. Further, many other methods of implementing the example methods of  FIGS. 3 and 4  may be employed. For example, the order of execution may be changed, and/or one or more of the blocks and/or interactions described may be changed, eliminated, sub-divided, or combined. Additionally, any or the entire example methods of  FIGS. 3 and 4  may be carried out sequentially and/or carried out in parallel by, for example, separate processing threads, processors, devices, discrete logic, circuits, etc. 
     As used herein, the term “computer-readable medium” is expressly defined to include any type of computer-readable medium and to expressly exclude propagating signals. Example computer-readable medium include, but are not limited to, a volatile and/or non-volatile memory, a volatile and/or non-volatile memory device, a compact disc (CD), a digital versatile disc (DVD), a read-only memory (ROM), a random-access memory (RAM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an electronically-programmable ROM (EPROM), an electronically-erasable PROM (EEPROM), an optical storage disk, an optical storage device, a magnetic storage disk, a magnetic storage device, a cache, and/or any other storage media in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extended time periods, permanently, brief instances, for temporarily buffering, and/or for caching of the information) and that can be accessed by a processor, a computer and/or other machine having a processor. 
     Any terms such as, but not limited to, approximately, substantially, generally, etc. used herein to indicate that a precise value, structure, feature, etc. is not required, need not be specified, etc. For example, a first value being approximately a second value means that from a practical implementation perspective they can be considered as if equal for a practical implementation. Moreover, it should be recognize that, for example, output signals of sensors will be sampled and, thus, only discrete quantized samples of the signals are available. Such samples have values that generally represent or approximate the original signal, but differ due to the effect of quantization. 
     In this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” do not exclude the plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Further, conjunctions such as “and,” “or,” and “and/or” used in this specification and the appended claims are inclusive unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. For example, “A and/or B” includes A alone, B alone, and A with B; “A or B” includes A with B, and “A and B” includes A alone, and B alone. Further still, connecting lines, or connectors shown in the various figures presented are intended to represent example functional relationships and/or physical or logical couplings between the various elements. It should be noted that many alternative or additional functional relationships, physical connections or logical connections may be present in a practical device. Moreover, no item or component is essential to the practice of the embodiments disclosed herein unless the element is specifically described as “essential” or “critical”. 
     Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture have been described herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is not limited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods, apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope of the claims of this patent.