Patent ID: 7293313

Claim:
A method of determining the weight of laundry in a washing machine of the type comprising a vertically movable sudsing container having a drum rotatably mounted therein and suspended by at least one spring and supported by at least one frictional shock absorber comprising a cylindrical housing and a piston rod provided with a member frictionally engaging the cylindrical housing and movable along the piston rod between first and second abutments against the bias of at least one spring, comprising the steps of: measuring the highest position of the sudsing container during a first washing operation and storing a first value representative thereof in a memory; measuring the downward movement of the sudsing container in response to laundry placed therein in a second washing operation and deriving a second value representative thereof; and comparing the first and second values to derive a third value representative of the weight of the laundry placed in the drum.