Patent ID: 8245342

Claim:
A method for determining laundry load size in an automatic clothes washer having an imperforate tub with a sump having a bottom surface, a perforated drum located within the tub and having a bottom surface, the drum defining a laundry chamber for receiving the laundry load, and a water level sensor in the form of a pressure sensor having an inlet above the bottom surface of the sump and near the bottom surface of the drum for detecting a water level based on the sensed pressure, the method comprising: supplying water to a reference water level in the tub to define a first amount of water, with the reference water level being at or near the inlet to the pressure sensor; supplying water to the tub from the reference water level to a second water level above the reference water level and sufficient to submerge the laundry load to define a second amount of water; and determining a load size for the laundry load based on the second amount of water wherein potential water amount errors associated with the supplying of the first amount of water are not considered in the load size determination based on the second amount of water.