10646results about "Control devices for washing apparatus" patented technology

A remote control system for a laundry appliance which includes a remote control device externally accessible via a communication network, the remote control device including a data base storing coping information used to cope with an abnormal condition occurring during operation of the laundry appliance, a laundry appliance control device connected via the communication network to the remote control device so as to transmit information about an abnormal condition via the communication network to the remote control device when the abnormal condition has occurred in the laundry appliance, and an analyzer for analyzing the coping information corresponding to the abnormal condition in the laundry appliance to infer a cause of the abnormal condition of the laundry appliance. When the analyzer analyzes a plurality of pieces of the analytic information, a higher priority is given to the analytic information corresponding to a cause of the abnormal condition with a larger number of times of occurrence.

Disclosed herein are a washing machine and a control method thereof that is capable of supplying condensed water generated while laundry is dried to a steam generating unit to generate steam, thereby minimizing formation of scale in the steam generating unit. The washing machine includes a drying unit having a heat exchanger to dehumidify air in a washing tub, a steam generating unit to supply steam to the washing tub, a condensed water tank to collect condensed water from the heat exchanger, and a steam-purpose water supplying unit to supply the water from the condensed water tank to the steam generating unit.

A washing machine to provide a user interface environment using a full-touch LCD to perform communication over a network and a method of controlling the same. It is possible to provide a user interface by simple and convenient touch manipulation and display information regarding a user manipulation state and an operation state of the washing machine according to various visual / tactile tastes.

A method for converting a non-bulk dispensing system into a bulk dispensing system in a household cleaning appliance.

The present invention provides a washing apparatus and control method thereof, by which laundry can be dry-cleaned through the loaded configurations of the wet pad cloth, the filth transfer cloth, the steam providing unit, the fragrance spraying unit, and the detergent supplying unit using either the wet pad cloth or the filth transfer cloth or without using both of the wet pad cloth and the filth transfer cloth.

A washing machine has a partial washing apparatus fitted on an outer surface of a main unit having a washing tub housed therein. The partial washing apparatus is movable between an use position and a non-use position. When the partial washing apparatus is in the use position, its washing portion faces a laundry entrance from outside the main unit; when the partial washing apparatus is in the non-use position, its washing portion is retracted from the position in which it faces the laundry entrance. The washing portion achieves washing by using supersonic waves generated by a supersonic vibration device. The laundry entrance is covered with a lid composed of a front lid and a rear lid coupled together so as to be foldable in two. The rear lid has a gate opening formed therein to let the partial washing apparatus pass through. The gate opening is partially or completely closed by a tray for sustaining a piece of laundry. The tray has a drain outlet formed in its bottom surface, and the drain outlet is open toward or communicates with a drain path leading to outside the washing machine. When the partial washing apparatus is in the non-use position, the tray rotates together with the rear lid.

An electric appliance and a control method thereof are disclosed. The electric appliance includes a communication device connected with a smart grid net to recognize electric power information including power-rate information for each time period, a sensing device configured to sense a predetermined operation mode and an operation state according to the operation mode, and a control device configured to implement power-saving operation based on the received electric power information and the state information sensed by the sensing device.

Apparatus and method for eliminating wrinkles in clothes in a washing or drying machine using steam to eliminate the wrinkles in clothes, in a state in which the clothes are worn by a user or stored, as well as in a state in which washing of the clothes is terminated. The method includes determining whether or not a wrinkle-eliminating course is selected; supplying hot air to the clothes to eliminate dust from the clothes when it is determined that the wrinkle-eliminating course is selected; and supplying steam to the clothes, from which the dust was eliminated, to eliminate the wrinkles in the clothes.

The invention discloses a washing machine capable of choosing a washing procedure by automatically recognizing material information of clothes and a method therefor. The washing machine comprises a control system, a washing tub, a casing, a water inlet / outlet structure and a driving device. The control system comprises a computer program controller. The washing machine is characterized in that the control system further comprises an image processing device, an information input device and an information display device all connected with the computer program controller. The image processing device comprises an image collecting unit, an image storing unit and an image recognizing unit capable of judging clothes according to a clothes image. The control system builds an ID number of clothes and stores the ID number in the image storing unit according to the image collected by the image collecting unit and the clothes information input by the information input device. The information of to-be-washed clothes is acquired by the image processing device and the information input device and the information is uploaded to the computer program controller. The control system logically judges whether a mixed washing manner is suitable for clothes or not and automatically chooses a best washing procedure for the clothes suitable for the mixed washing manner.

A washing machine in which the laundry of poor heat-resistance is sufficiently wet so that a water curtain layers are formed at the laundry, thereby preventing the laundry from being stained and damaged when the laundry contacts the steam. According to the present invention, cold water is supplied simultaneously with injection of the steam so that the real temperature of the steam contacting the surfaces of the laundry is lowered, thereby preventing the laundry from being stained and damaged when the laundry contacts the steam.

A non-intrusive device for automatically dosing at least one liquid laundry care composition to an automatic laundry washing machine. The device employs a Venturi tube mechanism or a pump to dose the laundry detergent care composition. The dosing is controlled by a machine-generic algorithm capable of determining the actual cycle at any duration of wash for various cycle designs from various washing machines, without the input of precise cycle design; and dose the correct products correctly and is capable of distinguishing between major water addition and a water pulse.

The invention relates to an automatic detergent-adding washing machine and a washing method, in particular to a washing method which automatically adds detergent according to five factors, namely the weight, dirty degree, cloth characters of clothes, as well as the temperature and hardness of washing water. Due to the technical proposal, the invention provides the automatic detergent-adding method which automatically adds the most reasonable detergent on the premise of without affecting washing effects, prevents the circumstances that the detergent manually added is too little or excessive, saves resources, and reduces the pollution of discharged washing water on environment.

Apparatus and method for eliminating wrinkles in clothes in a washing or drying machine using steam to eliminate the wrinkles in clothes, in a state in which the clothes are worn by a user or stored, as well as in a state in which washing of the clothes is terminated. The method includes determining whether or not a wrinkle-eliminating course is selected; supplying hot air to the clothes to eliminate dust from the clothes when it is determined that the wrinkle-eliminating course is selected; and supplying steam to the clothes, from which the dust was eliminated, to eliminate the wrinkles in the clothes.

An apparatus and a method for treating, cleaning or refreshing fabric articles. Specifically, the apparatus is dual mode apparatus capable of both washing and drying operations wherein a lipophilic fluid is used in at least one step of the fabric treatment process in the apparatus. A kit containing replaceable / consumable components is also provided.

An automatic washing machine can be operated in accordance with a selected wash cycle by determining a concentration of a wash aid prior to a dispensing of the wash aid into at least one of a tub and a drum, and selecting an operating parameter of the automatic washing machine in response to the determined concentration.

A water leak detection apparatus comprises a sensor, a control unit and a valve module. The sensor is adapted to be placed below a water line or coupling. The valve module is positioned as far upstream on a water line as possible. The control unit actuates the valve module and an audible alarm when the sensor detects a water leak. The valve module closes a valve positioned along the water line to restrict flow through the water line until the control unit has been manually reset. The control unit also features a trigger button to allow the valve to be manually cycled for cleaning, for instance.

A washing machine having a drying function and a method for controlling the same. The washing machine includes a tub for containing wash water; a drum rotatably placed in the tub for containing laundry, and provided with through holes for circulating the wash water or air therethrough; a drying device provided with a circulation fan and a heater for drying the laundry in the drum; and a pumping device for pumping the wash water in the tub so that the wash water in the tub is circulated into the drum or heated by the air passing through the drying device, and is then circulated into the drum. The washing machine performs washing of laundry without any additional heater for heating the wash water, thereby having low production costs and a simple structure of the tub.

Disclosed herein are a washing machine that performs a rinsing operation while rotating a drum at a predetermined RPM without stopping the drum after spin-drying and a rinsing control method thereof The washing machine includes a drum to receive laundry and a motor to rotate the drum. The rinsing control method includes rotating the drum to perform spin-drying and decelerating the drum to a predetermined velocity to perform rinsing. Consequently, it is possible to improve rinsing efficiency even using a small amount of water. Also, it is possible to uniformly distribute the laundry in the drum without eccentricity, although a laundry untangling process for spin-drying is performed only once during the rinsing, which is performed several times, thereby reducing the total rinsing time.

A sensor device and method of employment is provided. More specifically, a sensor device adapted to detect, identify and / or measure a chemical and / or physical characteristic upon placement of the device into an environment, especially a liquid medium for which monitoring is sought is provided.

A method for operating a washing machine having a tub with a drum rotatably mounted in the tub and configured to hold a fabric load and a liquid recirculation system configured to recirculate liquid from the tub to the drum comprises a pre-wash step; a heating step comprising introducing steam into the tub and / or the drum; and a washing step comprising washing the fabric load with a second volume of liquid greater than the first volume of liquid. The pre-wash step can comprise recirculating a first volume of liquid between the tub and the drum without submerging a portion of the drum in the liquid and rotating the drum. In another embodiment, the pre-wash step can comprise recirculating a first volume of liquid between the tub and the drum to achieve a fabric load weight to liquid weight ratio of between about 1:0.5 and 1:2.7.

A method of determining static and dynamic imbalance conditions in a horizontal axis washing machine is disclosed. The method utilizes a number of algorithms to automatically determine the total load size, the magnitude of any static load imbalance, and the magnitude of any dynamic load imbalance for any given load in a given washing machine based on power measurements from the washing machine motor. Methods of obtaining the algorithms for the given washing machine are disclosed.

A washing machine includes: a steam generator for generating steam; a circulation pump for pumping circulation water discharged from a tub and re-supplying it into a drum; a spray nozzle for spraying steam generated from the steam generator and the circulation water pumped from the circulation pump into the drum; and a back-current preventing branch unit connected to the steam generator by a steam supply line, connected to the circulation pump by a circulation line, and connected to the spray nozzle. With this structure, circulation water circulated by the circulation unit and steam generated from the steam generator are sprayed to the laundry through one spray nozzle, so that a system can be simplified and a fabrication cost can be reduced.

The invention provides a detergent pouring and mixing device. The device comprises an inlet valve 1, a turbine agitator 2, a discharge mouth 3, a screw pump 4, a charge basket 5, a motor 6, an inductor 7 and a controller 8, wherein the duckbilled discharge mouth 3 is arranged in the discharge hole of the charge basket 5; and the screw pump 4 driven by the motor 6 is arranged at the bottom of the charge basket 5. The device has the following beneficial effects: after being arranged on the washing machine, the device can automatically pour the detergent according to the required proportion and can fully mix the detergent with the inlet water to ensure the detergent entering into the washing basket to have an appropriate and uniform concentration.

The present invention relates to a method of providing various washing course programs and / or self diagnosis service for an automatic washer from a remote server located in Internet wherein the automatic washer is connected to a data terminal such as personal computer through a communication cable or has a built-in communication function. With the present invention, it is possible to apply newly-developed various washing course programs to already-sold washing machines with ease, and to prevent damages of clothes, light washing ability, and so on which might be caused from unskilled manipulation to a washing machine, and a user can set and change initial screen displayed onto an LCD panel, animations indicating washing states, messages to deliver to someone through an LCD, melodies as he or she wants.

A drum type washing machine in which wash water and laundry contained in a rotating tub are heated by steam supplied into the rotating tub, so as to rapidly increase the temperature of the wash water and laundry, thereby being capable of reducing the total wash time while reducing the amount of wash water to be used, and reducing the consumption of energy caused by heating of the wash water. The washing machine includes a steam generating unit for heating water supplied thereto, thereby generating steam, and a control unit for rotating the rotating tub at a high speed to cause the laundry contained in the rotating tub to be in constant contact with an inner peripheral surface of the rotating tub without falling down, by virtue of a centrifugal force generated during the rotation of the rotating tub, the control unit supplying the steam from the steam generating unit into the rotating tub during the high-speed rotation of the rotating tub, to increase the internal temperature of the rotating tub and the temperature of the laundry.

A washing machine is disclosed which washes laundry using a mechanical force. The washing machine includes a display unit (60) formed at a door (40) to display information on washing, accordingly expanding the installation space for the display unit (60). In addition, when the display unit comprises a touch screen, not only input and display of the washing information but also visual inspection of laundry in a drum can be achieved by the display unit.

An automatic washing machine including a drum, a sink, connection means for water and waste line, which are assembled in one integrated unit. It looks like a vanity with a built-in laundry machine and could be installed in any bathroom, kitchen or any utility room, mobile home, RV or even a boat having standard provision for sink connection. It could replace any existing standard sink giving customer an additional laundry capability.

The present invention relates to a washing machine (7) and pump (8) for a washing machine (7). The pump is driven by a brushless DC motor (38). The pump can be controlled to improve the operation of the washing machine. In one aspect the invention comprises a washing machine (7) with a variable speed pump (8) for pumping out wastewater, a controller (50) for controlling the speed of the pump and a sensor (10) for determining the flow-rate of water being pumped from the washing machine, wherein the controller (50) controls the speed of the pump to maintain the flow-rate at a desirable level.

A method of performing a spinning operation of a washing machine is disclosed. First, a load weight of wet clothes contained in a tub is measured, and an optimal acceleration rate is calculated based upon the measured load weight. Finally, a rotational speed of the tub is gradually increased up to a predetermined speed at the calculated optimal acceleration rate such that the unbalanced distribution of the wet clothes within the tub is minimized.

A plurality of electric equipment in the home such as a fully automatic washing machine 1, a refrigerator 2, a micro-wave oven 3, an air conditioner 4, a TV 5 and illuminators 6 in respective rooms are connected through a domestic LAN 7 to a home terminal 8. The home terminal 8 can be connected through the internet 9 to a main data server 10. The home terminal 8 is provided with a display device 25 and a touch panel and can instruct the operation of the fully automatic washing machine 1 or can set the customization of a washing process, and a monitor picture or various setting pictures during operation are displayed. On the basis of weather information or information related to washing such as washing process data suitable for the kind of detergent to be used or water quality in the area inputted from the main data server 10 through the internet 9, the home terminal suitably controls a washing control program to be run by the fully automatic washing machine 1 and performs optimal operation control.Therefore, it can perform a proper control of an washing operation, considering environmental conditions.