Clothes processing equipment and liquid level measurement method thereof

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of clothing handling equipment technology, specifically providing a clothing handling device and its liquid level measurement method, aiming to solve the problem of inaccurate liquid level detection results in existing drum washing machines. To this end, the clothing handling device of this invention includes a cabinet, a drum disposed within the cabinet, and an infrared camera for acquiring images inside the drum. The liquid level measurement method includes: acquiring images inside the drum; extracting image features from the images; and determining the liquid level height inside the drum based on the image features and a stored mapping relationship between the image features and the liquid level height. This invention can acquire images inside the drum using an infrared camera and extract image features, and determine the liquid level height inside the drum based on the image features and a stored mapping relationship between the image features and the liquid level height. This avoids the inaccurate detection results found in traditional drum washing machines that use liquid level sensors to detect liquid level height, ensuring the accuracy of the detection results and facilitating precise control.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of clothing processing equipment technology, and specifically provides a clothing processing device and a method for measuring the liquid level thereon. Background Technology

[0002] Washing machines and other garment processing equipment are major household appliances. With the continuous improvement of people's living standards and the continuous development of technology, the automation level of washing machines and other garment processing equipment is becoming higher and higher, and people's requirements for the comprehensive performance of garment processing equipment, such as control precision and energy saving, are also increasing.

[0003] Compared to top-loading washing machines, front-loading washing machines have a significant advantage in water conservation. To meet washing needs and further leverage water-saving advantages, the appropriate amount of washing water needs to be added to the drum when washing different loads of clothes. Typically, a level sensor is installed inside the drum, which determines the water level by detecting the water pressure. When the water level reaches the required level, the controller stops supplying water to the drum. However, the weight of the clothes affects the water pressure on the level sensor, leading to inaccurate readings and impacting the precise control of the front-loading washing machine. Using an infrared camera to capture images of the drum's interior is unaffected by visible light, providing clearer images. Processing these images allows for a more accurate determination of the water level within the drum.

[0004] Therefore, a new technical solution is needed in this field to solve the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned technical problem, namely, to solve the problem that the liquid level height detection results of existing drum washing machines are not accurate enough.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a method for measuring the liquid level in a garment processing device, the garment processing device including a housing, a roller disposed within the housing, and an infrared camera for acquiring images inside the roller, the liquid level measurement method including: acquiring images inside the roller; extracting image features from the images; and determining the liquid level height inside the roller based on the image features and a stored mapping relationship between the image features and the liquid level height.

[0007] In the preferred embodiment of the above liquid level measurement method, the image features include the contour features of the liquid surface inside the drum.

[0008] In the preferred embodiment of the above liquid level measurement method, the contour line feature includes the length of the contour line. The step of "determining the liquid level height in the drum based on the image features and the stored mapping relationship between the image features and the liquid level height" includes: determining the liquid level height in the drum based on the length of the contour line and the stored mapping relationship between the contour line length and the liquid level height.

[0009] In the preferred embodiment of the above liquid level measurement method, the contour line feature includes the image area of ​​the region enclosed by the contour line. The step of "determining the liquid level height in the drum based on the image feature and the stored mapping relationship between the image feature and the liquid level height" includes: determining the liquid level height in the drum based on the image area of ​​the region enclosed by the contour line and the stored mapping relationship between the image area and the liquid level height.

[0010] In the preferred embodiment of the above-mentioned liquid level measurement method, the stored image features include standard liquid surface contour images at different liquid level heights. The step of "determining the liquid level height inside the drum based on the image features and the mapping relationship between the stored image features and liquid level heights" includes: determining the degree of overlap between the contour line of the liquid surface inside the drum in the acquired image and the contour line in the standard liquid surface contour images at different liquid level heights; determining the standard liquid surface contour image with the highest degree of overlap with the contour line of the liquid surface inside the drum in the acquired image; and finding the corresponding liquid level height from the mapping relationship between the stored image features and liquid level heights based on the standard liquid surface contour image with the highest degree of overlap to obtain the liquid level height inside the drum.

[0011] In the preferred embodiment of the above liquid level measurement method, the step of "extracting image features of the image" includes: performing grayscale transformation on the image; filtering using a high-pass filter; noise reduction processing; image segmentation using an integral projection method; obtaining the contour features of the liquid surface inside the drum using a Hough transform; and obtaining the corrected contour features of the liquid surface inside the drum through curve fitting.

[0012] In the preferred embodiment of the above liquid level measurement method, before the step of "converting the image to grayscale", the step of "extracting the image features of the image" further includes: determining whether the acquired image is a color image; if the acquired image is a color image, then performing grayscale processing on the color image.

[0013] In the preferred embodiment of the above liquid level measurement method, the step of "processing the color image in grayscale" includes: performing grayscale processing using a weighted average method; wherein, grayscale value = 0.3R + 0.6G + 0.1B.

[0014] In the preferred embodiment of the above liquid level measurement method, the infrared camera is installed on the door or window pad on the side of the box.

[0015] By adopting the above technical solution, the present invention can acquire images inside the drum through an infrared camera and extract image features from the images. Based on the image features and the mapping relationship between the stored image features and the liquid level height, the liquid level height inside the drum is determined. This avoids the problem of inaccurate detection results that occur when using a liquid level sensor to detect the liquid level height in a drum washing machine, ensuring the accuracy of the detection results and facilitating precise control of the drum washing machine.

[0016] In a second aspect, the present invention also provides a garment processing device, comprising: a memory; a processor; and a computer program, the computer program being stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the processor to implement the liquid level measurement method of the garment processing device described in any of the above technical solutions.

[0017] It should be noted that this garment processing equipment has all the technical effects of the above-mentioned liquid level measurement method, which will not be elaborated here. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a drum washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the main steps of the liquid level measurement method for the drum washing machine of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of the liquid level measurement method of a drum washing machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of a liquid level measurement method for a drum washing machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a method for measuring the liquid level in a drum washing machine according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0024] List of reference numerals in the attached diagram:

[0025] 1. Cabinet body; 2. Control panel; 3. Clothing loading port; 31. Window pad; 4. Door; 41. Observation window; 5. Roller; 6. Infrared camera. Detailed Implementation

[0026] First, those skilled in the art should understand that the embodiments described below are merely for explaining the technical principles of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. For example, although the present invention is described using a drum washing machine as an example, this does not constitute a limitation on the scope of protection of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make adjustments as needed to adapt to specific applications. For example, the liquid level measurement method of the clothing processing equipment of the present invention is also applicable to washer-dryer combos or other suitable clothing processing equipment. Obviously, the adjusted technical solution will still fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] It should be noted that in the description of this invention, terms such as "upper," "lower," "inner," and "outer," indicating directional or positional relationships, are based on the directional or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. These are merely for ease of description and do not indicate or imply that the device or element must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation; therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0028] Furthermore, it should be noted that, in the description of this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the term "connection" should be interpreted broadly. For example, it can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can refer to a direct connection, an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, or a connection within two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0029] The following reference Figure 1 and Figure 2 This paper will introduce the liquid level measurement method of the drum washing machine of the present invention. Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a drum washing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the main steps of the liquid level measurement method for the drum washing machine of the present invention.

[0030] like Figure 1 As shown, the drum washing machine includes a cabinet 1, inside which is a water tank (not shown) and a drum 5 inside the water tank. A control panel 2 is located on the upper part of the front panel of the cabinet 1. Below the control panel 2, a clothes inlet 3 is located on the front panel of the cabinet. A door 4 is pivotally connected to the side of the clothes inlet 3. An observation window 41 is located in the middle of the door 41. A window gasket 31 is located on the inner edge of the clothes inlet 3. An infrared camera 6 is mounted on the window gasket 31. The infrared camera 6 is connected to the controller of the drum washing machine (not shown). The infrared camera 6 can capture images inside the drum 5 and send the captured images to the controller.

[0031] like Figure 2 As shown, the main steps of the liquid level measurement method for a drum washing machine include:

[0032] Step S1: Acquire images inside the drum.

[0033] Infrared camera 6 captures images inside drum 5.

[0034] Step S2: Extract image features from the image.

[0035] The controller acquires images of the inside of the drum 5 captured by the infrared camera and extracts image features from them.

[0036] Step S3: Determine the liquid level inside the drum based on image features and the mapping relationship between stored image features and liquid level height.

[0037] When the extracted image feature matches one of the stored image features, the corresponding liquid level height is the current liquid level height inside the drum.

[0038] By acquiring images inside the drum using an infrared camera and extracting image features, the liquid level inside the drum is determined based on the image features and the mapping relationship between the stored image features and the liquid level. This avoids the problem of inaccurate detection results that can occur when using a liquid level sensor to detect the liquid level in a drum washing machine, ensuring the accuracy of the detection results and facilitating precise control of the drum washing machine.

[0039] The first embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to point 3. Figure 3 This is a flowchart of a liquid level measurement method for a drum washing machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] like Figure 3 As shown, in a first embodiment of the present invention, the liquid level measurement method of a drum washing machine includes:

[0041] Step S110: Acquire images inside the drum.

[0042] Infrared camera 6 captures images inside drum 5.

[0043] Step S121: Perform grayscale transformation on the image.

[0044] For example, grayscale stretching is used to achieve grayscale transformation, thereby making the outline of the liquid surface inside the roller 5 in the image stand out from the surrounding background.

[0045] Step S122: Filter using a high-pass filter.

[0046] Step S123: Noise reduction processing.

[0047] The filtered image contains many scattered small noise points and short lines. Through noise reduction processing, discrete noise points and line segments with a length less than a set threshold are removed.

[0048] Step S124: Perform image segmentation using integral projection.

[0049] Step S125: Use Hough transform to obtain the contour features of the liquid surface inside the drum.

[0050] The image was segmented using integral projection and the contour line of the liquid surface inside drum 5 was obtained using Hough transform.

[0051] Step S126: Obtain the corrected contour features of the liquid surface inside the drum through curve fitting.

[0052] Because some clothing inside roller 5 protrudes above the liquid surface, the outline of the liquid surface in the acquired images is not a continuous closed loop, resulting in an incomplete outline. Curve fitting is then used to create a corrected, fully closed outline of the liquid surface.

[0053] Step S130: Determine the liquid level height inside the drum based on the length of the outline of the liquid surface inside the drum and the mapping relationship between the stored outline length and the liquid level height.

[0054] During daily use, as the liquid level inside drum 5 increases, the length of the liquid surface outline also increases. In images of drum 5 captured by an infrared camera 6 positioned at a fixed location, the length of the liquid surface outline corresponds one-to-one with the liquid level height inside drum 5, and increases as the liquid level rises. The controller of the drum washing machine stores the mapping relationship between the outline length and the liquid level height. After calculating the corrected length of the liquid surface outline, the controller searches for the corresponding liquid level height from the mapping relationship, thus obtaining the liquid level height inside drum 5.

[0055] It should be noted that the mapping relationship between the contour line length and the liquid level height can be a continuous curve showing the change of liquid level height with the contour line length in a planar coordinate system. This allows for accurate acquisition of the corresponding liquid level height for any contour line length. In another feasible implementation, the mapping relationship between the contour line length and the liquid level height is a one-to-one correspondence between multiple liquid level heights and multiple contour line lengths. When the contour line length of the liquid surface extracted from the acquired image is the same as one of the stored contour line lengths, the corresponding liquid level height can be directly obtained. When the contour line length of the liquid surface extracted from the acquired image is between two adjacent stored contour line lengths, the corresponding liquid level height can be calculated using interpolation. Alternatively, the average of the liquid level heights corresponding to two adjacent contour line lengths can be directly used as the liquid level height inside the drum 5.

[0056] After processing the acquired images, the contour line of the liquid surface inside drum 5 is extracted, and its length is calculated. Based on the contour line length and the stored mapping relationship between contour line length and liquid level height, the liquid level height inside drum 5 is determined. This process involves relatively little computation and has a fast detection speed. Because the lighting inside drum 5 is poor, images are acquired using an infrared camera 6, which is unaffected by visible light and provides clearer images. Therefore, after processing the acquired images, the liquid level height inside drum 5 can be determined more accurately.

[0057] The second embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to 4. Figure 4 This is a flowchart of a method for measuring the liquid level in a drum washing machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0058] like Figure 4 As shown, in a second embodiment of the present invention, the liquid level measurement method of a drum washing machine includes:

[0059] Step S210: Acquire images inside the drum.

[0060] Step S221: Perform grayscale transformation on the image.

[0061] Step S222: Filter using a high-pass filter.

[0062] Step S223: Noise reduction processing.

[0063] Step S224: Perform image segmentation using integral projection.

[0064] Step S225: Use Hough transform to obtain the contour features of the liquid surface inside the drum.

[0065] Step S226: Obtain the corrected contour features of the liquid surface inside the drum through curve fitting.

[0066] Step S230: Determine the liquid level height inside the drum based on the image area of ​​the region enclosed by the outline of the liquid surface inside the drum and the mapping relationship between the stored image area and the liquid level height.

[0067] During daily use, as the liquid level inside drum 5 increases, the area enclosed by the outline of the liquid surface also increases. In the images of drum 5 captured by the infrared camera 6 positioned at a fixed location, the area enclosed by the outline of the liquid surface corresponds one-to-one with the liquid level height inside drum 5, and increases as the liquid level rises. The memory of the drum washing machine controller stores the mapping relationship between image area and liquid level height. After calculating the corrected area enclosed by the outline of the liquid surface, the controller searches for the liquid level height corresponding to the corrected area from the mapping relationship, thus obtaining the liquid level height inside drum 5.

[0068] It should be noted that the mapping relationship between image area and liquid level can be a continuous curve showing the change of liquid level with image area in a planar coordinate system. This allows for accurate determination of the corresponding liquid level for any area enclosed by a contour. In another feasible implementation, the mapping relationship between image area and liquid level is a one-to-one correspondence between multiple liquid level heights and multiple image areas. When the area enclosed by the contour of the liquid surface extracted from the acquired image matches one of the stored image areas, the corresponding liquid level can be directly obtained. When the area of ​​the contour region of the liquid surface extracted from the acquired image lies between two adjacent stored image areas, the corresponding liquid level can be calculated using interpolation. Alternatively, the average of the liquid level heights corresponding to two adjacent image areas can be directly used as the liquid level height inside drum 5.

[0069] The second embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to 5. Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a method for measuring the liquid level in a drum washing machine according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[0070] like Figure 5 As shown, in the third embodiment of the present invention, the liquid level measurement method of the drum washing machine includes:

[0071] Step S310: Acquire images inside the drum.

[0072] Step S321: Perform grayscale transformation on the image.

[0073] Step S322: Filter using a high-pass filter.

[0074] Step S323: Noise reduction processing.

[0075] Step S324: Perform image segmentation using integral projection.

[0076] Step S325: Use Hough transform to obtain the contour features of the liquid surface inside the drum.

[0077] Step S331: Determine the degree of overlap between the contour line of the liquid surface inside the drum in the acquired image and the contour line of the standard liquid surface at different liquid levels.

[0078] The controller's memory stores a series of standard contour images of the liquid surface at different heights (i.e., contour images of the liquid surface at the corresponding height when there are no clothes inside the drum) and the liquid level height corresponding to each standard contour image. The proportion (i.e., the degree of overlap) of the overlap between the contour line of the liquid surface inside drum 5 in the acquired image and the contour line in each standard liquid surface contour image is calculated to the length of the contour line in the standard liquid surface contour image.

[0079] Step S332: Determine the standard liquid surface contour image that has the highest overlap with the contour line of the liquid surface inside the drum in the acquired image.

[0080] By comparing the magnitudes of multiple calculated overlaps, the standard liquid surface contour image with the highest overlap with the contour line of the liquid surface inside roller 5 in the acquired image is determined.

[0081] Step S333: Based on the standard liquid surface contour image with the highest overlap, find the corresponding liquid level height from the stored mapping relationship between image features and liquid level height to obtain the liquid level height inside the drum.

[0082] The liquid level height corresponding to the standard liquid surface contour image that has the highest overlap with the contour line of the liquid surface inside drum 5 in the acquired image is the liquid level height inside drum 5.

[0083] With this setting, there is no need to further perform curve fitting on the contour features of the liquid surface inside the drum obtained by Hough transform, avoiding the deviation between the image features of the fitted complete closed contour and the actual contour. This not only determines the liquid level height inside drum 5, but also further improves the accuracy of the liquid level measurement results.

[0084] Based on the above embodiments, preferably, before the step of "performing grayscale transformation on the image", the step of "extracting image features from the image" further includes:

[0085] Determine whether the acquired image is a color image;

[0086] If the acquired image is a color image, then the color image is processed into grayscale;

[0087] If the captured image is a grayscale image, then grayscale processing is not required.

[0088] Specifically, when the acquired image is a color image, a weighted average method is used for grayscale processing. The grayscale value of each pixel is calculated according to the formula "grayscale value = 0.3R + 0.6G + 0.1B" to obtain a grayscale image.

[0089] It should be noted that the weighted average method for grayscale processing is only one specific processing method. In practical applications, it can be adjusted, such as using the component method, the maximum value method, or the average value method.

[0090] It is understood that in the above embodiments, the infrared camera 6 is set on the window pad 31, which is only a specific setting method. It can be adjusted according to the actual situation. For example, the infrared camera 6 can also be set on the door 4 or on the observation window 61.

[0091] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a garment processing device, comprising: a memory; a processor; and a computer program, the computer program being stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the processor to implement the liquid level measurement method of the garment processing device of any of the above embodiments.

[0092] It should be noted that the memory includes, but is not limited to, random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, serial memory, parallel memory, or registers, etc., and the processor includes, but is not limited to, CPLD / FPGA, DSP, ARM processor, MIPS processor, etc. The garment handling equipment can be a drum washing machine, a washer-dryer combo, or other suitable garment handling equipment.

[0093] The technical solution of the present invention has been described above with reference to the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art that the scope of protection of the present invention is obviously not limited to these specific embodiments. Without departing from the principles of the present invention, those skilled in the art can make equivalent changes or substitutions to the relevant technical features, and the technical solutions after such changes or substitutions will all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for determining the liquid level in a garment processing device, characterized in that, The garment processing equipment includes a housing, a roller disposed within the housing, and an infrared camera for acquiring images inside the roller. The liquid level measurement method includes: Acquire images inside the drum; Extract the image features of the image; The liquid level inside the drum is determined based on the image features and the stored mapping relationship between the image features and the liquid level. The image features include the outline features of the liquid surface inside the drum; The stored image features include standard liquid surface contour images at different liquid level heights. The step of "determining the liquid level height inside the drum based on the image features and the mapping relationship between the stored image features and the liquid level height" includes: The degree of overlap between the contour line of the liquid surface inside the drum in the acquired image and the contour line in the standard liquid surface contour image at different liquid level heights is determined respectively. Identify the standard liquid surface contour image that has the highest degree of overlap with the contour line of the liquid surface inside the drum in the acquired images; The liquid level inside the drum is obtained by searching for the corresponding liquid level from the stored mapping relationship between image features and liquid level height based on the standard liquid surface contour image with the highest overlap.

2. The liquid level measurement method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of "extracting image features from the image" includes: Perform grayscale transformation on the image; High-pass filtering is used for filtering; Noise reduction processing; Image segmentation is performed using integral projection. The contour features of the liquid surface inside the drum are obtained by using Hough transform; The corrected contour features of the liquid surface inside the drum are obtained through curve fitting.

3. The liquid level measurement method according to claim 2, characterized in that, Before the step of "performing grayscale transformation on the image", the step of "extracting image features from the image" further includes: Determine whether the acquired image is a color image; If the acquired image is a color image, then the color image is processed into grayscale.

4. The liquid level measurement method according to claim 3, characterized in that, The steps for "processing a color image into grayscale" include: Grayscale processing is performed using a weighted average method; Wherein, grayscale value = 0.3R + 0.6G + 0.1B.

5. The liquid level measurement method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The infrared camera is installed on the door or window mat on the side of the enclosure.

6. A garment processing device, characterized in that, include: Memory; processor; as well as A computer program, stored in the memory and configured to be executed by the processor to implement the liquid level measurement method of the garment processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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