Control methods, control devices, and garment processing equipment

Abstract

This invention discloses a control method, control device, and garment processing equipment for a garment processing device. The control method includes: controlling the garment processing device to perform a water intake operation at a first preset water level; determining that the garment processing device has reached the first preset water level, and acquiring load status information and / or water level fluctuation information; determining that the load status information and / or water level fluctuation information meet preset conditions, and stopping the water intake operation; otherwise, controlling the garment processing device to perform a water intake operation at a second preset water level; wherein the second preset water level is greater than the first preset water level. The control method of this invention allows the garment processing device to start water intake from a lower water level, and continue to intake water at a higher water level when the load is not saturated, until the garment is saturated or the water level fluctuation is small, at which point water intake stops. This avoids problems of excessive or insufficient water intake caused by motor weighing deviation, saves water resources, ensures the washing capacity of the garment processing device, and improves the user experience.

Description

[0001] Related citations of related applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202310733330.0, filed on June 20, 2023, entitled "Control Method, Control Device and Clothing Processing Equipment", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] This invention relates to the field of clothing processing technology, and in particular to a control method, control device, and clothing processing equipment. Background Technology

[0004] In existing technology, the water intake operation of washing machines is usually determined by the motor weighing result among multiple water intake settings. Since there is usually a certain deviation between the motor weighing result and the actual load weight, too much or too little water is introduced, resulting in water waste or low washing efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, or at least partially solve the above-mentioned technical problems, this disclosure provides a control method, control device, and clothing processing equipment for clothing processing equipment.

[0006] This disclosure provides a control method for a garment processing device, including:

[0007] The garment processing equipment is controlled to perform a water intake operation at a first preset water level;

[0008] Determine that the clothing processing equipment has reached the first preset water level, and obtain load status information and / or water level fluctuation information;

[0009] If the load information and / or water level fluctuation information meet the preset conditions, the water intake operation is stopped; otherwise, the clothing processing equipment is controlled to perform the water intake operation at the second preset water level; wherein the second preset water level is greater than the first preset water level.

[0010] Optionally, the water intake operation further includes an Nth preset water level, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 3;

[0011] The method further includes:

[0012] Determine that the clothing processing equipment has reached the (N-1)th preset water level, and obtain load status information and / or water level fluctuation information;

[0013] If the load information and / or water level fluctuation information meet the preset conditions, stop the water intake operation; otherwise, control the clothing processing equipment to perform the water intake operation at the Nth preset water level; wherein the Nth preset water level is greater than the (N-1)th preset water level, and the (N-1)th preset water level is greater than the second preset water level.

[0014] Optionally, the load status information includes moisture content information;

[0015] Determining that the load information meets preset conditions includes:

[0016] The moisture content of the load is determined to be greater than 90%.

[0017] Optionally, obtaining water level fluctuation information includes:

[0018] Record the first water level information inside the garment processing equipment at the first moment;

[0019] Control the movement of the load within the garment processing equipment until the second moment;

[0020] Record the second water level information inside the clothing processing equipment at the second moment;

[0021] The difference or ratio between the first water level information and the second water level information is used as the water level fluctuation information.

[0022] Optionally, determining that the water level fluctuation information meets preset conditions includes:

[0023] It is determined that the water level fluctuation information is less than a first threshold.

[0024] Optionally, the garment processing equipment includes a pulsator washing machine;

[0025] The control of the load movement within the garment processing equipment includes:

[0026] Control the rotation of the pulsator and / or agitator and / or spin-drying tub of the pulsator washing machine.

[0027] Optionally, the garment processing equipment includes a drum washing machine;

[0028] The control of the load movement within the garment processing equipment includes:

[0029] Control the rotation of the drum in the washing machine.

[0030] Optionally, the first preset water level is the minimum water level for the water intake operation; the Nth preset water level is the maximum water level for the water intake operation.

[0031] This disclosure also provides a control device for a garment processing apparatus, comprising:

[0032] The control module is used to control the clothing processing equipment to perform a water intake operation at a first preset water level;

[0033] The first determining module is used to determine that the clothing processing equipment has reached the first preset water level, and to obtain load status information and / or water level fluctuation information.

[0034] The second determining module is used to determine if the load information and / or water level fluctuation information meet preset conditions and stop the water intake operation; otherwise, it controls the clothing processing equipment to perform the water intake operation at the second preset water level; wherein the second preset water level is greater than the first preset water level.

[0035] This disclosure also provides a garment processing device, including a processor and a memory, wherein the processor executes the steps of any of the above methods by calling programs or instructions stored in the memory.

[0036] The technical solution provided in this disclosure has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0037] The control method for the garment processing equipment disclosed herein includes: controlling the garment processing equipment to perform a water intake operation at a first preset water level; determining that the garment processing equipment has reached the first preset water level, and acquiring load status information and / or water level fluctuation information; determining that the load information and / or water level fluctuation information meet preset conditions, and stopping the water intake operation; otherwise, controlling the garment processing equipment to perform a water intake operation at a second preset water level; wherein the second preset water level is greater than the first preset water level. Therefore, the garment processing equipment of this disclosure does not use motor weighing to determine the water intake level, but instead starts water intake from a lower water level, and continues to add water at a higher water level until the garment is saturated or the water level fluctuation is small, at which point water intake stops. This allows the garment processing equipment to perform the water intake operation at the optimal washing water level for saturated load, avoiding problems of excessive or insufficient water intake caused by motor weighing deviations, saving water resources, ensuring the washing capacity of the garment processing equipment, and improving the user experience. Attached Figure Description

[0038] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent and readily understood from the description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0039] Figure 1 A flowchart illustrating a control method provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0040] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a control device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0041] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a garment processing device provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0042] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are only used to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0043] The technical solutions provided in this disclosure can be applied to clothing processing equipment, which can be a top-loading washing machine, a front-loading washing machine, agitator washing machine, washer-dryer combo, or other types of washing equipment, and are not limited thereto.

[0044] In the technical solution provided by the embodiments of this disclosure, the clothing processing device includes a water inlet component and a clothing processing tank; wherein, the water inlet component is connected to the clothing processing tank, the clothing processing tank can accommodate the load, the water inlet component feeds water into the clothing processing tank, and generates washing water for cleaning the load (e.g., clothing) based on this, thereby realizing the washing of the load.

[0045] In existing technology, the water intake operation of washing machines is usually determined by the motor weighing result among multiple water intake settings. Since there is usually a certain deviation between the motor weighing result and the actual load weight, too much or too little water is introduced, resulting in water waste or low washing efficiency.

[0046] The control method, control device, storage medium, and clothing processing equipment provided in the embodiments of this disclosure will be described by way of example below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0047] For example, Figure 1 This is a flowchart illustrating a control method provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. (See reference...) Figure 1 Taking a washing machine as an example, this control method may include the following steps:

[0048] S100: Control the clothing processing equipment to perform water intake operation at the first preset water level.

[0049] The washing of clothes is carried out by the washing machine's washing program, which may include water intake, washing, rinsing, and spin-drying operations. The water intake operation controls the water intake component to inject water into the dispensing component and / or the clothes handling tub, so that the detergent and other preparations in the dispensing component, along with the water required for washing, are injected into the clothes handling tub. The water intake operation typically includes two or more preset water levels, such as a first preset water level, a second preset water level, and an Nth preset water level, etc., with the two or more preset water levels increasing sequentially. For example, the second preset water level is greater than the first preset water level, the third preset water level is greater than the second preset water level, and the Nth preset water level is greater than the (N-1)th preset water level, etc. By setting multiple preset water levels, different loads of clothes can be saturated with water, ensuring that the washing water can submerge the load and thus guarantee the cleanliness of the clothes. It is understandable that the larger the load, the more water is required for saturation absorption, and therefore the water intake operation should be performed at a higher preset water level.

[0050] In existing technologies, a load weighing operation is typically performed before water intake. This involves using a motor or sensor to perform fuzzy weighing of the load to obtain an approximate load amount, which is then matched with a specific water level as the preset water level for the water intake operation. However, since motor weighing or sensor weighing can have deviations, the matched preset water level may be inaccurate, resulting in either too much or too little water intake. This leads to water waste or insufficient cleaning, thus reducing the user experience.

[0051] To address this technical problem, the embodiments of this disclosure do not rely on the motor or sensor to weigh and determine the water level. Instead, they first control the washing machine to perform the water intake operation at a lower first preset water level, which serves as the basis for subsequent water intake operations, thus avoiding the problem of incorrect water level in the subsequent water intake due to pre-weighing deviation.

[0052] In some implementations, the first preset water level is the minimum water level for water intake operation.

[0053] Specifically, in this embodiment, the lowest water level among the multiple water levels of the washing machine is used as the first preset water level. For example, the first water level among the 8 water levels of a top-loading washing machine or the 3 water levels of a front-loading washing machine is used as the first preset water level. That is, the water inlet operation starts from the lowest water level of the washing machine. This can avoid water waste caused by the initial water level being too high when the load is low.

[0054] S102. Determine that the clothing processing equipment has reached the first preset water level, and obtain load status information and / or water level fluctuation information.

[0055] Specifically, once the water level in the washing machine reaches the first preset level, the washing machine uses its own sensors or functional components to obtain load status information and / or water level information to determine whether the current water level has reached the optimal washing water level.

[0056] In some implementations, the load status information includes moisture content information.

[0057] In this embodiment, the washing machine obtains the moisture content information of the clothes through sensors, such as obtaining the conductivity information of the clothing surface through a conductivity sensor, thereby determining the moisture content of the clothes.

[0058] In some implementations, obtaining water level fluctuation information includes: recording first water level information in the clothing processing equipment at a first moment; controlling the movement of the load in the clothing processing equipment until a second moment; recording second water level information in the clothing processing equipment at the second moment; and using the difference or ratio between the first water level information and the second water level information as water level fluctuation information.

[0059] In this embodiment, the water level information can be obtained indirectly by measuring the water level height inside the drum using a distance sensor or an infrared sensor, or by measuring the water level frequency using a water level frequency sensor. Water level fluctuations are usually caused by the load drawing water; therefore, in this embodiment, it is necessary to record the first water level information at a first moment and the second water level information at a second moment, and then determine the water level fluctuation information using the water level information at both moments.

[0060] Here, to ensure that changes in water level information fully reflect whether the load has reached saturation and absorbed water, the load's movement can be controlled to increase its water absorption. Different methods can be used to control the load's movement depending on the type of washing machine. For example, in a top-loading washing machine, the relative movement between the load and the wash water can be promoted by controlling the rotation of the pulsator and / or agitator and / or spin-dry tub for 10 seconds, thus encouraging water absorption. Similarly, in a front-loading washing machine, the relative movement between the load and the wash water can be promoted by controlling the rotation of the drum for 10 seconds. It should be noted that the rotation time of the pulsator, agitator, spin-dry tub, and / or drum is not specifically limited in this disclosure. Therefore, by promoting further water absorption by the load, the water level fluctuations caused by the load's water absorption become more significant, improving the accuracy of the water level fluctuation information.

[0061] Once the first and second water level information before and after load movement are obtained, the water level fluctuation information can be obtained by calculating the difference or ratio between the first and second water level information. The method of calculating the difference or ratio is simple and effective compared to complex calculation algorithms, making it suitable for applications with limited computing power, such as washing machines, that require real-time processing of large amounts of data.

[0062] S104. If the load information and / or water level fluctuation information meet the preset conditions, stop the water intake operation; otherwise, control the clothing processing equipment to perform the water intake operation at the second preset water level; wherein the second preset water level is greater than the first preset water level.

[0063] After acquiring load information and / or water level fluctuation information, this information is compared with preset conditions to determine whether the current water level is sufficient for the load to absorb water to saturation. If the preset conditions are met, the load is considered to have achieved saturation, and the current water level has reached the optimal level for washing, so the water intake operation can be stopped and the washing operation can begin. If the preset conditions are not met, the load is considered not to have achieved saturation, and the current water level is too low compared to the level required to ensure cleaning effectiveness, and is not the optimal level for washing. Therefore, more water should be added to the laundry tub.

[0064] In this embodiment, when it is determined that the current water level has not caused the load to be saturated with water, the washing machine is controlled to fill the clothes processing tub with water at a higher second preset water level. After water is filled, the load status information and / or water level fluctuation information calculation in step S102 is executed again to re-execute the judgment on the load being saturated with water in step 104, until the load reaches saturation with water and the water filling operation ends.

[0065] In this embodiment, the preset conditions can be determined based on the category of information acquired. For example, when the load status information includes moisture content information, the preset conditions include a load moisture content greater than 90%, such as 90%, 95%, or 100%. This parameter can be set for materials with different water absorption capacities, and this embodiment does not limit this. As another example, determining that water level fluctuation information meets preset conditions includes: determining that the water level fluctuation information is less than a first threshold. The first threshold can be determined based on the detection accuracy of different devices and sensors, and this embodiment does not limit this.

[0066] Therefore, this embodiment of the present disclosure, by introducing water into the clothes processing tub at a lower preset water level during the water intake operation, determines whether the clothes are saturated with water, and continues to introduce water at a higher water level after the clothes are not saturated with water until the clothes are saturated with water, which is taken as the optimal washing water level, thereby avoiding the water level deviation that exists in the prior art which relies on weighing to determine the preset water level. This allows the clothes processing equipment to reduce water consumption while ensuring the cleanliness of the clothes, thus improving the user experience.

[0067] In some embodiments, the water intake operation further includes an Nth preset water level, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 3; the method further includes: determining that the clothing processing device has reached an N-1th preset water level, acquiring load status information and / or water level fluctuation information; determining that the load information and / or water level fluctuation information meet preset conditions, and stopping the water intake operation; otherwise, controlling the clothing processing device to perform the water intake operation at the Nth preset water level; wherein, the Nth preset water level is greater than the N-1th preset water level, and the N-1th preset water level is greater than the second preset water level.

[0068] The water inlet level includes multiple preset water levels. When determining the water level required for clothes to absorb water to their full capacity, the optimal washing water level is determined by injecting washing water at multiple preset levels in succession. This allows the washing machine to determine the optimal water level for more load ranges, providing users with more washing options.

[0069] In some implementations, the Nth preset water level is the maximum water level for the water intake operation.

[0070] In this embodiment, for larger loads, water can be introduced starting from the minimum water level of the washing machine, such as level 1 of a top-loading washing machine, and continuing until the maximum water level is reached, such as level 8 of a top-loading washing machine. This ensures that the water intake needs of larger loads are met while preventing the water level from exceeding the washing machine's capacity, thus guaranteeing safe operation.

[0071] Based on the same inventive concept, this disclosure also provides a control device for a garment processing device, which is used to execute the steps of any of the control methods provided in the above embodiments to achieve the corresponding beneficial effects.

[0072] For example, Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a control device provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. (Reference) Figure 2 The control device may include: a control module 200, used to control the clothing processing equipment to perform a water intake operation at a first preset water level; a first determining module 202, used to determine that the clothing processing equipment has reached the first preset water level and to acquire load status information and / or water level fluctuation information; a second determining module 204, used to determine that the load information and / or water level fluctuation information meet preset conditions and to stop the water intake operation; otherwise, to control the clothing processing equipment to perform a water intake operation at a second preset water level; wherein the second preset water level is greater than the first preset water level.

[0073] What is understandable is that Figure 2 The control device shown can execute the steps of any of the control methods provided in the above embodiments, and has corresponding beneficial effects.

[0074] This disclosure also provides a garment processing device, including a processor and a memory. The processor executes the steps of any of the methods provided in the above embodiments by calling programs or instructions stored in the memory, and has corresponding beneficial effects.

[0075] For example, Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a garment processing device provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. (Reference) Figure 3 The garment processing device 300 includes a memory 301 and a processor 302; the memory 301 stores executable programs or instructions; the processor 302 runs the programs or instructions to implement the steps of any of the above methods, and has corresponding beneficial effects, which will not be described in detail here to avoid repetition.

[0076] The processor 302 may be a central processing unit (CPU) or other form of processing unit with data processing and / or instruction execution capabilities, and may control other components in the computer to perform desired functions.

[0077] The memory 301 may include one or more computer program products, which may include various forms of computer-readable storage media, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. Volatile memory may include, for example, random access memory (RAM) and / or cache memory. Non-volatile memory may include, for example, read-only memory (ROM), hard disk, flash memory, etc. One or more computer program instructions may be stored on the computer-readable storage medium, and the processor 302 may execute the program instructions to implement the method steps of the various embodiments of this application described above and / or other desired functions.

[0078] In addition to the methods and apparatus described above, embodiments of this application may also be computer program products, which include computer program instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the method steps of various embodiments of this application.

[0079] The computer program product can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages ​​to perform the operations of the embodiments of the present invention. The programming languages ​​include object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Java and C++, as well as conventional procedural programming languages ​​such as C or similar languages. The program code can be executed entirely on the user's computing device, partially on the user's computing device, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computing device and partially on a remote computing device, or entirely on a remote computing device or server.

[0080] Based on the above embodiments, this disclosure also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program or instructions thereon. When the computer program or instructions are run by the processor 302, the processor 302 executes the method steps of various embodiments of this disclosure to implement the steps of any of the above methods and have corresponding beneficial effects. To avoid repetition, these will not be repeated here.

[0081] The aforementioned computer-readable medium may be included in the aforementioned electronic device; or it may exist independently and not assembled into the electronic device.

[0082] Computer-readable storage media may take the form of any combination of one or more readable media. A readable medium may be a readable signal medium or a readable storage medium. A readable storage medium may, for example, include, but is not limited to, electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatuses, or devices, or any combination thereof. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of readable storage media include: electrical connections having one or more wires, portable disks, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fibers, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0083] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0084] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this disclosure, enabling those skilled in the art to understand or implement it. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not to be limited to the embodiments described herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A control method for a garment processing device, characterized in that, include: The garment processing equipment is controlled to perform a water intake operation at a first preset water level; Determine that the clothing processing equipment has reached the first preset water level, and obtain load status information and / or water level fluctuation information to determine whether the current water level has reached the optimal washing water level; If the load status information and / or water level fluctuation information meet preset conditions, the water intake operation is stopped; otherwise, the clothing processing equipment is controlled to perform the water intake operation at a second preset water level; wherein the second preset water level is greater than the first preset water level. The water intake operation also includes the Nth preset water level, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 3; The method further includes: determining that the clothing processing equipment has reached the N-1th preset water level, and obtaining load status information and / or water level fluctuation information; If the load status information and / or water level fluctuation information meet the preset conditions, the water intake operation is stopped; otherwise, the clothing processing equipment is controlled to perform the water intake operation at the Nth preset water level; wherein the Nth preset water level is greater than the (N-1)th preset water level, and the (N-1)th preset water level is greater than the second preset water level, so as to start water intake from a lower water level, and continue to inject water at a higher water level when the load is not saturated with water, until the clothing is saturated with water or the water level fluctuation is small, then the water intake is stopped. The load status information includes moisture content information; Determining that the load status information meets preset conditions includes: The moisture content of the load is determined to be greater than 90%. Determining that the water level fluctuation information meets preset conditions includes: It is determined that the water level fluctuation information is less than a first threshold.

2. The control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Obtain water level fluctuation information, including: Record the first water level information inside the garment processing equipment at the first moment; Control the movement of the load within the garment processing equipment until the second moment; Record the second water level information inside the clothing processing equipment at the second moment; The difference or ratio between the first water level information and the second water level information is used as the water level fluctuation information.

3. The control method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The garment processing equipment includes a top-loading washing machine; The control of the load movement within the garment processing equipment includes: Control the rotation of the pulsator and / or agitator and / or spin-drying tub of the pulsator washing machine.

4. The control method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The garment processing equipment includes a drum washing machine; The control of the load movement within the garment processing equipment includes: Control the rotation of the drum in the washing machine.

5. The control method according to any one of claims 1-4, characterized in that, The first preset water level is the minimum water level for the water intake operation; the Nth preset water level is the maximum water level for the water intake operation.

6. A control device for a garment processing equipment, characterized in that, include: The control module is used to control the clothing processing equipment to perform a water intake operation at a first preset water level; The first determining module is used to determine that the clothing processing equipment has reached the first preset water level, and to obtain load status information and / or water level fluctuation information to determine whether the current water level has reached the optimal washing water level. The second determining module is used to determine if the load status information and / or water level fluctuation information meet preset conditions and stop the water intake operation; otherwise, the control module is used to control the clothing processing equipment to perform the water intake operation at a second preset water level; wherein the second preset water level is greater than the first preset water level; The water intake operation also includes the Nth preset water level, where N is a positive integer greater than or equal to 3; The first determining module is further configured to determine that the clothing processing equipment has reached the (N-1)th preset water level, and to obtain load status information and / or water level fluctuation information; The second determining module is further configured to determine that the load status information and / or water level fluctuation information meet preset conditions, and stop the water intake operation; otherwise, the control module is configured to control the clothing processing equipment to perform the water intake operation at the Nth preset water level; wherein the Nth preset water level is greater than the (N-1)th preset water level, and the (N-1)th preset water level is greater than the second preset water level, so as to realize water intake from a lower water level, and continue to inject water at a higher water level when the load is not saturated with water, until the clothing is saturated with water or the water level fluctuation is small, and then stop water intake; The load status information includes moisture content information; Determining that the load status information meets preset conditions includes: The moisture content of the load is determined to be greater than 90%. Determining that the water level fluctuation information meets preset conditions includes: It is determined that the water level fluctuation information is less than a first threshold.

7. A garment processing device, characterized in that, It includes a processor and a memory, wherein the processor executes the steps of the method as described in any one of claims 1-5 by invoking a program or instruction stored in the memory.

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