Clothes treatment apparatus, and control method and device for clothes treatment apparatus

Abstract

A clothes treatment apparatus, and a control method and device for the clothes treatment apparatus. The control method of the clothes treatment apparatus comprises: determining that the last rinsing operation on the clothes is finished, controlling the clothes treatment apparatus to execute a softening treatment operation on the clothes, wherein the softening treatment operation is an operation of forming a softener aqueous solution, and using the softener aqueous solution to carry out softening treatment on the clothes. The softening treatment operation is independent of the rinsing operation on the clothes, so that the process goal of the softening treatment operation is concentrated on improving the use efficiency of a softener, thus maximizing the function of the softener as much as possible.

Description

[0001] The present disclosure claims the priority of the Chinese Patent Application No. 202310672038.2, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on June 07, 2023, with title of "Laundry Treatment Apparatus, and Control Method and Device of The Laundry Treatment Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of household appliance technology, and specifically designs a laundry treatment apparatus, a control method and a device of the laundry treatment apparatus.BACKGROUND

[0003] Fabric softener is a type of surfactant used in laundry washing and care process in conjunction with detergents to soften laundry, make the laundry fluffy, impart a fresh fragrance, and eliminate static electricity. As fabric softeners can improve the hand feel of laundry, make the laundry fluffy, eliminate static electricity generated during wearing, and also leave a pleasant scent, an increasing number of users prefer to use fabric softeners in the laundry washing process. However, existing laundry treatment apparatuses (mostly washing machines) are focused more on the washing and rinsing processes of laundry during the design phase, without paying special attention to the fabric softening and care process. In general, fabric softeners are added only during the final rinsing cycle, resulting in the fabric softeners being adsorbed by fabric fibers during the final rinsing process and failing to fully exert the softening efficacy.SUMMARY (I) Technical Problem to be Solved

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is to address the issue that when the fabric softener is added during final one of rinsing operations on the laundry, the fabric softener is adsorbed by the laundry fibers during the final rinsing process, and the softening effect of the fabric softener cannot be fully exerted.(II) Technical Solution

[0005] To solve the aforementioned problem, in a first aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a control method of a laundry treatment apparatus, including: determining that the final one of rinsing operations for the laundry is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry. The softening treatment operation is an operation of forming an aqueous fabric softener solution and using the aqueous fabric softener solution to perform a softening treatment on the laundry.

[0006] In some embodiments, controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry includes: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to inject water according to a first water injection amount, wherein the first water injection amount is less than a second water injection amount of a single rinsing operation of the rinsing operations.

[0007] In some embodiments, before controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the rinsing operation, the method further includes: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a washing operation on the laundry; wherein a third water injection amount during the washing operation is less than the first water injection amount.

[0008] In some embodiments, controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry includes: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a heating operation on the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0009] In some embodiments, controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry includes: controlling a drive motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate, and the drive motor is used to agitate the laundry in the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0010] In some embodiments, controlling the drive motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate includes: controlling the drive motor to rotate according to a first set rotation speed, wherein the first set rotation speed is lower than a second set rotation speed, and the second set rotation speed is a working rotation speed of the drive motor during the rinsing operation.

[0011] In some embodiments, controlling the drive motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate includes: controlling the drive motor to rotate according to a set stop-to-run ratio, wherein the set stop-to-run ratio is greater than 1.

[0012] In some embodiments, controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry includes: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a soaking operation on the laundry with the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0013] In some embodiments, before controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry, the method further includes: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a first dehydration operation on the laundry; controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry includes: determining that the first dehydration operation is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation.

[0014] In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining that the softening treatment operation is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a second dehydration operation on the laundry; wherein a maximum dehydration rotation speed of the laundry treatment apparatus during the second dehydration operation is lower than a maximum dehydration rotation speed during the first dehydration operation.

[0015] In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining that the softening treatment operation program is triggered, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry.

[0016] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a control device of a laundry treatment apparatus, including: a control module, configured to determine that the final rinsing operation for the laundry is completed, and control the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry. The softening treatment operation is an operation of forming an aqueous fabric softener solution and using the aqueous fabric softener solution to perform a softening treatment on the washed laundry.

[0017] In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a laundry treatment apparatus, including a processor, a memory, a sensor, and an actuator. The processor controls the actuator according to the signal detected by the sensor and in accordance with the control method of the laundry treatment apparatus by calling the program or instruction stored in the memory.(III) Beneficial Effects

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the above technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure has the following advantages: The solution provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry after the rinsing operation on the laundry is completed, so that the softening treatment operation on the laundry is independent of the rinsing operation on the laundry, rather than being performed as a part of the rinsing operation. Since the softening treatment operation is independent of the rinsing operation on the laundry, the process objective of the softening treatment operation can focus on improving the use efficiency of the fabric softener, and maximize the function of the fabric softener as much as possible.

[0019] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are only exemplary and explanatory, and cannot limit the present disclosure.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The drawings incorporated herein and forming a part of this specification illustrate the embodiments consistent with the present disclosure, and together with the specification, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0021] To illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure or in the prior art more clearly, the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can also be obtained from these drawings without creative labor. FIG. 1 is a flow chart of the control method of a laundry treatment apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the control method of a laundry treatment apparatus provided by other embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the control method of a laundry treatment apparatus provided by still other embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the control device of a laundry treatment apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a laundry treatment apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be described clearly and completely below. Apparently, the described embodiments are some rather than all of the embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments in the present disclosure without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0023] In order to address the problem that the fabric softener cannot fully exert the softening effect when the fabric softener is added during the laundry rinsing process of the existing laundry treatment apparatus, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a new method, control device of a laundry treatment apparatus, and laundry treatment apparatus. Before introducing the method, device, and apparatus of the embodiments of the present disclosure, some terms mentioned in the subsequent embodiments are explained and exemplified first.

[0024] The laundry treatment apparatus is an apparatus for cleaning laundry. The laundry treatment apparatus in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a washing machine, specifically a front-loading washing machine or a top-loading washing machine.

[0025] A washing operation is an operation for washing laundry by the laundry treatment apparatus to remove stains attached to the surface of the laundry or inside the laundry fibers. In the case that the laundry treatment apparatus performs a water washing operation on the laundry, the washing operation is an operation of injecting water into the washing tub of the laundry treatment apparatus, adding or not adding a detergent to form a washing aqueous solution for the laundry, and driving the laundry to be rubbed or beaten, thereby removing the stains.

[0026] In the case of different types of the laundry treatment apparatuses, the agitating mechanisms for driving the laundry to agitate, rub or beat in the laundry treatment apparatuses are different.

[0027] For example, when the laundry treatment apparatus is a front-loading washing machine, the agitating mechanism for agitating, rubbing and beating the laundry is washing drum (including lifters) of the front-loading washing machine. When the washing drum rotates, the washing drum may drive the laundry to rotate and fall from a high position, thereby washing the laundry through beating and water scouring.

[0028] For another example, when the laundry treatment apparatus is a top-loading washing machine, the mechanism for agitating and rubbing the laundry is the pulsator and the laundry washing tub of the top-loading washing machine.

[0029] For convenience, the agitating mechanisms of the laundry treatment apparatus are collectively referred to as laundry treatment tub.

[0030] A rinsing operation is an operation of rinsing and rubbing the laundry with clean water after the washing operation, thereby removing detached stains and residual detergent generated during the washing operation. Most of the detergent remaining in the laundry is removed through at least one rinsing operation. To improve the efficiency of the rinsing operation, the agitating mechanism in the laundry treatment apparatus may rotate according to a set program during the rinsing operation, thereby dissolving the detached stains and residual detergent in the rinsing water as much as possible, and then being discharged from the laundry treatment apparatus.

[0031] A softening treatment operation is an operation of performing a softening treatment on rinsed laundry by using a fabric softener. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the softening treatment operation is performed after the rinsing operation. The softening treatment operation is carried out by adding the fabric softener into the laundry treatment apparatus, dissolving the fabric softener in water to form an aqueous fabric softener solution, and then rubbing or evenly distributing the laundry with the aqueous fabric softener solution for enabling the fabric softener being adsorbed by the laundry fibers. To improve the efficiency of the softening treatment operation, the laundry treatment tub in the laundry treatment apparatus may rotate according to a set program during the softening treatment operation for improving mixing uniformity of the aqueous fabric softener solution and the laundry, thereby improving the adsorption efficiency of the fabric softener.

[0032] A dehydration operation is an operation of using centrifugal force generated by a dehydration drum to drive the laundry to rotate for throwing off free water in the laundry. After performing some treatment operations described above, the laundry treatment apparatus may perform the dehydration operation to achieve rapid dehydration or spin-drying of the laundry. In the case that the laundry treatment apparatus is a front-loading washing machine, the washing drum is used as a dehydration drum during the dehydration operation. In the case that the laundry treatment apparatus is a top-loading washing machine, the laundry washing tub of the top-loading washing machine is used as a dehydration drum during the dehydration operation.

[0033] The control method of the laundry treatment apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure is executed by a control device. In specific implementation, the control device may be installed inside the laundry treatment apparatus, communicate with state sensors and respective actuators in the laundry treatment apparatus, determine laundry treatment state according to signals detected by the state sensors, and adaptively control the operations of the respective actuators.

[0034] In specific implementation, the state sensors may include a water level sensor, a temperature sensor, and a rotation speed sensor. The respective actuators may include a water injection mechanism, a drainage mechanism, a detergent dispensing mechanism, a fabric softener dispensing mechanism, a laundry treatment tub, a dehydration mechanism, etc.

[0035] FIG. 1 is a flow chart of the control method of a laundry treatment apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the control method of the laundry treatment apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure includes S110.

[0036] S110: determining that the final one of rinsing operations for the laundry is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry.

[0037] As explained previously, the rinsing operation is an operation of cleaning and rubbing the laundry with clean water to remove the detached stains and the detergent remaining in the laundry generated during the washing operation. Correspondingly, the rinsing operation includes a rinsing water injection process, a rinsing cleaning process, and a rinsing drainage process. In some embodiments, a dehydration process is also set after the rinsing drainage process, which may be referred to as intermediate dehydration.

[0038] The rinsing water injection process is a process of controlling the water injection mechanism of the laundry treatment apparatus to inject rinsing water into the washing tub until a set water level is reached. Through the rinsing water injection process, the water level in the washing tub may reach the set water level. In some embodiments, the set water level is a water level that can completely submerge the laundry, thereby realizing the cleaning of the laundry with clean water.

[0039] A rinsing and rubbing process is a process of controlling rotation of the laundry treatment tub in the laundry treatment apparatus to enable the detached stains and detergent being dissolved in the rinsing water as much as possible.

[0040] The rinsing drainage process is a process of controlling the drainage mechanism in the laundry treatment apparatus to discharge the rinsing water in the washing tub after the rinsing and rubbing process is completed.

[0041] According to the preset rinsing program, the control device may control the laundry treatment apparatus to perform at least one rinsing operation on the laundry. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, after the laundry treatment apparatus completes the rinsing drainage process or the rinsing dehydration process of the final one of the rinsing operations, it is determined that the rinsing operation for the laundry is completed, and the laundry treatment apparatus can be controlled to perform the softening treatment process on the laundry.

[0042] As explained previously, the softening treatment operation is an operation of performing a softening treatment on the rinsed laundry by using a fabric softener; specifically the softening treatment operation is an operation of adding the fabric softener into the softening water to form an aqueous fabric softener solution, and performing the softening treatment on the laundry by using the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0043] To achieve the objective of the softening treatment, the softening treatment operation includes a softening water injection process, a fabric softener dispensing process, a softening treatment process, and a softening drainage process.

[0044] The softening water injection process is a process of controlling the water injection mechanism of the laundry treatment apparatus to inject softening water into the washing tub until the set softening water level is reached.

[0045] The fabric softener dispensing process is a process of controlling the fabric softener dispensing mechanism of the laundry treatment apparatus to dispense the fabric softener into the washing tub.

[0046] In some embodiments, the fabric softener is pre-dispensed into a fabric softener dispensing box, and during the softening water injection process, the laundry treatment apparatus controls the softening water to flush the fabric softener dispensing box, thereby achieving to dispense the fabric softener into the washing tub. That is to say, in some embodiments, the softening water injection process and the fabric softener dispensing process in the softening treatment operation are combined into one, and the dispensing of the fabric softener is completed during the softening water injection process. In some other embodiments, the fabric softener dispensing process may also be performed after the softening water injection process.

[0047] After the softening water injection process and the fabric softener dispensing process are completed, the softening water and the fabric softener are mixed in the washing tub of the laundry treatment apparatus to form an aqueous fabric softener solution. The laundry treatment apparatus may then be controlled to perform the softening treatment process.

[0048] The softening treatment process is a process of controlling the aqueous fabric softener solution to perform a softening treatment on the laundry, so that the laundry fibers absorb the fabric softener as uniformly as possible. The specific implementation of the softening treatment process will be analyzed in detail later. It should be noted that the goal achieved during the softening treatment process is to ensure that the fabric softener is fully dissolved in the softening water as much as possible, and then fully and uniformly absorbed by the laundry fibers.

[0049] The softening drainage process is a process of controlling the drainage mechanism of the laundry treatment apparatus to discharge the softening water (i.e., the aqueous fabric softener solution) in the washing tub after the softening treatment process is completed. After the softening drainage process is completed, the softening treatment process for the laundry treatment apparatus is finished.

[0050] As analyzed previously, the control method of the laundry treatment apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may control the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry after the rinsing operation on the laundry is completed. That is to say, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the softening treatment operation on the laundry is independent of the rinsing operation on the laundry, and is not performed as a part of the rinsing operation. If the softening treatment operation is performed as a part of the rinsing operation, on one hand, since the rinsing operation is not completed, the detergent for washing the laundry may remain in the rinsing water. As the aqueous fabric softener solution has micelles completely opposite to the micelles of the aqueous detergent solution; generally, the fabric softener is cationic while the detergent is anionic, resulting in that a part of the fabric softener may be consumed by the detergent, which reduces the utilization rate of the fabric softener and prevents the full realization of functions of the fabric softener. In the solution of the present disclosure, the softening treatment operation is independent of the rinsing operation on the laundry, which may enable the process objective of the softening treatment operation being focused on improving the use efficiency of the fabric softener, thereby greatly improving the care function of the fabric softener.

[0051] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the control device controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry in the S110, it may include S111.

[0052] S111: Controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to inject water according to a first water injection amount, wherein the first water injection amount is less than a second water injection amount of a single rinsing operation of the rinsing operations.

[0053] The first water injection amount refers to the amount of softening water injected into the laundry treatment tub during the softening water injection process, and the first water injection amount is less than the second water injection amount. The second water injection amount refers to the amount of water injected during a single rinsing operation, which is the amount of rinsing water injected into the washing tub during the rinsing water injection process.

[0054] According to existing chemical knowledge, the concentration of a solution is directly proportional to the amount of solute added and inversely proportional to the amount of solvent added. Correspondingly, on the premise that the amount of fabric softener dispensed is determined, the concentration of the fabric softener in the fabric softener solution can be increased by using a smaller amount of softening water, that is, using a smaller first water injection amount, which is more conducive to the adsorption of the fabric softener by the laundry fibers and improves the softening effect of the fabric softener.

[0055] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, during the softening treatment operation, the laundry treatment apparatus is controlled to inject water according to the first water injection amount for enabling the water injection amount during the softening treatment process being less than the second water injection amount during the rinsing process, thereby causing that the solute concentration (i.e., the fabric softener concentration) in the aqueous fabric softener solution is higher than the solute concentration in the aqueous fabric softener solution formed by dispensing the fabric softener during the existing rinsing process, which is more conducive to improving the softening effect of the fabric softener.

[0056] As analyzed previously, the softening treatment process for laundry is to clean the laundry with the aqueous fabric softener solution, thereby realizing the adsorption of the fabric softener by the laundry fibers. To ensure that the aqueous fabric softener solution is fully and evenly absorbed by all parts of the laundry for enabling the fabric fibers fully contacting and absorbing the fabric softener everywhere, the first water injection amount cannot be too small. In some embodiments, the first water injection amount may be set to submerge all the laundry for ensuring that all the laundry can be soaked.

[0057] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the control method of a laundry treatment apparatus provided by other embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, in some embodiments, the control method of a laundry treatment apparatus includes S210-S230.

[0058] S210: Controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a washing operation on the laundry.

[0059] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the washing operation includes a washing water injection process, a detergent dispensing process, a washing process, and a washing drainage process.

[0060] The washing water injection process is a process of controlling the water injection mechanism of the laundry treatment apparatus to inject washing water into the washing tub until the set washing water level is reached, and the water injection amount in the washing water injection process is a third water injection amount.

[0061] The detergent dispensing process is a process of controlling the detergent dispensing mechanism of the laundry treatment apparatus to dispense detergent into the washing tub.

[0062] In some embodiments, the detergent is pre-placed in a detergent dispensing box. During the washing water injection process, the laundry treatment apparatus can control the washing water to flush the detergent dispensing box for dispensing the detergent into the washing tub. That is to say, in some embodiments, the washing water injection process and the detergent dispensing process in the washing operation are combined into one, and the dispensing of the detergent is completed during the washing water injection process.

[0063] After the washing water injection process and the detergent dispensing process are completed, the washing water and the detergent are mixed in the washing tub of the laundry treatment apparatus to form an aqueous detergent solution (the aqueous detergent solution may not be a solution with a uniform detergent concentration at this moment). The laundry treatment apparatus may then be controlled to perform the washing process.

[0064] The washing process is a process of controlling the aqueous detergent solution to clean the laundry, and controlling the rotation of the laundry treatment tub of the laundry treatment apparatus for separating the stains from the laundry by using the interfacial chemical energy of the detergent and the rotational mechanical energy.

[0065] The washing drainage process is a process of controlling the drainage mechanism of the laundry treatment apparatus to discharge the washing water (i.e., the aqueous detergent solution) in the washing tub after the washing process is completed. After the washing drainage process is completed, the washing operation of the laundry treatment apparatus is finished.

[0066] S220: Determining that the washing operation for the laundry is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a rinsing operation on the laundry.

[0067] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the rinsing operation is performed in accordance with the operation process described above, and will not be repeated here. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the water injection amount in the rinsing water injection process of the rinsing operation is the second water injection amount.

[0068] S230: Determining that the final one of the rinsing operations on the laundry is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry, wherein the laundry treatment apparatus is controlled to inject water according to a first water injection amount during the softening water injection process.

[0069] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first water injection amount is less than a second water injection amount in the rinsing process, and greater than the third water injection amount in the washing operation process.

[0070] As analyzed previously, to ensure that the aqueous fabric softener solution is fully absorbed by the laundry during the softening treatment process for enabling the fabric fibers fully contacting and absorbing the fabric softener everywhere, the first water injection amount cannot be too small. The third water injection amount in the washing operation process is a relatively small water consumption determined through a large number of washing tests, which can make the laundry fully soaked or impregnated by the aqueous detergent solution as much as possible. By setting the first water injection amount to be greater than or equal to the third water injection amount, it may be ensured that the laundry can be fully soaked or impregnated by the aqueous fabric softener solution during the softening treatment process.

[0071] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the control device controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry in the S110, it may include S112.

[0072] S112: Controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a heating operation on the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0073] In some embodiments, the laundry treatment apparatus may be provided with a heating component. The heating component may be an electric heating component or a heat pump heating component, preferably the electric heating component. During the softening treatment operation, the heating component can be controlled to heat the aqueous fabric softener solution until a set condition is achieved. The set condition may include that the temperature of the aqueous fabric softener solution reaches a set temperature or the heating time reaches a set time.

[0074] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, during the softening treatment operation, controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to heat the aqueous fabric softener solution can make the fabric softener dissolve and diffuse in the softening water rapidly, thereby enabling the fabric softener to be evenly distributed, and further reducing the time required for the softening treatment operation.

[0075] In some embodiments, when a specific type of fabric softener is used, within a specific temperature range, the softening performance per unit concentration of the fabric softener increases with the increase of temperature. Correspondingly, the softening performance of the fabric softener can be improved by controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to heat the aqueous fabric softener solution. However, not all fabric softeners follow the rule, and the respective heating temperature needs to be set according to the fabric softener used.

[0076] It should be noted that when heating the aqueous fabric softener solution, the heating setting conditions need to be determined according to the characteristics of the softening efficacy of the the fabric softener changing with temperature or the type of laundry. In some embodiments, the heating temperature range needs to be set according to the characteristics of the fabric softener, and the temperature is 30°C-40°C. In some embodiments, it can be determined according to the type of laundry. For example, if the laundry is made of cotton and linen, the heating temperature of the heating operation can reach 40°C; while if the laundry is made of silk or wool, the heating temperature of the heating operation cannot exceed 30°C.

[0077] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the control device controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry in the S110, it may include S113.

[0078] S113: Controlling a driving motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate, wherein the driving motor is used to agitate the laundry in the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0079] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, controlling the driving motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate means controlling the driving motor to drive the laundry treatment tub to rotate.

[0080] In the case of different types of laundry treatment apparatuses, the types of the corresponding laundry treatment tubs are also different, which will not be repeated here. For details, please refer to the previous analysis.

[0081] By controlling the rotation of the laundry treatment tub of the laundry treatment apparatus, the laundry and the aqueous fabric softener solution in the washing tub can be agitated by the laundry treatment tub, which can make the fabric softener in the aqueous fabric softener solution more evenly dispersed, and also make the laundry fibers contact the fabric softener more fully, thereby improving the adsorption efficiency of the fabric softener and reducing the time consumption of the softening treatment operation.

[0082] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when performing the aforementioned S113 to control the rotation of the laundry treatment tub of the laundry treatment apparatus, it may specifically include S1131.

[0083] S1131: Controlling the drive motor to rotate according to a first set rotation speed, wherein the first set rotation speed is lower than a second set rotation speed, and the second set rotation speed is a working rotation speed of the drive motor during the rinsing operation.

[0084] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the purpose of the agitating treatment is to make the laundry rotate slowly in the laundry treatment tub to avoid the laundry be subjected to strong beating, thereby allowing the fabric softener to adhere to the laundry fibers, further exerting the softening performance. However, if the agitating rotation speed is too high, it may instead have an effect similar to that in the washing process and the rinsing process, which means promoting the fabric softener to detach from the laundry fibers through mechanical energy. To avoid the aforementioned problem, a reasonable agitating rotation speed should be set during the softening treatment process. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first set rotation speed is set to be lower than the second set rotation speed. In specific implementation, since the second set rotation speed is mostly set to 40-50 rpm, the first set rotation speed can be set to be lower than 40 rpm, for example, 25-40 rpm.

[0085] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when performing the S113 to control the rotation of the drive motor of the laundry treatment apparatus, it may specifically include S1132.

[0086] S1132: Controlling the drive motor to rotate according to a set stop-to-run ratio, wherein the set stop-to-run ratio is greater than 1.

[0087] The stop-to-run ratio refers to the ratio of the time that the drive motor stops rotating to the time that the drive motor keeps rotating. As described previously, in the softening treatment operation, the laundry needs to be soaked in the aqueous fabric softener solution to achieve sufficient adhesion of the fabric softener. Although using the laundry treatment tub can improve the dispersion degree of the fabric softener and increase the adhesion efficiency of the fabric softener to a certain extent, stirring the laundry and the aqueous fabric softener solution using the laundry treatment tub may also reduce the soaking time of the laundry. To address the two aforementioned issues comprehensively, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the set stop-to-run ratio is set to be greater than 1. On one hand, the time that the drive motor keeps continuous rotating is short, which may results in weak mechanical force on the laundry, thereby protecting the laundry, preventing the laundry from wrinkling and tearing, and avoiding affecting the softening effect. On the other hand, it may ensure that the laundry has a long soaking time during the stirring process by the stirring mechanism, thereby making the laundry fully absorb the fabric softener and improving the softening performance of the laundry.

[0088] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, to enable the fabric softener to be better absorbed by the laundry fibers, the laundry treatment tub in the laundry treatment apparatus can also be controlled to stop rotating for a set period during the softening treatment process, thereby realizing the soaking of the laundry with the fabric softener during the stop period.

[0089] In specific implementation, the softening treatment operation may include the operation steps of S111, S112 and S113 mentioned above at the same time, that is, controlling the water injection amount to be the first water injection amount during the softening water injection process, and S112 and S113 can be executed simultaneously after the water injection is completed.

[0090] As described in the background, the aqueous fabric softener solution has micelle characteristics completely opposite to those of the aqueous detergent solution. If the aqueous fabric softener solution is mixed with the aqueous detergent solution, the two solutes will consume each other due to the opposite functions. If there is still a large amount of detergent residue in the laundry during the softening treatment process, residual detergent may consume the fabric softener, causing a decrease in the concentration of the fabric softener. The way to solve the problem is to reduce the detergent content in the laundry as much as possible before the softening treatment process.

[0091] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the control method of a laundry treatment apparatus provided by still other embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, in other embodiments, the control method of the laundry treatment apparatus includes S310-S340.

[0092] S310: Controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a washing operation on the laundry.

[0093] S320: Determining that the washing operation for the laundry is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a rinsing operation on the laundry.

[0094] S330: Determining that the final one of the rinsing operations on the laundry is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a first dehydration operation on the laundry.

[0095] S340: Determining that the first dehydration operation is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry.

[0096] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the execution processes of steps S310-S320 and S340 are the same as those in the previous embodiments. The difference from the previous embodiments is that the first dehydration operation is performed before controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry.

[0097] After the rinsing operation is completed, performing the first dehydration operation may remove most of the detergent remaining in the laundry fibers after the rinsing operation, thereby avoiding the consumption of the fabric softener by residual detergent during the softening treatment process. In specific implementation, during the first dehydration operation, the maximum rotation speed of the dehydration drum of the laundry treatment apparatus may be controlled to be between 600-1200 rpm, and the specific maximum dehydration rotation speed may be determined according to the weight and type of the laundry.

[0098] It should be noted that, in order to remove the residual detergent as much as possible, it may not only perform the dehydration operation after the rinsing operation on the laundry is completed, but also after the washing operation is completed, or between two rinsing operations.

[0099] As shown in FIG. 3, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, after completing S340, the following S350 may also be performed.

[0100] S350: Controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a second dehydration operation on the laundry base on determining that the softening treatment operation is completed; wherein a maximum rotation speed of the dehydration drum in the laundry treatment apparatus during the second dehydration operation is lower than a maximum rotation speed of the dehydration drum in the first dehydration operation.

[0101] In daily laundry treatment process, in order to reduce the time for air-drying or drying the laundry, a spin-drying treatment may be performed on the laundry at the final stage of the cleaning process. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, a dehydration operation may be performed on the laundry after the softening treatment operation is completed, that is, the second dehydration operation may be performed.

[0102] However, high-speed dehydration operation will increase the friction frequency of the laundry fibers, causing the fabric softener to detach and reducing the residue of the fabric softener in the laundry fibers. To avoid the aforementioned problem, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the maximum rotation speed of the dehydration drum in the laundry treatment apparatus during the second dehydration process is set to a relatively low value for reducing the degradation of the softening effect caused by the dehydration operation. Specifically, the maximum rotation speed of the dehydration drum during the second dehydration operation is lower than the maximum rotation speed of the dehydration drum during the first dehydration operation, thereby simultaneously achieving the goals of reducing the time for air-drying or drying the laundry and retaining the softening effect. In practical applications, the maximum rotation speed during the first dehydration operation is generally set to 800-1200 rpm, and the maximum rotation speed during the second dehydration operation can be set to less than 800 rpm, for example, 600 rpm.

[0103] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, S120 may also be performed before S110 is executed.

[0104] S120: Determining that the softening treatment operation program is triggered, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry.

[0105] The softening treatment operation program is a program setting or selection setting for the softening treatment operation process. In some embodiments, the control panel of the laundry treatment apparatus includes the softening treatment operation program, or a mobile device linked with the laundry treatment apparatus includes the softening treatment operation program. It can be presented in the form of a button, a press key or a trigger key on the control panel, and can be displayed under a set name on the mobile device.

[0106] When the fabric softener treatment operation program is triggered in any form, the softening treatment operation is executed.

[0107] In the case of executing S120, S110 includes controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry after determining that the final one of washing operations on the laundry is completed and determining that the softening treatment operation program is triggered.

[0108] That is to say, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the laundry treatment apparatus will perform the softening treatment operation after the final one of the rinsing operations is completed only on the premise that the user sets that a special softening treatment operation program needs to be executed.

[0109] In addition to the control method of the laundry treatment apparatus, the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a control device of the laundry treatment apparatus. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the control device of the laundry treatment apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the control device 400 of the laundry treatment apparatus includes a control module 401. The control module 401 is configured to determine that the final one of rinsing operations for the laundry is completed and control the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry. The softening treatment operation is an operation of forming an aqueous fabric softener solution and using the aqueous fabric softener solution to perform a softening treatment on the washed laundry.

[0110] In some embodiments, when controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry, the control module 401 may control the laundry treatment apparatus to inject water according to a first water injection amount, wherein the first water injection amount is less than a second water injection amount of a single rinsing process of the rinsing operations.

[0111] In some embodiments, before controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the rinsing operation on the laundry, the control module 401 also controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a washing operation on the laundry; wherein a third water injection amount during the washing operation is less than or equal to the first water injection amount.

[0112] In some embodiments, when controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry, the control module 401 controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a heating operation on the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0113] In some embodiments, when controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry, the control module 401 controls the drive motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate, and the drive motor is used to agitate the laundry in the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0114] In some embodiments, the control module 401 controlling the drive motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate includes: Controlling the drive motor to rotate according to the first set rotation speed, wherein the first set rotation speed is lower than a second set rotation speed, and the second set rotation speed is a working rotation speed of the drive motor during the rinsing operation.

[0115] In some embodiments, the control module 401 controlling the drive motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate includes: controlling the drive motor to rotate according to a set stop-to-run ratio, wherein the set stop-to-run ratio is greater than 1.

[0116] In some embodiments, the control module 401 controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry includes: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a soaking operation on the laundry with the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0117] In some embodiments, before controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry, the control module 401 also controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a first dehydration operation on the laundry, and after determining that the first dehydration operation is completed, controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation.

[0118] In some embodiments, after determining that the softening treatment operation is completed, the control module 401 may also control the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a second dehydration operation on the laundry; wherein the maximum rotation speed of the dehydration drum in the laundry treatment apparatus during the second dehydration operation is lower than the maximum rotation speed of the dehydration drum in the first dehydration operation.

[0119] In some embodiments, the laundry treatment apparatus includes a softening treatment operation button / key / program, and the control module 401 determines the working program setting operation of the laundry treatment apparatus. In the case that the working program setting operation includes setting operation of the softening treatment operation button / key / program, the control module 401 controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry after determining that the final one of the rinsing operations on the laundry is completed.

[0120] In addition to the method and control device of the laundry treatment apparatus, the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a laundry treatment apparatus. FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of the laundry treatment apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, the laundry treatment apparatus includes a processor 501, a memory 502, a sensor 503, and an actuator 504.

[0121] The processor 501 may be a central processing unit (CPU) or other forms of processing units with data processing capability and / or instruction execution capability, and may control other components in the laundry treatment apparatus to perform desired functions.

[0122] The memory 502 may include one or more computer program products, and the computer program products may include various forms of computer-readable storage media, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may include, for example, random access memory (RAM) and / or cache memory (cache). The 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. The processor 501 may run the program instructions, and control each actuator 504 according to the signal detected by the sensor 503 and in accordance with the control method of the laundry treatment apparatus mentioned above for realizing the treatment function for the laundry.

[0123] As analyzed previously, the sensor 503 may include a water level sensor, a temperature sensor, and a rotation speed sensor. The actuator 504 may include a water injection mechanism, a drainage mechanism, a detergent dispensing mechanism, a fabric softener dispensing mechanism, a laundry treatment tub, a dehydration mechanism, etc.

[0124] In one example, the laundry treatment apparatus may further include an input device 505 and an output device 506, and the components are interconnected with the processor, the sensor 503 or the actuator 504 through a bus system.

[0125] The input device 505 is used to input relevant control information or program setting information for the laundry treatment apparatus to the processor or memory of the laundry treatment apparatus, and the input device 505 may include input keys, an input touch screen, etc.

[0126] The output device 506 can output various information to outside, including determining the laundry treatment mode, the treatment operation process, the current treatment operation process, etc. The output device 506 may include, for example, a display, a speaker, a communication network and a remote output device connected thereto, and so on.

[0127] Of course, for simplification, only some of the components related to the present disclosure in the laundry treatment apparatus are shown in FIG. 5, and components such as a bus, an input / output interface, etc. are omitted. In addition, depending on the specific application, the laundry treatment apparatus may also include any other suitable components.

[0128] The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a storage medium, which stores a program or an instruction, and the program or instruction causes a computer to execute any one of the control methods of a laundry treatment apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure. When the computer-executable instructions are executed by a computer processor, they can also be used to execute any of the above-mentioned control methods of a laundry treatment apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure to achieve corresponding beneficial effects.

[0129] Through the above description of the implementation manners, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented by means of software and necessary general hardware, and of course can also be implemented by hardware, but the former is a better implementation manner in many cases. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, in essence or the part that contributes to the existing technology, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as a floppy disk, Read-Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), FLASH, hard disk or optical disk of a computer, and includes several instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods of the various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0130] The above are only specific implementation manners of the present disclosure, which enable those skilled in the art to understand or implement the present disclosure. Various modifications to these embodiments will be obvious to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but should conform to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.Industrial Applicability

[0131] The technical solution disclosed in the present disclosure controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry after the rinsing operation on the laundry is completed, resulting in that the softening treatment operation on the laundry is independent of the rinsing operation on the laundry, rather than being performed as a part of the rinsing operation. Since the softening treatment operation is independent of the rinsing operation on the laundry, the process objective of the softening treatment operation can focus on improving the use efficiency of the fabric softener, and maximize the function of the fabric softener as much as possible, which has strong industrial applicability.

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0022]In order to make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be described clearly and completely below. Apparently, the described embodiments are some rather than all of the embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments in the present disclosure without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0023]In order to address the problem that the fabric softener cannot fully exert the softening effect when the fabric softener is added during the laundry rinsing process of the existing laundry treatment apparatus, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a new method, control device of a laundry treatment apparatus, and laundry treatment apparatus. Before introducing the method, device, and apparatus of the embodime...

[0001] The present disclosure claims the priority of the Chinese Patent Application No. 202310672038.2, filed with the China National Intellectual Property Administration on June 07, 2023, with title of "Laundry Treatment Apparatus, and Control Method and Device of The Laundry Treatment Apparatus", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of household appliance technology, and specifically designs a laundry treatment apparatus, a control method and a device of the laundry treatment apparatus.BACKGROUND

[0003] Fabric softener is a type of surfactant used in laundry washing and care process in conjunction with detergents to soften laundry, make the laundry fluffy, impart a fresh fragrance, and eliminate static electricity. As fabric softeners can improve the hand feel of laundry, make the laundry fluffy, eliminate static electricity generated during wearing, and also leave a pleasant scent, an increasing number of users prefer to use fabric softeners in the laundry washing process. However, existing laundry treatment apparatuses (mostly washing machines) are focused more on the washing and rinsing processes of laundry during the design phase, without paying special attention to the fabric softening and care process. In general, fabric softeners are added only during the final rinsing cycle, resulting in the fabric softeners being adsorbed by fabric fibers during the final rinsing process and failing to fully exert the softening efficacy.SUMMARY (I) Technical Problem to be Solved

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present disclosure is to address the issue that when the fabric softener is added during final one of rinsing operations on the laundry, the fabric softener is adsorbed by the laundry fibers during the final rinsing process, and the softening effect of the fabric softener cannot be fully exerted.(II) Technical Solution

[0005] To solve the aforementioned problem, in a first aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a control method of a laundry treatment apparatus, including: determining that the final one of rinsing operations for the laundry is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry. The softening treatment operation is an operation of forming an aqueous fabric softener solution and using the aqueous fabric softener solution to perform a softening treatment on the laundry.

[0006] In some embodiments, controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry includes: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to inject water according to a first water injection amount, wherein the first water injection amount is less than a second water injection amount of a single rinsing operation of the rinsing operations.

[0007] In some embodiments, before controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the rinsing operation, the method further includes: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a washing operation on the laundry; wherein a third water injection amount during the washing operation is less than the first water injection amount.

[0008] In some embodiments, controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry includes: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a heating operation on the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0009] In some embodiments, controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry includes: controlling a drive motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate, and the drive motor is used to agitate the laundry in the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0010] In some embodiments, controlling the drive motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate includes: controlling the drive motor to rotate according to a first set rotation speed, wherein the first set rotation speed is lower than a second set rotation speed, and the second set rotation speed is a working rotation speed of the drive motor during the rinsing operation.

[0011] In some embodiments, controlling the drive motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate includes: controlling the drive motor to rotate according to a set stop-to-run ratio, wherein the set stop-to-run ratio is greater than 1.

[0012] In some embodiments, controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry includes: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a soaking operation on the laundry with the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0013] In some embodiments, before controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry, the method further includes: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a first dehydration operation on the laundry; controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry includes: determining that the first dehydration operation is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation.

[0014] In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining that the softening treatment operation is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a second dehydration operation on the laundry; wherein a maximum dehydration rotation speed of the laundry treatment apparatus during the second dehydration operation is lower than a maximum dehydration rotation speed during the first dehydration operation.

[0015] In some embodiments, the method further includes: determining that the softening treatment operation program is triggered, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry.

[0016] In a second aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a control device of a laundry treatment apparatus, including: a control module, configured to determine that the final rinsing operation for the laundry is completed, and control the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry. The softening treatment operation is an operation of forming an aqueous fabric softener solution and using the aqueous fabric softener solution to perform a softening treatment on the washed laundry.

[0017] In a third aspect, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a laundry treatment apparatus, including a processor, a memory, a sensor, and an actuator. The processor controls the actuator according to the signal detected by the sensor and in accordance with the control method of the laundry treatment apparatus by calling the program or instruction stored in the memory.(III) Beneficial Effects

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the above technical solution provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure has the following advantages: The solution provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry after the rinsing operation on the laundry is completed, so that the softening treatment operation on the laundry is independent of the rinsing operation on the laundry, rather than being performed as a part of the rinsing operation. Since the softening treatment operation is independent of the rinsing operation on the laundry, the process objective of the softening treatment operation can focus on improving the use efficiency of the fabric softener, and maximize the function of the fabric softener as much as possible.

[0019] It should be understood that the above general description and the following detailed description are only exemplary and explanatory, and cannot limit the present disclosure.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] The drawings incorporated herein and forming a part of this specification illustrate the embodiments consistent with the present disclosure, and together with the specification, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.

[0021] To illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure or in the prior art more clearly, the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can also be obtained from these drawings without creative labor. FIG. 1 is a flow chart of the control method of a laundry treatment apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the control method of a laundry treatment apparatus provided by other embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the control method of a laundry treatment apparatus provided by still other embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the control device of a laundry treatment apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a laundry treatment apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be described clearly and completely below. Apparently, the described embodiments are some rather than all of the embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments in the present disclosure without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0023] In order to address the problem that the fabric softener cannot fully exert the softening effect when the fabric softener is added during the laundry rinsing process of the existing laundry treatment apparatus, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a new method, control device of a laundry treatment apparatus, and laundry treatment apparatus. Before introducing the method, device, and apparatus of the embodiments of the present disclosure, some terms mentioned in the subsequent embodiments are explained and exemplified first.

[0024] The laundry treatment apparatus is an apparatus for cleaning laundry. The laundry treatment apparatus in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be a washing machine, specifically a front-loading washing machine or a top-loading washing machine.

[0025] A washing operation is an operation for washing laundry by the laundry treatment apparatus to remove stains attached to the surface of the laundry or inside the laundry fibers. In the case that the laundry treatment apparatus performs a water washing operation on the laundry, the washing operation is an operation of injecting water into the washing tub of the laundry treatment apparatus, adding or not adding a detergent to form a washing aqueous solution for the laundry, and driving the laundry to be rubbed or beaten, thereby removing the stains.

[0026] In the case of different types of the laundry treatment apparatuses, the agitating mechanisms for driving the laundry to agitate, rub or beat in the laundry treatment apparatuses are different.

[0027] For example, when the laundry treatment apparatus is a front-loading washing machine, the agitating mechanism for agitating, rubbing and beating the laundry is washing drum (including lifters) of the front-loading washing machine. When the washing drum rotates, the washing drum may drive the laundry to rotate and fall from a high position, thereby washing the laundry through beating and water scouring.

[0028] For another example, when the laundry treatment apparatus is a top-loading washing machine, the mechanism for agitating and rubbing the laundry is the pulsator and the laundry washing tub of the top-loading washing machine.

[0029] For convenience, the agitating mechanisms of the laundry treatment apparatus are collectively referred to as laundry treatment tub.

[0030] A rinsing operation is an operation of rinsing and rubbing the laundry with clean water after the washing operation, thereby removing detached stains and residual detergent generated during the washing operation. Most of the detergent remaining in the laundry is removed through at least one rinsing operation. To improve the efficiency of the rinsing operation, the agitating mechanism in the laundry treatment apparatus may rotate according to a set program during the rinsing operation, thereby dissolving the detached stains and residual detergent in the rinsing water as much as possible, and then being discharged from the laundry treatment apparatus.

[0031] A softening treatment operation is an operation of performing a softening treatment on rinsed laundry by using a fabric softener. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the softening treatment operation is performed after the rinsing operation. The softening treatment operation is carried out by adding the fabric softener into the laundry treatment apparatus, dissolving the fabric softener in water to form an aqueous fabric softener solution, and then rubbing or evenly distributing the laundry with the aqueous fabric softener solution for enabling the fabric softener being adsorbed by the laundry fibers. To improve the efficiency of the softening treatment operation, the laundry treatment tub in the laundry treatment apparatus may rotate according to a set program during the softening treatment operation for improving mixing uniformity of the aqueous fabric softener solution and the laundry, thereby improving the adsorption efficiency of the fabric softener.

[0032] A dehydration operation is an operation of using centrifugal force generated by a dehydration drum to drive the laundry to rotate for throwing off free water in the laundry. After performing some treatment operations described above, the laundry treatment apparatus may perform the dehydration operation to achieve rapid dehydration or spin-drying of the laundry. In the case that the laundry treatment apparatus is a front-loading washing machine, the washing drum is used as a dehydration drum during the dehydration operation. In the case that the laundry treatment apparatus is a top-loading washing machine, the laundry washing tub of the top-loading washing machine is used as a dehydration drum during the dehydration operation.

[0033] The control method of the laundry treatment apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure is executed by a control device. In specific implementation, the control device may be installed inside the laundry treatment apparatus, communicate with state sensors and respective actuators in the laundry treatment apparatus, determine laundry treatment state according to signals detected by the state sensors, and adaptively control the operations of the respective actuators.

[0034] In specific implementation, the state sensors may include a water level sensor, a temperature sensor, and a rotation speed sensor. The respective actuators may include a water injection mechanism, a drainage mechanism, a detergent dispensing mechanism, a fabric softener dispensing mechanism, a laundry treatment tub, a dehydration mechanism, etc.

[0035] FIG. 1 is a flow chart of the control method of a laundry treatment apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1, the control method of the laundry treatment apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure includes S110.

[0036] S110: determining that the final one of rinsing operations for the laundry is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry.

[0037] As explained previously, the rinsing operation is an operation of cleaning and rubbing the laundry with clean water to remove the detached stains and the detergent remaining in the laundry generated during the washing operation. Correspondingly, the rinsing operation includes a rinsing water injection process, a rinsing cleaning process, and a rinsing drainage process. In some embodiments, a dehydration process is also set after the rinsing drainage process, which may be referred to as intermediate dehydration.

[0038] The rinsing water injection process is a process of controlling the water injection mechanism of the laundry treatment apparatus to inject rinsing water into the washing tub until a set water level is reached. Through the rinsing water injection process, the water level in the washing tub may reach the set water level. In some embodiments, the set water level is a water level that can completely submerge the laundry, thereby realizing the cleaning of the laundry with clean water.

[0039] A rinsing and rubbing process is a process of controlling rotation of the laundry treatment tub in the laundry treatment apparatus to enable the detached stains and detergent being dissolved in the rinsing water as much as possible.

[0040] The rinsing drainage process is a process of controlling the drainage mechanism in the laundry treatment apparatus to discharge the rinsing water in the washing tub after the rinsing and rubbing process is completed.

[0041] According to the preset rinsing program, the control device may control the laundry treatment apparatus to perform at least one rinsing operation on the laundry. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, after the laundry treatment apparatus completes the rinsing drainage process or the rinsing dehydration process of the final one of the rinsing operations, it is determined that the rinsing operation for the laundry is completed, and the laundry treatment apparatus can be controlled to perform the softening treatment process on the laundry.

[0042] As explained previously, the softening treatment operation is an operation of performing a softening treatment on the rinsed laundry by using a fabric softener; specifically the softening treatment operation is an operation of adding the fabric softener into the softening water to form an aqueous fabric softener solution, and performing the softening treatment on the laundry by using the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0043] To achieve the objective of the softening treatment, the softening treatment operation includes a softening water injection process, a fabric softener dispensing process, a softening treatment process, and a softening drainage process.

[0044] The softening water injection process is a process of controlling the water injection mechanism of the laundry treatment apparatus to inject softening water into the washing tub until the set softening water level is reached.

[0045] The fabric softener dispensing process is a process of controlling the fabric softener dispensing mechanism of the laundry treatment apparatus to dispense the fabric softener into the washing tub.

[0046] In some embodiments, the fabric softener is pre-dispensed into a fabric softener dispensing box, and during the softening water injection process, the laundry treatment apparatus controls the softening water to flush the fabric softener dispensing box, thereby achieving to dispense the fabric softener into the washing tub. That is to say, in some embodiments, the softening water injection process and the fabric softener dispensing process in the softening treatment operation are combined into one, and the dispensing of the fabric softener is completed during the softening water injection process. In some other embodiments, the fabric softener dispensing process may also be performed after the softening water injection process.

[0047] After the softening water injection process and the fabric softener dispensing process are completed, the softening water and the fabric softener are mixed in the washing tub of the laundry treatment apparatus to form an aqueous fabric softener solution. The laundry treatment apparatus may then be controlled to perform the softening treatment process.

[0048] The softening treatment process is a process of controlling the aqueous fabric softener solution to perform a softening treatment on the laundry, so that the laundry fibers absorb the fabric softener as uniformly as possible. The specific implementation of the softening treatment process will be analyzed in detail later. It should be noted that the goal achieved during the softening treatment process is to ensure that the fabric softener is fully dissolved in the softening water as much as possible, and then fully and uniformly absorbed by the laundry fibers.

[0049] The softening drainage process is a process of controlling the drainage mechanism of the laundry treatment apparatus to discharge the softening water (i.e., the aqueous fabric softener solution) in the washing tub after the softening treatment process is completed. After the softening drainage process is completed, the softening treatment process for the laundry treatment apparatus is finished.

[0050] As analyzed previously, the control method of the laundry treatment apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure may control the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry after the rinsing operation on the laundry is completed. That is to say, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the softening treatment operation on the laundry is independent of the rinsing operation on the laundry, and is not performed as a part of the rinsing operation. If the softening treatment operation is performed as a part of the rinsing operation, on one hand, since the rinsing operation is not completed, the detergent for washing the laundry may remain in the rinsing water. As the aqueous fabric softener solution has micelles completely opposite to the micelles of the aqueous detergent solution; generally, the fabric softener is cationic while the detergent is anionic, resulting in that a part of the fabric softener may be consumed by the detergent, which reduces the utilization rate of the fabric softener and prevents the full realization of functions of the fabric softener. In the solution of the present disclosure, the softening treatment operation is independent of the rinsing operation on the laundry, which may enable the process objective of the softening treatment operation being focused on improving the use efficiency of the fabric softener, thereby greatly improving the care function of the fabric softener.

[0051] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the control device controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry in the S110, it may include S111.

[0052] S111: Controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to inject water according to a first water injection amount, wherein the first water injection amount is less than a second water injection amount of a single rinsing operation of the rinsing operations.

[0053] The first water injection amount refers to the amount of softening water injected into the laundry treatment tub during the softening water injection process, and the first water injection amount is less than the second water injection amount. The second water injection amount refers to the amount of water injected during a single rinsing operation, which is the amount of rinsing water injected into the washing tub during the rinsing water injection process.

[0054] According to existing chemical knowledge, the concentration of a solution is directly proportional to the amount of solute added and inversely proportional to the amount of solvent added. Correspondingly, on the premise that the amount of fabric softener dispensed is determined, the concentration of the fabric softener in the fabric softener solution can be increased by using a smaller amount of softening water, that is, using a smaller first water injection amount, which is more conducive to the adsorption of the fabric softener by the laundry fibers and improves the softening effect of the fabric softener.

[0055] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, during the softening treatment operation, the laundry treatment apparatus is controlled to inject water according to the first water injection amount for enabling the water injection amount during the softening treatment process being less than the second water injection amount during the rinsing process, thereby causing that the solute concentration (i.e., the fabric softener concentration) in the aqueous fabric softener solution is higher than the solute concentration in the aqueous fabric softener solution formed by dispensing the fabric softener during the existing rinsing process, which is more conducive to improving the softening effect of the fabric softener.

[0056] As analyzed previously, the softening treatment process for laundry is to clean the laundry with the aqueous fabric softener solution, thereby realizing the adsorption of the fabric softener by the laundry fibers. To ensure that the aqueous fabric softener solution is fully and evenly absorbed by all parts of the laundry for enabling the fabric fibers fully contacting and absorbing the fabric softener everywhere, the first water injection amount cannot be too small. In some embodiments, the first water injection amount may be set to submerge all the laundry for ensuring that all the laundry can be soaked.

[0057] FIG. 2 is a flow chart of the control method of a laundry treatment apparatus provided by other embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, in some embodiments, the control method of a laundry treatment apparatus includes S210-S230.

[0058] S210: Controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a washing operation on the laundry.

[0059] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the washing operation includes a washing water injection process, a detergent dispensing process, a washing process, and a washing drainage process.

[0060] The washing water injection process is a process of controlling the water injection mechanism of the laundry treatment apparatus to inject washing water into the washing tub until the set washing water level is reached, and the water injection amount in the washing water injection process is a third water injection amount.

[0061] The detergent dispensing process is a process of controlling the detergent dispensing mechanism of the laundry treatment apparatus to dispense detergent into the washing tub.

[0062] In some embodiments, the detergent is pre-placed in a detergent dispensing box. During the washing water injection process, the laundry treatment apparatus can control the washing water to flush the detergent dispensing box for dispensing the detergent into the washing tub. That is to say, in some embodiments, the washing water injection process and the detergent dispensing process in the washing operation are combined into one, and the dispensing of the detergent is completed during the washing water injection process.

[0063] After the washing water injection process and the detergent dispensing process are completed, the washing water and the detergent are mixed in the washing tub of the laundry treatment apparatus to form an aqueous detergent solution (the aqueous detergent solution may not be a solution with a uniform detergent concentration at this moment). The laundry treatment apparatus may then be controlled to perform the washing process.

[0064] The washing process is a process of controlling the aqueous detergent solution to clean the laundry, and controlling the rotation of the laundry treatment tub of the laundry treatment apparatus for separating the stains from the laundry by using the interfacial chemical energy of the detergent and the rotational mechanical energy.

[0065] The washing drainage process is a process of controlling the drainage mechanism of the laundry treatment apparatus to discharge the washing water (i.e., the aqueous detergent solution) in the washing tub after the washing process is completed. After the washing drainage process is completed, the washing operation of the laundry treatment apparatus is finished.

[0066] S220: Determining that the washing operation for the laundry is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a rinsing operation on the laundry.

[0067] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the rinsing operation is performed in accordance with the operation process described above, and will not be repeated here. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the water injection amount in the rinsing water injection process of the rinsing operation is the second water injection amount.

[0068] S230: Determining that the final one of the rinsing operations on the laundry is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry, wherein the laundry treatment apparatus is controlled to inject water according to a first water injection amount during the softening water injection process.

[0069] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first water injection amount is less than a second water injection amount in the rinsing process, and greater than the third water injection amount in the washing operation process.

[0070] As analyzed previously, to ensure that the aqueous fabric softener solution is fully absorbed by the laundry during the softening treatment process for enabling the fabric fibers fully contacting and absorbing the fabric softener everywhere, the first water injection amount cannot be too small. The third water injection amount in the washing operation process is a relatively small water consumption determined through a large number of washing tests, which can make the laundry fully soaked or impregnated by the aqueous detergent solution as much as possible. By setting the first water injection amount to be greater than or equal to the third water injection amount, it may be ensured that the laundry can be fully soaked or impregnated by the aqueous fabric softener solution during the softening treatment process.

[0071] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the control device controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry in the S110, it may include S112.

[0072] S112: Controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a heating operation on the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0073] In some embodiments, the laundry treatment apparatus may be provided with a heating component. The heating component may be an electric heating component or a heat pump heating component, preferably the electric heating component. During the softening treatment operation, the heating component can be controlled to heat the aqueous fabric softener solution until a set condition is achieved. The set condition may include that the temperature of the aqueous fabric softener solution reaches a set temperature or the heating time reaches a set time.

[0074] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, during the softening treatment operation, controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to heat the aqueous fabric softener solution can make the fabric softener dissolve and diffuse in the softening water rapidly, thereby enabling the fabric softener to be evenly distributed, and further reducing the time required for the softening treatment operation.

[0075] In some embodiments, when a specific type of fabric softener is used, within a specific temperature range, the softening performance per unit concentration of the fabric softener increases with the increase of temperature. Correspondingly, the softening performance of the fabric softener can be improved by controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to heat the aqueous fabric softener solution. However, not all fabric softeners follow the rule, and the respective heating temperature needs to be set according to the fabric softener used.

[0076] It should be noted that when heating the aqueous fabric softener solution, the heating setting conditions need to be determined according to the characteristics of the softening efficacy of the the fabric softener changing with temperature or the type of laundry. In some embodiments, the heating temperature range needs to be set according to the characteristics of the fabric softener, and the temperature is 30°C-40°C. In some embodiments, it can be determined according to the type of laundry. For example, if the laundry is made of cotton and linen, the heating temperature of the heating operation can reach 40°C; while if the laundry is made of silk or wool, the heating temperature of the heating operation cannot exceed 30°C.

[0077] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when the control device controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry in the S110, it may include S113.

[0078] S113: Controlling a driving motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate, wherein the driving motor is used to agitate the laundry in the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0079] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, controlling the driving motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate means controlling the driving motor to drive the laundry treatment tub to rotate.

[0080] In the case of different types of laundry treatment apparatuses, the types of the corresponding laundry treatment tubs are also different, which will not be repeated here. For details, please refer to the previous analysis.

[0081] By controlling the rotation of the laundry treatment tub of the laundry treatment apparatus, the laundry and the aqueous fabric softener solution in the washing tub can be agitated by the laundry treatment tub, which can make the fabric softener in the aqueous fabric softener solution more evenly dispersed, and also make the laundry fibers contact the fabric softener more fully, thereby improving the adsorption efficiency of the fabric softener and reducing the time consumption of the softening treatment operation.

[0082] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when performing the aforementioned S113 to control the rotation of the laundry treatment tub of the laundry treatment apparatus, it may specifically include S1131.

[0083] S1131: Controlling the drive motor to rotate according to a first set rotation speed, wherein the first set rotation speed is lower than a second set rotation speed, and the second set rotation speed is a working rotation speed of the drive motor during the rinsing operation.

[0084] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the purpose of the agitating treatment is to make the laundry rotate slowly in the laundry treatment tub to avoid the laundry be subjected to strong beating, thereby allowing the fabric softener to adhere to the laundry fibers, further exerting the softening performance. However, if the agitating rotation speed is too high, it may instead have an effect similar to that in the washing process and the rinsing process, which means promoting the fabric softener to detach from the laundry fibers through mechanical energy. To avoid the aforementioned problem, a reasonable agitating rotation speed should be set during the softening treatment process. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the first set rotation speed is set to be lower than the second set rotation speed. In specific implementation, since the second set rotation speed is mostly set to 40-50 rpm, the first set rotation speed can be set to be lower than 40 rpm, for example, 25-40 rpm.

[0085] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, when performing the S113 to control the rotation of the drive motor of the laundry treatment apparatus, it may specifically include S1132.

[0086] S1132: Controlling the drive motor to rotate according to a set stop-to-run ratio, wherein the set stop-to-run ratio is greater than 1.

[0087] The stop-to-run ratio refers to the ratio of the time that the drive motor stops rotating to the time that the drive motor keeps rotating. As described previously, in the softening treatment operation, the laundry needs to be soaked in the aqueous fabric softener solution to achieve sufficient adhesion of the fabric softener. Although using the laundry treatment tub can improve the dispersion degree of the fabric softener and increase the adhesion efficiency of the fabric softener to a certain extent, stirring the laundry and the aqueous fabric softener solution using the laundry treatment tub may also reduce the soaking time of the laundry. To address the two aforementioned issues comprehensively, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the set stop-to-run ratio is set to be greater than 1. On one hand, the time that the drive motor keeps continuous rotating is short, which may results in weak mechanical force on the laundry, thereby protecting the laundry, preventing the laundry from wrinkling and tearing, and avoiding affecting the softening effect. On the other hand, it may ensure that the laundry has a long soaking time during the stirring process by the stirring mechanism, thereby making the laundry fully absorb the fabric softener and improving the softening performance of the laundry.

[0088] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, to enable the fabric softener to be better absorbed by the laundry fibers, the laundry treatment tub in the laundry treatment apparatus can also be controlled to stop rotating for a set period during the softening treatment process, thereby realizing the soaking of the laundry with the fabric softener during the stop period.

[0089] In specific implementation, the softening treatment operation may include the operation steps of S111, S112 and S113 mentioned above at the same time, that is, controlling the water injection amount to be the first water injection amount during the softening water injection process, and S112 and S113 can be executed simultaneously after the water injection is completed.

[0090] As described in the background, the aqueous fabric softener solution has micelle characteristics completely opposite to those of the aqueous detergent solution. If the aqueous fabric softener solution is mixed with the aqueous detergent solution, the two solutes will consume each other due to the opposite functions. If there is still a large amount of detergent residue in the laundry during the softening treatment process, residual detergent may consume the fabric softener, causing a decrease in the concentration of the fabric softener. The way to solve the problem is to reduce the detergent content in the laundry as much as possible before the softening treatment process.

[0091] FIG. 3 is a flow chart of the control method of a laundry treatment apparatus provided by still other embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, in other embodiments, the control method of the laundry treatment apparatus includes S310-S340.

[0092] S310: Controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a washing operation on the laundry.

[0093] S320: Determining that the washing operation for the laundry is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a rinsing operation on the laundry.

[0094] S330: Determining that the final one of the rinsing operations on the laundry is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a first dehydration operation on the laundry.

[0095] S340: Determining that the first dehydration operation is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry.

[0096] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, the execution processes of steps S310-S320 and S340 are the same as those in the previous embodiments. The difference from the previous embodiments is that the first dehydration operation is performed before controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry.

[0097] After the rinsing operation is completed, performing the first dehydration operation may remove most of the detergent remaining in the laundry fibers after the rinsing operation, thereby avoiding the consumption of the fabric softener by residual detergent during the softening treatment process. In specific implementation, during the first dehydration operation, the maximum rotation speed of the dehydration drum of the laundry treatment apparatus may be controlled to be between 600-1200 rpm, and the specific maximum dehydration rotation speed may be determined according to the weight and type of the laundry.

[0098] It should be noted that, in order to remove the residual detergent as much as possible, it may not only perform the dehydration operation after the rinsing operation on the laundry is completed, but also after the washing operation is completed, or between two rinsing operations.

[0099] As shown in FIG. 3, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, after completing S340, the following S350 may also be performed.

[0100] S350: Controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a second dehydration operation on the laundry base on determining that the softening treatment operation is completed; wherein a maximum rotation speed of the dehydration drum in the laundry treatment apparatus during the second dehydration operation is lower than a maximum rotation speed of the dehydration drum in the first dehydration operation.

[0101] In daily laundry treatment process, in order to reduce the time for air-drying or drying the laundry, a spin-drying treatment may be performed on the laundry at the final stage of the cleaning process. In the embodiments of the present disclosure, a dehydration operation may be performed on the laundry after the softening treatment operation is completed, that is, the second dehydration operation may be performed.

[0102] However, high-speed dehydration operation will increase the friction frequency of the laundry fibers, causing the fabric softener to detach and reducing the residue of the fabric softener in the laundry fibers. To avoid the aforementioned problem, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the maximum rotation speed of the dehydration drum in the laundry treatment apparatus during the second dehydration process is set to a relatively low value for reducing the degradation of the softening effect caused by the dehydration operation. Specifically, the maximum rotation speed of the dehydration drum during the second dehydration operation is lower than the maximum rotation speed of the dehydration drum during the first dehydration operation, thereby simultaneously achieving the goals of reducing the time for air-drying or drying the laundry and retaining the softening effect. In practical applications, the maximum rotation speed during the first dehydration operation is generally set to 800-1200 rpm, and the maximum rotation speed during the second dehydration operation can be set to less than 800 rpm, for example, 600 rpm.

[0103] In the embodiments of the present disclosure, S120 may also be performed before S110 is executed.

[0104] S120: Determining that the softening treatment operation program is triggered, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry.

[0105] The softening treatment operation program is a program setting or selection setting for the softening treatment operation process. In some embodiments, the control panel of the laundry treatment apparatus includes the softening treatment operation program, or a mobile device linked with the laundry treatment apparatus includes the softening treatment operation program. It can be presented in the form of a button, a press key or a trigger key on the control panel, and can be displayed under a set name on the mobile device.

[0106] When the fabric softener treatment operation program is triggered in any form, the softening treatment operation is executed.

[0107] In the case of executing S120, S110 includes controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry after determining that the final one of washing operations on the laundry is completed and determining that the softening treatment operation program is triggered.

[0108] That is to say, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the laundry treatment apparatus will perform the softening treatment operation after the final one of the rinsing operations is completed only on the premise that the user sets that a special softening treatment operation program needs to be executed.

[0109] In addition to the control method of the laundry treatment apparatus, the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a control device of the laundry treatment apparatus. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the control device of the laundry treatment apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 4, the control device 400 of the laundry treatment apparatus includes a control module 401. The control module 401 is configured to determine that the final one of rinsing operations for the laundry is completed and control the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry. The softening treatment operation is an operation of forming an aqueous fabric softener solution and using the aqueous fabric softener solution to perform a softening treatment on the washed laundry.

[0110] In some embodiments, when controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry, the control module 401 may control the laundry treatment apparatus to inject water according to a first water injection amount, wherein the first water injection amount is less than a second water injection amount of a single rinsing process of the rinsing operations.

[0111] In some embodiments, before controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the rinsing operation on the laundry, the control module 401 also controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a washing operation on the laundry; wherein a third water injection amount during the washing operation is less than or equal to the first water injection amount.

[0112] In some embodiments, when controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry, the control module 401 controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a heating operation on the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0113] In some embodiments, when controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry, the control module 401 controls the drive motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate, and the drive motor is used to agitate the laundry in the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0114] In some embodiments, the control module 401 controlling the drive motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate includes: Controlling the drive motor to rotate according to the first set rotation speed, wherein the first set rotation speed is lower than a second set rotation speed, and the second set rotation speed is a working rotation speed of the drive motor during the rinsing operation.

[0115] In some embodiments, the control module 401 controlling the drive motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate includes: controlling the drive motor to rotate according to a set stop-to-run ratio, wherein the set stop-to-run ratio is greater than 1.

[0116] In some embodiments, the control module 401 controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry includes: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a soaking operation on the laundry with the aqueous fabric softener solution.

[0117] In some embodiments, before controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry, the control module 401 also controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a first dehydration operation on the laundry, and after determining that the first dehydration operation is completed, controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation.

[0118] In some embodiments, after determining that the softening treatment operation is completed, the control module 401 may also control the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a second dehydration operation on the laundry; wherein the maximum rotation speed of the dehydration drum in the laundry treatment apparatus during the second dehydration operation is lower than the maximum rotation speed of the dehydration drum in the first dehydration operation.

[0119] In some embodiments, the laundry treatment apparatus includes a softening treatment operation button / key / program, and the control module 401 determines the working program setting operation of the laundry treatment apparatus. In the case that the working program setting operation includes setting operation of the softening treatment operation button / key / program, the control module 401 controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry after determining that the final one of the rinsing operations on the laundry is completed.

[0120] In addition to the method and control device of the laundry treatment apparatus, the embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a laundry treatment apparatus. FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of the laundry treatment apparatus provided by the embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, the laundry treatment apparatus includes a processor 501, a memory 502, a sensor 503, and an actuator 504.

[0121] The processor 501 may be a central processing unit (CPU) or other forms of processing units with data processing capability and / or instruction execution capability, and may control other components in the laundry treatment apparatus to perform desired functions.

[0122] The memory 502 may include one or more computer program products, and the computer program products may include various forms of computer-readable storage media, such as volatile memory and / or non-volatile memory. The volatile memory may include, for example, random access memory (RAM) and / or cache memory (cache). The 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. The processor 501 may run the program instructions, and control each actuator 504 according to the signal detected by the sensor 503 and in accordance with the control method of the laundry treatment apparatus mentioned above for realizing the treatment function for the laundry.

[0123] As analyzed previously, the sensor 503 may include a water level sensor, a temperature sensor, and a rotation speed sensor. The actuator 504 may include a water injection mechanism, a drainage mechanism, a detergent dispensing mechanism, a fabric softener dispensing mechanism, a laundry treatment tub, a dehydration mechanism, etc.

[0124] In one example, the laundry treatment apparatus may further include an input device 505 and an output device 506, and the components are interconnected with the processor, the sensor 503 or the actuator 504 through a bus system.

[0125] The input device 505 is used to input relevant control information or program setting information for the laundry treatment apparatus to the processor or memory of the laundry treatment apparatus, and the input device 505 may include input keys, an input touch screen, etc.

[0126] The output device 506 can output various information to outside, including determining the laundry treatment mode, the treatment operation process, the current treatment operation process, etc. The output device 506 may include, for example, a display, a speaker, a communication network and a remote output device connected thereto, and so on.

[0127] Of course, for simplification, only some of the components related to the present disclosure in the laundry treatment apparatus are shown in FIG. 5, and components such as a bus, an input / output interface, etc. are omitted. In addition, depending on the specific application, the laundry treatment apparatus may also include any other suitable components.

[0128] The embodiments of the present disclosure also provide a storage medium, which stores a program or an instruction, and the program or instruction causes a computer to execute any one of the control methods of a laundry treatment apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure. When the computer-executable instructions are executed by a computer processor, they can also be used to execute any of the above-mentioned control methods of a laundry treatment apparatus provided in the embodiments of the present disclosure to achieve corresponding beneficial effects.

[0129] Through the above description of the implementation manners, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented by means of software and necessary general hardware, and of course can also be implemented by hardware, but the former is a better implementation manner in many cases. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present disclosure, in essence or the part that contributes to the existing technology, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as a floppy disk, Read-Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), FLASH, hard disk or optical disk of a computer, and includes several instructions to enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute the methods of the various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0130] The above are only specific implementation manners of the present disclosure, which enable those skilled in the art to understand or implement the present disclosure. Various modifications to these embodiments will be obvious to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but should conform to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.Industrial Applicability

[0131] The technical solution disclosed in the present disclosure controls the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry after the rinsing operation on the laundry is completed, resulting in that the softening treatment operation on the laundry is independent of the rinsing operation on the laundry, rather than being performed as a part of the rinsing operation. Since the softening treatment operation is independent of the rinsing operation on the laundry, the process objective of the softening treatment operation can focus on improving the use efficiency of the fabric softener, and maximize the function of the fabric softener as much as possible, which has strong industrial applicability.

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0022]In order to make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present disclosure clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be described clearly and completely below. Apparently, the described embodiments are some rather than all of the embodiments of the present disclosure. All other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments in the present disclosure without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0023]In order to address the problem that the fabric softener cannot fully exert the softening effect when the fabric softener is added during the laundry rinsing process of the existing laundry treatment apparatus, the embodiments of the present disclosure provide a new method, control device of a laundry treatment apparatus, and laundry treatment apparatus. Before introducing the method, device, and apparatus of the embodime...

Claims

1. A control method of a laundry treatment apparatus, comprising: determining that final one of rinsing operations for laundry is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry, wherein the softening treatment operation is an operation of forming an aqueous fabric softener solution, and performing a softening treatment on the laundry by using the aqueous fabric softener solution.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry comprises: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to inject water in a first water injection amount, wherein the first water injection amount is less than a second water injection amount of a single rinsing operation of the rinsing operations.

3. The method according to claim 2, prior to controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the rinsing operations, further comprising: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a washing operation on the laundry; wherein a third water injection amount in the washing operation is less than the first water injection amount.

4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry comprises: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a heating operation on the aqueous fabric softener solution.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry comprises: controlling a driving motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate, wherein the driving motor is configured to agitate the laundry in the aqueous fabric softener solution.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein said controlling the driving motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate comprises: controlling the driving motor to rotate at a first set rotation speed, wherein the first set rotation speed is less than a second set rotation speed, and the second set rotation speed is an operating rotation speed of the driving motor in the rinsing operation.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein said controlling the driving motor of the laundry treatment apparatus to rotate comprises: controlling the driving motor to rotate at a set stop-to-run ratio, wherein the set stop-to-run ratio is greater than 1.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry comprises: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a soaking operation on the laundry by using the aqueous fabric softener solution.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: prior to controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry, the method further comprises: controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a first dehydration operation on the laundry; and said controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry comprises: determining that the first dehydration operation is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: determining that the softening treatment operation is completed, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a second dehydration operation on the laundry, wherein a maximum dehydration rotation speed of the laundry treatment apparatus during the second dehydration operation is less than a maximum dehydration rotation speed of the first dehydration operation.

11. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: determining that a softening treatment operation program is triggered, and controlling the laundry treatment apparatus to perform the softening treatment operation on the laundry.

12. A control device of a laundry treatment apparatus, comprising: a control module, configured to determine that a rinsing operation for laundry is completed, and control the laundry treatment apparatus to perform a softening treatment operation on the laundry, wherein the softening treatment operation is an operation of forming an aqueous fabric softener solution, and performing a softening treatment on the laundry by using the aqueous fabric softener solution.

13. A laundry treatment apparatus, comprising a processor, a memory, a sensor, and an actuator, wherein the processor invokes a program or instruction stored in the memory to control the actuator based on a signal detected by the sensor according to the control method of a laundry treatment apparatus as set forth in any one of claims 1 to 11.

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