Clothes fabric type blend detection method and apparatus
US5897672A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 5, 1997 |
| Grant date | Apr 27, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 5, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC D)Textiles; Paper
- CPC primaryD06F2103/18
- WIPO fieldOther consumer goods
- WIPO sectorOther fields
Abstract
A method and apparatus for detecting the relative proportion of various fabric types present in a clothes load in a clothes washer are provided, in which a set of fuzzy logic membership functions is defined at each clothes load weight across a range of expected load weights to be handled by the clothes washer, with the set of membership functions representing various fabric types that might be present in the clothes load. The membership functions are defined at least in part by a washer operating state that is to be sensed during initial washer operation, and the method includes obtaining a value for the clothes load weight, sensing a value of the washer operating state, and determining a degree of fulfillment of the sensed value in each of the membership functions defined for that given clothes load. The degree of fulfillment represents the relative proportion of the various fabric types for which membership functions are defined, and the information regarding the resultant degrees of fulfillment may be employed in controlling the operation of the washer for optimal performance. The apparatus constitutes a washer controller having a microprocessor that receives signals correspondi…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.