Electrolux Appliances Aktiebolag

Electrolux Home Products Corporation N.v.

Paolo Driussi

Paolo Quattrin

Alessandro Cecco

Marco Lorenzi

Andrea Zattin

Elisa Stabon

Fabio Altinier

Martino Bondi

Roberto Ragogna

Andrea Mazzon

Mirko Gasparini

Terenzio Girotto

Giuseppe Frucco

Fabio Pasut

Alberto Santarossa

Hubert Dorigo

Thomas Hoppichler

Luca Pegolo

Andrea Saponaro

Marco Rizzi

Marco Raminelli

Daniele Beninato

Giorgio Coletto

Luca Furlan

A laundry treatment appliance having: a drawer comprising first and second compartments each being adapted to contain multiple doses of a treatment agent for laundry treatment, first and second pumps adapted to draw up treatment agent doses from the first and second compartments, respectively, and a control unit for controlling the first and second pumps, wherein the control unit is configured to cause the first and second pumps to coordinately draw up the treatment agent doses over at least one washing cycle by determining a gradual concurrent emptying of the first and second compartments over said at least one washing cycle.

Laundry treatment appliance with coordinated drawing up of treatment agent

A laundry appliance having a treatment chamber and a control unit configured to perform a first set of phases of a selected treatment cycle using a dose of a treatment agent, and a treatment agent delivering device. The control unit is further configured to: receive a first command that enables the delivering device and thereupon: calculate a first amount of treatment agent, and cause the delivering device to deliver the dose to the laundry treatment chamber; and, upon receiving a second command for an intensive treatment mode: cause the laundry appliance to perform a second set of phases in addition to said first set of phases, and calculate a second amount of treatment agent when both the first and second commands are received, so that said dose comprises said first amount of treatment agent plus said second amount of treatment agent.

Laundry appliance with improved intensive treatment mode

A laundry appliance having a cabinet accommodating a laundry treatment chamber, a storage drawer comprising at least one compartment for containing laundry treatment agent and a drawer seat slidingly housing the storage drawer such that the storage drawer is slidable between a retracted position, in which the storage drawer is retracted inside the drawer seat, and an extracted position, in which the storage drawer is at least partially extracted from the drawer seat. The laundry appliance further comprises a drawer position detecting system for detecting when the drawer is in the retracted position. The drawer position detecting system comprises a target element on one of the cabinet and the drawer, and a sensor element on the other of the cabinet and the drawer. The detecting system is configured to sense a proximity of the target element to the sensor element.

Laundry appliance comprising a drawer position detecting system

A laundry washing machine having a washing tub, a rotatable drum, a detergent dispenser, a fresh-water supply circuit, a water softening device, a brine reservoir, and a pump assembly to move the brine from the brine reservoir to the water softening device for regenerating the same. The machine also has a water distributor module having: a manifold body having a water inlet and a number of water outlets; an electrically-operated, internal water channelling means are at least partially located inside the manifold body and are structured to selectively put the water inlet of the manifold body in fluid communication with any one of the water outlets of the same manifold body; and a local electronic control unit which is accommodated in a corresponding seat formed on the manifold body and moreover powers and/or controls both the pump assembly and the electrically-operated, internal water channeling means.

Laundry washing machine comprising a water softening device and a local electronic control unit

A washing and/or drying appliance () includes an electric load () and a driving apparatus () for driving the electric load (). The driving apparatus () includes: &#x2014;a TRIAC () comprising a first anode terminal (M) coupled with a first terminal (TN) of an AC electric power supply and a second anode terminal (M) coupled with a first terminal of the electric load (). The electric load () includes a second terminal coupled with a second terminal (TL) of the AC electric power supply; &#x2014;a microcontroller () configured to generate a driving signal, and &#x2014;a triggering circuit () for activating the TRIAC () by providing triggering pulse signals to a gate terminal (G) of the TRIAC () based on the driving signal. A monitoring circuit () includes: &#x2014;the microcontroller (), and &#x2014;a feedback circuit branch () connected between the gate terminal (G) of the TRIAC () and an input terminal of the microcontroller () for providing the voltage at the gate terminal (G) of the TRIAC () to the microcontroller (). The monitoring circuit () is configured to monitor the driving signal and the voltage at the gate terminal (G) of the TRIAC () and to assess an operating condition of the electric load (), the TRIAC () and the triggering circuit () based on a monitored value of said driving signal and on a monitored value of the voltage at the gate terminal (G) of the TRIAC ().

System for monitoring electric loads and for monitoring driving apparatuses of said electric loads

A method for operating a laundry washing machine () having a controllable dosing device () suitable to supply water from an external water supply line (E) into a container () and a metering device () arranged between the external water supply line (E) and the container () for determining the amount of water flowing through the dosing device (). The method measures the surplus water flowing through the dosing device () after deactivation of the latter in a first water conveying step for conveying a first amount of water from the external water supply line (E) into the container () and controls the supply of water in a further water conveying step taking in account the surplus water previously measured.

Method for operating a laundry washing machine and laundry washing machine

A washing and/or drying appliance includes a heating circuit () for heating a washing liquid and/or a drying air flow. The heating circuit is connected to voltage distribution lines () distributing power inside the appliance and includes at least one heating resistor () in series to switch means () controlled by an appliance control unit () for selectively energizing the heating resistor when required. The switch means of the heating circuit includes first and second switches () in series to the heating resistor, the heating resistor being interposed between the first and second switch. A monitoring circuit arrangement is associated with the heating circuit. The monitoring circuit arrangement includes a resistive network including a first resistor (R) connected to the heating circuit so as to be bypassed when the first switch is closed, the heating resistor, and a second resistor (R) connected to the heating circuit so as to be bypassed when the second switch is closed. The monitoring circuit arrangement further includes a current sensor () arranged to measure a current flowing through the resistive network and to feed an indication of the measured current to the control unit. The monitoring unit is configured for assessing possible faults of the heating circuit based on the indication of the measured current.

Heating circuit with monitoring arrangement for a household appliance

A washing and/or drying appliance circuit system having an electric load, first and second power supply terminals, first and second switching elements operable for coupling/decoupling the power supply terminals to terminals of the electric load, a control unit for operating the switching elements, and a conditioning arrangement. The conditioning arrangement has a unidirectional signal flow element coupled between the first supply terminal for receiving a supply signal and the second load terminal, and an impedance arrangement coupled between the first load terminal and the control unit. With the first and second switching elements in the opened-states the first supply terminal, the unidirectional signal flow element, the electric load and the impedance arrangement define a conductive path providing a check signal to the control unit. The control unit is configured for determining a fault in the circuit system based on the check signal.

Method and circuit for determining faults in appliances

A household appliance has a heating circuit () for heating a fluid including a heating element () that can be selectively energized () to determine the heating of the fluid, and a monitoring unit () for monitoring the operation of the heating circuit. The monitoring unit () is configured to monitor at least one electrical potential internal to the heating circuit (). The at least one electric potential internal to the heating circuit () is at least one among: an internal electric potential detected at a first terminal () of the heating element () connected to an on/off switch () of the heating circuit (); an internal electric potential detected at a second terminal () of the heating element () connected to a main switch () of the appliance or to a safety switch provided for switching the heating circuit off in case of malfunction of the on/off switch (). The monitoring unit () is further configured for: detecting a value of the voltage of the electricity distribution network; and calculating, starting from the detected value of the voltage of the electricity distribution network, first and a second reference electric potentials, comparing the at least one detected internal electric potential with the first and second reference electric potentials; recognizing a state of good operation or malfunction of the heating circuit () in case the at least one detected internal electric potential does not fall within a range of values between the first and second reference electric potentials.

Monitoring faults in the heating circuit of an appliance

An electric appliance () is disclosed. The electric appliance has an electric load (), and a driving element () for selectively energizing/de-energizing the electric load (). The driving element () has a first driving terminal (A) coupled to a first load terminal (T) of the electric load, a second driving terminal (A) coupled to a first power supply terminal (T), and a control terminal (G) for switching on/off the driving element () thereby allowing said selective energization/de-energization, respectively. The electric appliance also has a switching element () for selectively coupling a second power supply terminal (T) to a second load terminal (T) of the electric load (). The electric appliance () further has a detection arrangement () configured for detecting a first electrical quantity (V) at the first driving terminal (A), and at least one between a second electrical quantity (V,V) at the second load terminal (T) and a power supply electrical quantity (V) at the second power supply terminal (T). The detection arrangement () has a coupling element () coupling the first driving terminal (A) to the second load terminal (T), and a control unit () coupled to the first driving terminal (A), and to at least one between the second load terminal (T) and the second power supply terminal (T). The control unit () is further configured for determining dispersion of electric power towards ground in the electric load () according to the detected electrical quantities.

Method and circuit for determining dispersion of electric power towards ground in electric appliances

A water bearing household appliance () includes: a treating chamber () in which one or more items () can be loaded and treated with water and one or more additives; a logic unit () to control the electric and/or electronic components of the appliance () so as to make the latter to perform a treating cycle for treating the one or more loaded items () with water and one or more additives; a load amount acquiring device () for acquiring and communicating to the logic unit () information related to the amount of the one or more items () loaded in the treating chamber (); and a user interface () configured for allowing a user to set parameters related to the treating cycle and to the one or more additives to be used during the treating cycle. The logic unit () is configured to: store, during a programming state, additive information set by the user via the user interface (), the additive information comprising one or more numeric values which are indicative of predetermined maximum amount of additive associated with the maximum loading capacity of the treating chamber; before the appliance () starts a selected treating cycle, determine an amount of a selected additive to be loaded for this selected treating cycle, based on the programmed maximum amount of additive associated with the selected additive, on the acquired amount of the one or more items () loaded in the treating chamber (), and on the selected treating cycle; and provide the user with information related to the determined amount of additive to be loaded via the user interface ().

Water bearing household appliance and associated operating method

A washing and/or drying appliance includes a heating circuit () for heating a washing liquid and/or a drying air flow, connected to voltage distribution lines () distributing power inside the appliance. The heating circuit includes at least one heating resistor () in series to switch means () controlled by an appliance control unit () for selectively energizing the heating resistor when required. The switch means of the heating circuit includes a first and a second switch () in series to the heating resistor, the heating resistor being interposed between the first and second switches. A monitoring circuit arrangement is provided, which includes a first resistor (R) in shunt to the heating resistor and having a resistance substantially higher than that of the heating resistor, and a pull-up network connected between a first terminal () of the heating resistor and one of the voltage distribution lines. The control unit is configured for receiving a voltage corresponding to an electric potential at a second terminal () of the heating resistor.

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Zoppola, Italy

Paolo Driussi