The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 12, 2000
Filed:
Feb. 29, 2000
Seung Myun Baek, Kyungsangnam-do, KR;
Seung Taek Baek, Kyungsangnam-do, KR;
Jeong Hyun Lim, Kyungsangnam-do, KR;
LG Electronics Inc., Seoul, KR;
Abstract
Methods of detecting a load level in a washing machine include monitoring a rotational speed of a motor of the washing machine for a period of time after the motor has reached an operating speed. In a first method embodying the invention, the number of rotational speed peaks that occur in each of a plurality of speed bands are detected during the period of time. The detected number of speed peaks in each speed band are compared to reference count numbers corresponding to each of the speed bands, and a load level in the washer is determined based on the comparisons. In a second method embodying the invention, the number of times that the rotational speed of the motor exceeds a predetermined speed during a predetermined period of time is detected. The detected number is then compared to reference count numbers, and the load level in the washing machine is determined based on the comparison. This process may be repeated several times if a sensed eccentricity of the washing machine exceeds a predetermined level of eccentricity. If the process is repeated several times, the count value during each repetition may be stored in a different count variable. Then, during one of the repetitions, a sum of two or more count values may be compared to reference count values to determine a load level in the washing machine.