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. 08, 2009
Filed:
Jun. 09, 2006
Nyik Siong Wong, Saint Joseph, MI (US);
Raveendran Vaidhyanathan, Saint Joseph, MI (US);
Anthony H. Hardaway, Stevensville, MI (US);
Joel A. Luckman, Benton Harbor, MI (US);
Nyik Siong Wong, Saint Joseph, MI (US);
Raveendran Vaidhyanathan, Saint Joseph, MI (US);
Anthony H. Hardaway, Stevensville, MI (US);
Joel A. Luckman, Benton Harbor, MI (US);
Whirlpool Corporation, Benton Harbor, MI (US);
Abstract
A method for operating a washing machine having a tub with a drum rotatably mounted in the tub and configured to hold a fabric load and a liquid recirculation system configured to recirculate liquid from the tub to the drum comprises a pre-wash step; a heating step comprising introducing steam into the tub and/or the drum; and a washing step comprising washing the fabric load with a second volume of liquid greater than the first volume of liquid. The pre-wash step can comprise recirculating a first volume of liquid between the tub and the drum without submerging a portion of the drum in the liquid and rotating the drum. In another embodiment, the pre-wash step can comprise recirculating a first volume of liquid between the tub and the drum to achieve a fabric load weight to liquid weight ratio of between about 1:0.5 and 1:2.7.