Controlled Moisture Removal in a Laundry Treating Appliance

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/488,540 filed Oct. 17, 2023, which is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/532,063 filed Nov. 22, 2021, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,913,160, issued Feb. 27, 2024, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/845,183 filed Apr. 10, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,208,755, issued Dec. 28, 2021, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/907,378 filed Feb. 28, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,633,776, issued Apr. 28, 2020, which is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/602,157 filed May 23, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,945,062, issued Apr. 17, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/818,394 filed Aug. 5, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,689,100, issued Jun. 27, 2017, which is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/545,115 filed Aug. 21, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,109,317, issued Aug. 18, 2015, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated in their entirety by reference herein.

Laundry treating appliances, such as clothes washers, clothes dryers, refreshers, and non-aqueous systems, have a treating chamber, which may have a configuration of a rotating drum, in which laundry items are placed for treating according to a cycle of operation. The laundry treating appliance may have a controller communicably and operably connected with the various components of the appliance for controlling the appliance to execute the cycle of operation. The cycle of operation may be selected manually by the user or automatically based on one or more conditions determined by the controller.

After the completion of the cycle of operation, the laundry may still contain moisture and/or there still may be moisture within the treating chamber or other areas of the appliance. If the moisture-laden laundry is left in the treating chamber too long, it may begin to mold or mildew, which may create a sour smell that most users find unpleasant. The moisture remaining within the treating chamber or other areas of the appliance may cause a similar result.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to a method of operating a laundry treating appliance for treating laundry according to a treating cycle of operation. The laundry treating appliance comprises a treating chamber for receiving the laundry that is selectively accessible through a door movable between opened and closed positions. The method comprises determining at the end of a laundry treating cycle whether the door has been opened and subsequently reclosed and reducing humidity in the treating chamber after the determination that the door has been reclosed.

In another aspect, the disclosure relates to a method of operating a laundry treating appliance for treating laundry according to a treating cycle of operation. The laundry treating compliance comprises a treating chamber for receiving the laundry, which is selectively accessible through a door movable between opened and closed positions. The method comprises determining a removal of laundry from the treating chamber after a completion of the treating cycle of operation and reducing humidity in the treating chamber after the determination of the removal of the laundry.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like numerals indicate like elements throughout the views,illustrates one embodiment of a laundry treating appliance according to the invention. The laundry treating appliance IO according to the invention may be any appliance which performs a cycle of operation on laundry, non-limiting examples of which include a horizontal or vertical axis clothes washer, a combination washing machine and dryer, a tumbling or stationary refreshing/revitalizing machine, an extractor, a non-aqueous washing apparatus, and a revitalizing machine.

The laundry treating appliancemay comprise a cabinetin having a controllerfor controlling the operation of the laundry treating applianceto complete a cycle of operation. A treating chambermay be located within the cabinetfor receiving laundry to be treated during a cycle of operation. The treating chamber has an open face that may be selectively closed by a door. A treatment dispensermay be fluidly coupled with the treating chamberthrough a dispensing conduitand operably coupled to the controllerto deliver a treatment chemistry to the treating chamberduring a cycle of operation in response to instructions from the controller.

The laundry treating appliancemay further include one or more humidity reduction device, which is illustrated as a fanand/or a heat source, for dehumidifying the air within the laundry treating appliance. While the humidity reduction device is illustrated as a fanand/or a heat source, the humidity reduction device may be any device capable of dehumidifying the air within the laundry treating appliance. The humidity reduction device may dehumidify the air within the treating chamberby venting and/or supplying air from the exterior of the treating chamberto the interior of the treating chamber, or may dehumidify the air within the treating chamberby heating air in the treating chamber. The heat sourcemay be, for example, in a form of an electric heating element, an incandescent bulb or other type of bulb. An additional example of the humidity reduction device includes an evaporator, a condenser or an air cooler. Any of these devices may be used alone or in combination with another type of device. As used herein, the term dehumidify may refer to both removing moisture from the air, replacing the air with less humid air, and drying a surface as a result of removal of moisture and moisture-laden air from the surface and surrounding environment. An operation of the humidity reduction device may be continuous or discontinuous.

The number and location of the humidity reduction device may be selected to achieve the desired flow of air through the treating chamberand level of dehumidification. As illustrated in, one example of a suitable location for the humidity reduction device, such as the fan, is the dispensing conduit. The humidity reduction device may be located within the dispensing conduitfor drawing air from the exterior of the treating chamber, including exterior of the laundry treating appliance, through the treatment dispenserand into the treating chamber. The treatment dispensermay be open to the ambient air surrounding the laundry treating appliancesuch that the humidity reduction device may draw in or exhaust air from the treating chamberthrough the treatment dispenser.

In another example, the humidity reduction device may be located within a child safety ventthat may exhaust to a rear side of the laundry treating appliance. The humidity reduction device can be attached to either front or back location of the tubor the treating chamber. Thus air for circulation can be obtained from within the cabinet. In yet another example, the humidity reduction device may be coupled with the treating chamberthrough a separate dehumidifying conduit. The location of the humidity reduction device may be selected to dry certain surfaces within the treating chamberthat are not normally cleaned during the wash process, such as the surfaces above the water fill line. One or more humidity reduction devices may be coupled with the treatment chambersuch that air flows to these locations to ensure drying of these surfaces. Also, one or more humidity reduction devices in a form of the heat sourcemay be attached to the treatment chambersuch that air is heated to ensure drying of these surfaces. The one or more heat sourcesmay be located virtually anywhere in the treatment chamberor anywhere in the cabinet, provided that the heater air will be supplied to the treating chamber.

As illustrated by the arrowsin, one or more of the humidity reduction devices, such as the fanmay be operated such that air is drawn in from the exterior of the laundry treating appliancethrough a vent tube(shown in) and into the treating chamberto replace the air within the treating chamber. The vent tubemay be the child safety vent, the dehumidifying conduitor any other conduit in the cabinet. The air from within the treating chambermay then be exhausted to the front of the laundry treating appliancethrough the treatment dispenser. The dispensing conduit, the child safety ventand/or dehumidifying conduitmay be provided with a humidity reduction device either alone or in combination to facilitate the flow of air through the treating chamber.

A humidity reduction devicemay also be provided within the dispensing conduitto facilitate the movement of air from the exterior of the laundry treating appliancethrough the treatment dispenser. The process may also be operated in reverse such that air is drawn in through the treatment dispenserand exhausted through the child safety ventand/or dehumidifying conduit. For example, the humidity reduction devicewithin the child safety ventmay be operated to draw air from the exterior of the laundry treating appliancethrough the treatment dispenserand dispensing conduitinto the treating chamber, where it may then be exhausted through the child safety vent.

Alternatively, or additionally, an additional inlet air (not shown) can be obtained from the cabinetspace and/or the exit air can be vented into the cabinetspace instead of exiting to the exterior of the laundry treating appliance.

In addition, the laundry treating appliance IO may include one or more interior door sensorsfor sensing the doorposition. The one or more door sensorsmay be of any suitable absolute or relative (displacement) position sensor or a combination of sensors, capable of determining between the doorbeing in opened and closed positions. Some non-limiting examples are: an inductive sensor, a Hall effect sensor, an optic or infrared sensor, a capacitive sensor, a resistive sensor or a mechanical pressure sensor. The optical sensor may have a light or other electromagnetic radiation emitting and detecting means for determining if the dooris open or closed. In another example, the door sensormay be in the form of an imaging device, such as a camera, that is capable of determining if the dooris open or closed.

The door sensormay be located in any suitable location within the laundry treating appliance, for example it may be located in the cabinetor within the door. As illustrated in, the door position sensoris located within the cabinetin a close proximity to the door. It is within the scope of the invention for multiple door sensorsto be located at multiple locations within the laundry treating appliance.

The door sensormay be used as a laundry sensor, because, it may be assumed that the laundry is still in the chamberif the dooris determined to be closed after completion of the treating cycle of operation. It may also be assumed, that the laundry was removed upon determination of the opening of the doorafter the completion of the treating cycle of operation.

Alternatively, or additionally, one or more special laundry sensors() may be provided to indicate presence or absence of the laundry in the treating chamber. The one or more laundry sensorsmay be located in any suitable location within the laundry treating appliance, and may be of any suitable type. Some non-limiting examples of a suitable laundry sensor are: an optical sensor, infrared sensor, pressure sensor, weight sensor, or a camera.

The controllermay be operably coupled with one or more components of the laundry treating appliancefor communicating with and controlling the operation of the component to complete a cycle of operation. For example, the controllermay be coupled with the treatment dispenserfor dispensing a treatment during a cycle of operation and the humidity reduction device for dehumidifying the treating chamber.

The controllermay also be coupled with the door sensorfor determining the doorposition. The sensor reading or readings may be in a form of an analog, digital, continuous, or discontinuous signal and may be sent to the controller. The controllermay then determine whether to activate or deactivate the humidity reduction device for a predetermined time based on the determined doorposition.

illustrates a second embodiment of the invention in the form of a washing machinewhich is similar in structure to the laundry treating appliancedescribed above. Therefore, like parts will be identified with the same numerals. The washing machinedescribed herein shares many features of a traditional automatic washing machine, which will not be described in detail except as necessary for a complete understanding of the invention.

The washing machinemay have a user interfacefor selecting a cycle of operation and couple with the controllerfor controlling the operation of the washing machineto implement the selected cycle of operation. An imperforate tuband a perforated drummay be located within the interior of the cabinet. The tuband the drummay be mounted in the cabinetsuch that the drummay rotate relative to the tub. At least one of the tubor the drumdefine a treating chamberfor receiving laundry with an open face that may be selectively closed by a door. The rotatable drummay have a plurality of perforationsso that liquid and/or air may flow between the tuband the drumthrough the perforations. The drummay further include one or more bafflesdisposed on an inner surface of the drumto lift fabric items contained in the drumwhile the drumrotates. A bellowsmay couple an open face of the tubwith the cabinet, and the doorseals against the bellowswhen the doorcloses the tub.

The drummay be rotated by a suitable drive mechanism, which is illustrated as a motorcoupled to the drumthrough a drive shaft. The motor may be a direct drive having a rotorand a statorand may be operably coupled to the controllerto control the rotation of the drumto complete a cycle of operation. Other drive mechanisms, such as indirect drive, may also be used.

While the drumis illustrated and described herein as defining the treating chamber, the tuband/or the drummay be considered a receptacle, with either of them defining the treating chamberfor receiving fabric items to be treated. While the illustrated washing machineincludes both the tuband the drum, it is within the scope of the invention for the laundry treating appliance to include only one receptacle, with the receptacle defining the treating chamberfor receiving the fabric items to be treated.

The washing machineofmay further include a liquid supply and recirculation system. Liquid, such as water or water with a wash aid, may be supplied to the washing machinefrom a water supply, such as a household water supply. A first supply conduitmay fluidly couple the water supplyto a treatment dispenser. An inlet valvemay control flow of the liquid from the water supplyand through the first supply conduitto the treatment dispenser. A dispensing conduitmay fluidly couple the treatment dispenserwith the tub.

Liquid that flows from the treatment dispenserthrough the flow conduitto the tub, typically enters a space between the tuband the drumand may flow by gravity to a sumpformed in part by a lower portionof the tub. The sumpmay also be formed by a sump conduitthat may fluidly couple the lower portionof the tubto a pump.

The pumpmay direct fluid to a drain conduit, which may drain the liquid from the washing machine, or to a recirculation conduit, which may terminate at a recirculation inlet. The recirculation inletmay direct the liquid from the recirculation conduitinto the drum. The recirculation inletmay introduce the liquid into the drumin any suitable manner, such as by spraying, dripping, or providing a steady flow of the liquid.

Still referring to, the washing machinemay include a sump heaterwhich may be located in the sump. The sump heatermay be any type of heater and is illustrated as a resistive heating element for exemplary purposes. The sumpmay also include a one-way check valvefor draining any liquid in the sump.

The washing machinemay optionally include a steam generation system including a steam generatorthat may receive liquid from the water supplythrough a second supply conduit. The sump heatermay be used alone or in combination with a steam generatorto add heat to the chamber.

A steam conduitmay fluidly couple the steam generatorto a steam inlet, which may introduce steam into the tub. The steam that enters the tubthrough the steam inletmay subsequently enter the drumthrough the perforations. Alternatively, the steam inletmay be configured to introduce the steam directly into the drum.

The type of steam generation system is not germane to the invention and may include any type of steam generatorthat converts liquid to steam. For example, the sump heatermay also be operated as a steam generator in place of or in addition to the steam generator.

The liquid supply and recirculation system and the steam generation system may differ from the configuration shown in, such as by inclusion of other valves, conduits, wash aid dispensers, and the like, to control the flow of liquid and steam through the washing machineand for the introduction of more than one type of detergent/wash aid.

The washing machinemay further include a humidity reduction device, which is illustrated as a dehumidifying fan, for dehumidifying the air within the washing machine. The humidity reduction devicemay be located inside or outside of the cabinetand may dehumidify the air within the washing machineby venting and/or supplying air from the exterior of the washing machineto the tub. While the humidity reduction device is illustrated as a fanor heater, the humidity reduction device may be any device capable of dehumidifying the air within the washing machine. It is within the scope of the invention for other types of humidity reduction devices to be used such as those discussed above with respect to the laundry treating applianceandillustrated in.

The humidity reduction devicemay be fluidly coupled with the tubthrough the vent tubefor venting the interior of the tubwhich includes the interior chamberand the treating chamber. The treating chambermay be fluidly coupled with the interior chamberthrough the perforationsin the drumsuch that air may flow between the two chambers.

In operation, the humidity reduction devicemay draw in ambient air from the exterior of the washing machinethrough the vent tube, as illustrated by arrows. The dispensermay be provided such that the dispensing conduitis fluidly connected with the ambient air exterior to the washing machine. The air flowmay be drawn into the tubfrom the vent tubethat may be coupled with the tub. The airdrawn into the tubmay enter the interior chamberand pass into the treating chamberthrough the perforationsin the drum. The air may exit the treating chamberin the same manner. The air may be withdrawn from the tubthrough the dispensercoupled to the dispensing conduitand exhausted to the outside of the washing machinethrough the humidity reduction device. The process may also be operated in reverse such that air is drawn in through the dispenserand exhausted through the vent tube. In either manner, the dispenser, dispensing conduit, tub, drum, vent tubeand one or more humidity reduction deviceprovide a ventilation flow path for drawing ambient air into the tuband exhausting air from the tubto the exterior of the washing machine.

Alternatively, the routing of the air flow may be made to bypass the dispenser, and go from the rear of the washing machine, through the treatment chamber, and then exit to a different vent tube at the rear of the machine. This design may avoid restrictions to the air flow created in the dispenser. Also, similarly to the first embodiment, an additional inlet air (not shown) can be obtained from the cabinetspace, so the exit air can be vented into the cabinetspace instead of exiting to the exterior of the laundry washing machine.

As described above, the number and location of the humidity reduction devicemay be selected to achieve the desired air flow path and level of dehumidification. One or more humidity reduction devices may be coupled with the tubto ensure drying of these surfaces, as for example shown in theillustrating an alternative or additional humidity reduction device in the form of the heating element. Additionally, the heating elementmay also be used to add heat. However, the heating elementis of substantially greater wattage than the heating element, resulting in a much greater thermal output. Therefore, a more complex control must be used for the heating elementthan for heating element.

As also described above, the washing machinemay include one or more door sensorsfor detecting the dooropened or closed position. The one or more door sensorsmay be any suitable type of sensor or combination of sensors capable of determining absolute or relative, i.e. displacement, doorpositions, and may be located in any suitable location within the washing machine.

As illustrated in, the controllermay be provided with a memoryand a central processing unit (CPU). The memorymay be used for storing the control software that is executed by the CPUin completing a cycle of operation using the washing machineand any additional software. The memorymay also be used to store information, such as a database or table, and to store data received from one or more components of the washing machinethat may be communicably coupled with the controller.

The controllermay be operably coupled with one or more components of the washing machinefor communicating with and controlling the operation of the component to complete a cycle of operation. For example, the controllermay be coupled with the motorfor controlling the direction and speed of rotation of the drum, the treatment dispenseror the steam generatorfor dispensing a treatment during a cycle of operation, the sump heaterfor heating the wash liquid during a cycle of operation, the pumpfor recycling liquid from the sumpback to the drum, and the humidity reduction device. The controllermay also be coupled with the user interfacefor receiving user selected inputs and communicating information to the user.

The user interfacemay provide an option for a user to select the dehumidifying air flow direction (schematically shown by arrowsin). The air flow direction may be from the front to the back of the washing machine(for example, through the treatment dispenserand out of the vent tube), or from the back to the front (for example, through the vent tubeand out of the treatment dispenser).

The controllermay also receive input from the laundry sensorand/or one or more other sensors, which are known in the art and not shown for simplicity. Non-limiting examples of sensorsthat may be communicably coupled with the controllerinclude: a treating chambertemperature sensor, a moisture sensor, a weight sensor, and a motor torque sensor.

The controllermay also be coupled with the door sensorfor determining when the dooris opened and closed. The sensor reading or readings may be sent to the controllerand analyzed using analysis software stored in the memory. The controllermay then determine whether to activate or deactivate the humidity reduction device based on the received doorcondition signal. For example, the controllermay operate the humidity reduction device to reduce the humidity in the treating chamberin response to the doorbeing closed after the completion of the treating cycle of operation.

The sensors,and/orenabled to detect external environmental conditions and internal load size/type conditions may be used by the controllerto adjust the cycle parameters according! y.

The previously described laundry treating appliancesandmay be used to implement one or more embodiments of a method of the invention. Several embodiments of the method will now be described in terms of the operation of the washing machine. While the methods are described with respect to the washing machine, the methods may also be used with the laundry treating applianceof the first embodiment of the invention. The embodiments of the method function to automatically reduce the humidity within the treating chamberand control the operation of the humidity reduction device based on the doorposition determination.

High humidity levels, such as above 50-70% relative humidity or higher, for example, may contribute to an increase in the growth of microorganisms in the laundry and within the washing machine. Under normal conditions and expected standards of operation, the high humidity levels are not reached. However, on some occasions, the user may forget to remove the laundry, causing the humidity in the treating chamberto reach the high humidity levels. Also, there may be some moisture within the washing machineeven if the user removed the laundry, but closed the door. The growth of these microorganisms may generate an unpleasant odor that may permeate the laundry and pervade the washing machine. Operation of the humidity reduction device to draw ambient air into the tuband exhaust the air within the tubto the exterior of the washing machinemay decrease the humidity of the environment within the tub, inhibiting the growth of these odor-producing microorganisms. The humidity reduction device may also have an additional benefit of reducing the temperature of the laundry, which also facilitates the inhibition of the growth of microorganisms.

Disclosed or additional controllers and sensors may be able to sense external environmental conditions and load size/load type and adjust the machine parameters to compensate for these conditions. For instance, if the outside environmental conditions are very dry, the predefined time associated for drying may be reduced. Furthermore, if a large load size is detected the predetermined cycle time may be automatically increased.

Referring now to, a flow chart of one embodiment of a methodfor reducing the humidity within the treating chamberis disclosed. The general approach to the methodis that humidity is removed in one of the two conditions: 1) after the dooris opened, and 2) after the dooris opened and then closed. It is presumed that these two conditions of the door are indicative of the removal of the laundry.

The sequence of steps depicted is for illustrative purposes only, and is not meant to limit the methodin any way as it is understood that the steps may proceed in a different logical order, some steps may be omitted or additional or intervening steps may be included without detracting from the invention.

The methodstarts atduring the execution of a cycle of operation with an optional wait period. The cycle of operation may be any cycle of operation, including any one of the several well known cycles of operation, such as a wash cycle or refreshed cycle, to name a couple non-limiting examples.

The wait time atmay be any predetermined time including O minutes. A reducing humidity process atand an optional fluff cycle(explained in details below) may be automatically initiated by the controllerand may be on a predetermined schedule following an event such as determining that the doorwas not opened at. More specifically, it is assumed that the laundry is removed from the treating chamberupon detection of the doorbeing in the open condition at. Thus, if the doorwas not opened at, then the laundry is assumed to still be in the chamber, and if the laundry is left in the chamberfor an extended period of time that may lead to the souring of the laundry with the corresponding unpleasant odor. To address this issue the reducing humidity process may start atby activation of one or more humidity reduction device as described above. The reducing humidity processand the optional fluff cyclemay be performed simultaneously or sequentially. The fluff cyclemay be omitted depending on the settings of the treating applianceand/or user's preferences.