A method for washing laundry in a laundry washing machine comprising a washing tub external to a washing drum and an electrical conductivity detecting device. The method comprises the steps of comparing a first measured conductivity with a first threshold and comparing a second measured conductivity with a second threshold for performing one or more actions based on the result of said first comparison step and/or said second comparison step. The value of said second threshold is lower than the value of said first threshold.

A method for washing laundry in a laundry washing machine comprising a washing tub external to a washing drum and a turbidity detecting device. The method comprises determining the soil level of the laundry by means of measurement of turbidity through the turbidity detecting device and performing at least one soil removal phase if the soil level is high.

A washing machine appliance includes a wash basket that is rotatably mounted within a wash tub and that defines a wash chamber for receiving a load of clothes. A camera assembly is mounted within the wash tub for taking images of the load of clothes during and/or after a wash or rinse cycle. A controller is operably coupled to the camera for obtaining and analyzing the images using a neural network image recognition process (such as an R-CNN process) to determine a whether the level of suds or bubbles exceeds a suds threshold. If there are too many suds in the wash tub, the controller may implement corrective action, e.g., by decreasing a water temperature, adding more water, or reducing the amount of detergent that is auto-dispensed in a subsequent wash cycle.

A washing machine appliance includes a wash basket that is rotatably mounted within a wash tub and that defines a wash chamber for receiving a load of clothes. A camera assembly is mounted within the wash tub for taking images of the load of clothes during and/or after a wash or rinse cycle. A controller is operably coupled to the camera for obtaining and analyzing the images using a neural network image recognition process (such as an R-CNN process) to determine a whether the level of suds or bubbles exceeds a suds threshold. If there are too many suds in the wash tub, the controller may implement corrective action, e.g., by decreasing a water temperature, adding more water, or reducing the amount of detergent that is auto-dispensed in a subsequent wash cycle.

According to various embodiments, a sensor device may comprise: an energy harvester configured to generate electrical energy; an energy storage circuit configured to store the generated electrical energy; a monitoring circuit; a sensor; a communication circuit; and at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to identify a voltage of the energy storage circuit through the monitoring circuit, operate in a first mode in response to identification that the voltage is equal to or lower than a threshold value, operate in a second mode which consumes more power than the first mode, in response to identification that the voltage exceeds the threshold value, acquire a sensing value through the sensor according to a sensing scheme corresponding to one of the first mode and the second mode, and control the communication circuit to transmit the voltage and the sensing value to another electronic device according to the communication scheme corresponding to one of the first mode and the second mode. Various other embodiments are possible.

A washing machine appliance is provided including a sump positioned at a bottom of a wash tub for collecting wash fluid, a drain pump assembly for selectively draining the sump, a measurement device configured for measuring movement of the wash tub, and a water level detection system comprising a pressure sensor fluidly coupled to the sump. A controller is configured to operate the drain pump assembly to drain the wash fluid, measure the movement of the wash tub using the measurement device, measure a water level within the sump using the water level detection system, and identify a fault condition in the water level detection system upon determining that the measured movement indicates that the sump is empty and the measured water level indicates that the sump is not empty.

Laundry washing machine (1) has an outer casing (2), a washing tub (3), arranged inside the casing (2), a rotatable drum (4), arranged in axially rotating manner inside the washing tub (3) and is designed to receive laundry to be washed. The machine further has a detergent dispensing assembly (12), designed for supplying laundry detergent into the washing tub (3), a water softening system (14), designed to receive fresh water from a water mains (13) and reduce the hardness degree of the fresh water in order to supply softened water to the detergent dispensing assembly (12) and/or to the washing tub (3), during one or more softened water laundry washing phases. The machine further has a control panel (28) configured to allow operator to input information associated with a laundry washing course having one or more softened water laundry washing phase/s; and a controller (15) configured to determine a time saving value (tSi) of one or more laundry washing phases of the washing courses to be performed, based on the softened water laundry washing phase/s of said laundry washing course.

An appliance having: a control unit managing the operation of the appliance; at least one hydraulic component actionable for distributing water/treating liquids within the appliance; a plurality of sensors arranged for acquiring information regarding physical parameters associated with the operation of the appliance, and a module managing at least part of the water/treating liquids distribution within the appliance. The module includes the at least one hydraulic component; at least two sensors of the plurality of sensors, and a local control unit managing the operation of the at least one hydraulic component and/or receiving the information acquired by the at least two sensors.

A washing machine may reflect a preference of a user regarding use of an additive. The washing machine may include an additive supplying part coupled to a washing tub to supply an additive to the washing tub, a concentration sensor configured to sense a scent concentration of an additive measured in the washing tub, and a controller configured to switch the washing tub to an additional laundry cycle mode according to the scent concentration sensed by the concentration sensor.

A device (1) is provided for capturing at least one process variable in a liquid-carrying work chamber (2) of a cleaning machine (3), in particular a washing machine (4) and/or dishwasher (15). The device includes a sensor unit (5) configured to capture the process variable and is designed for detachable arrangement in the work chamber (2).