System and method for dispensing product to a washing machine. A chemical dispensing system includes a system controller, machine interface, and pump controller that communicate through serial data buses. The system controller provides a user interface, retrieves washing machine status information from the machine interface, and issues product dispensing commands to the pump controller. The pump controller monitors pump status and dispenses product in response to commands from the system controller. The pump controller: (1) determines pump activation periods based on calibration data stored in a pump controller memory; (2) tracks pump usage and adjusts the activation period to compensate for pump wear as the pump ages; (3) disables the pump if conditions exists that preclude operating the pump; (4) monitors product levels, and (5) reports pump status to the system controller. Integral channels are included in the pump housing to provide stress relief to a squeeze tube.

A method for indicating a cycle of operation in a laundry treating appliance having a space that includes at least one electrically conductive element disposed in the space and coupled with a controller, the method includes producing in the at least one electrically conductive element the voltage or the current in reaction to the energized e-field apart from the article. Receiving in the controller a signal from the at least one electrically conductive element indicative of a value of a parameter associated with the voltage or the current of the at least one electrically conductive element. And, generating an indication, by the controller, indicative of a cycle of operation and wherein the indication increases or decreases in intensity proportional to the value of the parameter associated with the voltage or the current.

Disclosed herein is a washing machine and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a technology capable of controlling washing modes in various manners by manipulating a control panel of the washing machine. The washing machine includes a display configured to display a washing mode, an inputter configured to receive a washing mode select command, a storage configured to store a selected washing mode, and a controller configured to allow a washing mode, which has the largest number of times selected during a predetermined number of times of washings, to be displayed on a first screen of the display, and in response to the number of the washing mode having the largest number of selection times being plural, configured to allow a washing mode, which is the last selected among the plurality of washing modes, to be displayed on the first screen of the display.

An appliance (10) for drying and/or washing laundry includes an autonomous fire extinction device (20). The fire extinction device has pipe (26) with an elongate shape and closed at both its longitudinal ends (26x). The pipe includes a fusible thermoplastic wall defining an internal space. The pipe is thermoformed to give it a particular shape in the unconstrained free state corresponding to its mounted position inside the enclosure (12). An extinguishing fluid (29) is inside the space, and is configured to be released by fusion of the pipe wall (26) under the effect of heat produced by a fire or an incipient fire.

A dryer including a drum; a heat pump including a compressor, evaporator, condenser, and electronic expansion valve; a user interface; a power module to control power supply to the compressor motor and the drum motor; a duct to receive air from the drum so that the received air flows in the duct to be heated by operation of an evaporator and condenser, and to discharge the heated air to the drum; a plurality of temperature sensors to detect temperature of the heat pump, the power module, and the duct; and a controller configured to identify a factor to be controlled from among a plurality of factors that may cause incomplete drying, based on at least one of output data from the plurality of temperature sensors and opening degree data of the electronic expansion valve, and control the user interface to output a notification of the identified factor to be controlled.

A method of operating a dryer appliance includes activating a heating system of the dryer appliance and tracking an energy output of the heating system. The method also includes determining a load score of a load of articles to be dried in the dryer appliance based on the tracked energy output and determining a termination criterion for a dry operation of the dryer appliance based on the load score. The method further includes performing the dry operation in the dryer appliance and terminating the dry operation when the determined termination criterion is reached.

A dryer appliance includes a microphone for monitoring sound generated during operation of the dryer appliance and a controller is operably coupled to the microphone. The controller is configured for obtaining a sound signal generated during operation of the dryer appliance and converting the sound signal into a spectrogram that represents a sound frequency and a sound amplitude over time. An artificial intelligence image recognition process is used to analyze the spectrogram to identify one or more sound signatures that are associated with particular operating conditions, and operation of the dryer appliance is adjusted based at least in part on the identification of the sound signature.

A laundry treating apparatus may comprise a cabinet that defines an exterior design; a drum rotatably mounted in the cabinet and configured to accommodate laundry; a drive unit or motor configured to rotate the drum; a hot air supply unit or hot air blower configured to supply high-temperature air to the drum and in communication with the drum; a collection portion or liquid chamber provided to collect water condensed from the drum and in communication with the hot air supply unit; and a drainage pump configured to discharge the water collected in the collection portion outside the cabinet such that the laundry treating apparatus may sense whether the condensate collected in the collection portion is frozen and thaw the frozen condensate. A control method of the laundry treating apparatus may be provided to thaw and operate the laundry treating apparatus.

A dryer appliance includes a drum rotatably mounted within a cabinet for receiving a load of clothes during a drying cycle. A temperature sensor measures a temperature of air circulated through the drum and a controller obtains a remaining moisture content of the load of clothes from a washing machine appliance, obtains a measured air temperature using the temperature sensor, determines a restriction level of a vent based at least in part on the measured air temperature, and adjusts at least one operating parameter of the dryer appliance based at least in part on the remaining moisture content and the restriction level.

A method of operating a washing machine appliance is provided. The washing machine appliance includes a rotatable basket and a motor configured to drive the rotatable basket. The method includes sensing an attribute of articles in the basket. The method also includes determining a pause duration for an agitation operation based at least in part on the sensed attribute of the articles in the basket. The method further includes performing the agitation operation for a period of time. The agitation operation includes activating a motor of the washing machine appliance to agitate the articles within the basket for an agitation duration and deactivating the motor of the washing machine appliance for the pause duration. The period of time is equal to the sum of the agitation duration and the pause duration.