Method And Apparatus For Treating Laundry

Abstract

A laundry treatment method and apparatus are provided. The laundry treatment method includes (a) measuring the amount of detergent in wash water in a tub during a rinsing operation; and (b) automatically determining whether to continue performing the rinsing operation based on a plurality of operating variables including the amount of detergent in the wash water.

1 . A laundry treatment method comprising:
 (a) measuring the amount of detergent in wash water in a tub during a rinsing operation; and   (b) automatically determining whether to continue performing the rinsing operation based on a plurality of operating variables including the amount of detergent in the wash water.   
     
     
         2 . The laundry treatment method of  claim 1 , wherein the operating variables also include the weight of laundry and a user manipulation signal. 
     
     
         3 . The laundry treatment method of  claim 1 , further comprising, if it is determined to continue performing the rinsing operation, (d) discharging the wash water from the tub, supplying wash water into the tub, and rinsing the laundry again. 
     
     
         4 . The laundry treatment method of  claim 1 , further comprising, if it is determined to continue performing the rinsing operation, (c) determining at least one of the water level in the tub, the rotation speed of a drum and the duration of a spin-drying process. 
     
     
         5 . The laundry treatment method of  claim 1 , further comprising, if is determined to continue performing the rinsing operation, (e) counting the total number of times a rinsing process has been performed and comparing the result of the counting with a predefined value. 
     
     
         6 . The laundry treatment method of  claim 1 , further comprising (f) outputting information regarding the amount of detergent remained in the wash water. 
     
     
         7 . A laundry treatment apparatus comprising:
 a tub in which wash water for washing laundry is loaded;   a wash water sensing apparatus which measures the amount of detergent remained in the wash water; and   an alarm device which outputs information regarding the amount of detergent remained in the wash water.   
     
     
         8 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the wash water sensing apparatus comprises a sealing cover, which is coupled to a tub by being inserted into a hole of the tub and includes a through hole, and a sensor body, which includes a plurality of electrodes for measuring the conductivity of wash water and is coupled to the sealing cover by being inserted into the through hole. 
     
     
         9 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the alarm device comprises an audio output unit which outputs audio data regarding the amount of detergent remained in the wash water. 
     
     
         10 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the alarm device comprises a display unit which displays the information regarding the amount of detergent remained in the wash water. 
     
     
         11 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising a control unit which automatically determines whether to continue performing a rinsing operation based on measurement data provided by the wash water sensing apparatus regarding the amount of detergent in the wash water.