Laundry appliances anti-theft systems and methods

Abstract

A method of operating a laundry appliance includes initiating an operation cycle of the laundry appliance and locking the laundry appliance after initiating the operation cycle of the laundry appliance. The method also includes providing a status notification on a remote user interface device after initiating the operation cycle. The status notification comprising a status of the operation cycle. The method further includes authorizing a user of the laundry appliance via the remote user interface device after providing the status notification.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of operating a laundry appliance, the method comprising:
 performing an operation cycle of the laundry appliance;   locking the laundry appliance during the operation cycle;   providing a status notification on a remote user interface device, the status notification comprising a status of the operation cycle; and   authorizing a user of the laundry appliance via the remote user interface device after providing the status notification.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising unlocking the laundry appliance based on authorizing the user. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving a user input with the remote user interface device after providing the status notification, wherein the step of authorizing the user is performed in response to the user input. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the status notification is a notification that the operation cycle is complete and the status notification is provided after performing the operation cycle. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the status notification is a pause notification and the status notification is provided during the step of performing the operation cycle in response to a pause input received via a local interface of the laundry appliance. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining the remote user interface device is more than a predetermined threshold distance away from the laundry appliance before providing the status notification. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving a user input with the remote user interface device after providing the status notification and keeping the laundry appliance locked in response to the user input. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising, after performing the operation cycle, keeping the laundry appliance locked for a predetermined amount of time. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising, after keeping the laundry appliance locked for the predetermined amount of time, providing a prompt to purchase additional time. 
     
     
         10 . A method of operating a laundry appliance, the method comprising:
 initiating an operation cycle of the laundry appliance;   locking the laundry appliance after initiating the operation cycle of the laundry appliance;   providing a status notification on a remote user interface device after initiating the operation cycle, the status notification comprising a status of the operation cycle; and   authorizing a user of the laundry appliance via the remote user interface device after providing the status notification.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising unlocking the laundry appliance based on authorizing the user. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising receiving a user input with the remote user interface device after providing the status notification, wherein the step of authorizing the user is performed in response to the user input. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising completing the operation cycle, wherein the status notification is a notification that the operation cycle is complete and the status notification is provided after performing the operation cycle. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the status notification is a pause notification and the status notification is provided in response to a pause input received via a local interface of the laundry appliance. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising determining the remote user interface device is more than a predetermined threshold distance away from the laundry appliance before providing the status notification. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising receiving a user input with the remote user interface device after providing the status notification and keeping the laundry appliance locked in response to the user input. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising completing the operation cycle and keeping the laundry appliance locked for a predetermined amount of time after completing the operation cycle. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 8 , further comprising, after keeping the laundry appliance locked for the predetermined amount of time, providing a prompt to purchase additional time.