Method of operating a laundry treatment appliance to diagnose faults

Abstract

A laundry treatment appliance includes a cabinet; a tub provided within the cabinet; one or more operational components positioned within the cabinet, each of the one or more operational components being configured to monitor a function within the laundry treatment appliance; and a controller operably coupled with the one or more operational components, the controller being configured to perform an operation. The operation includes initiating a laundry operation within the laundry treatment appliance; detecting a fault within the laundry treatment appliance while performing the laundry operation; performing a postmortem diagnostic sequence at the one or more operational components upon detecting the fault, the postmortem diagnostic sequence including generating a diagnostic report; analyzing the diagnostic report; and implementing a responsive action after analyzing the diagnostic report.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A laundry treatment appliance comprising:
 a cabinet;   a tub provided within the cabinet;   one or more operational components positioned within the cabinet, each of the one or more operational components being configured to monitor a function within the laundry treatment appliance; and   a controller operably coupled with the one or more operational components, the controller being configured to perform an operation, the operation comprising:
 initiating a laundry operation within the laundry treatment appliance; 
 detecting a fault within the laundry treatment appliance while performing the laundry operation; 
 performing a postmortem diagnostic sequence at the one or more operational components upon detecting the fault, the postmortem diagnostic sequence comprising generating a diagnostic report; 
 analyzing the diagnostic report; and 
 implementing a responsive action after analyzing the diagnostic report. 
   
     
     
         2 . The laundry treatment appliance of  claim 1 , wherein performing the postmortem diagnostic sequence comprises:
 classifying the detected fault based on a location of the detected fault; and   initiating a first predetermined postmortem diagnostic sequence of a plurality of postmortem diagnostic sequences in response to classifying the detected fault.   
     
     
         3 . The laundry treatment appliance of  claim 2 , wherein initiating the first predetermined postmortem diagnostic sequence further comprises:
 activating a first operational component of the one or more operational components based on the classified detected fault;   receiving a signal from the first operational component; and   generating the diagnostic report based on the received signal.   
     
     
         4 . The laundry treatment appliance of  claim 3 , wherein the one or more operational components comprise:
 a plurality of sensors comprising a basket speed sensor configured to sense a rotational speed of a wash basket, a pressure sensor configured to sense a water pressure within the tub, a current sensor configured to sense a current draw of a motor connected with the wash basket, and a flow sensor configured to sense a flow of water into the tub;   one or more water valves in fluid communication with the tub; and   a drain pump in fluid communication with the tub.   
     
     
         5 . The laundry treatment appliance of  claim 1 , wherein analyzing the diagnostic report comprises:
 determining a malfunction of at least one of the one or more operational components.   
     
     
         6 . The laundry treatment appliance of  claim 1 , wherein implementing the responsive action comprises:
 storing the diagnostic report within a memory of the laundry treatment appliance.   
     
     
         7 . The laundry treatment appliance of  claim 1 , wherein implementing the responsive action comprises:
 transmitting the diagnostic report to a remote connected device.   
     
     
         8 . The laundry treatment appliance of  claim 1 , wherein implementing the responsive action comprises:
 canceling the laundry operation after performing the postmortem diagnostic sequence.   
     
     
         9 . The laundry treatment appliance of  claim 1 , wherein implementing the responsive action comprises:
 providing a notification to a user, the notification comprising the detected fault.   
     
     
         10 . A method of operating a laundry treatment appliance, the laundry treatment appliance comprising a tub and one or more operational components, each of the one or more operational components being configured to monitor a function within the laundry treatment appliance, the method comprising:
 initiating a laundry operation within the laundry treatment appliance;   detecting a fault within the laundry treatment appliance while performing the laundry operation;   performing a postmortem diagnostic sequence at the one or more operational components upon detecting the fault, the postmortem diagnostic sequence comprising generating a diagnostic report;   analyzing the diagnostic report; and   implementing a responsive action after analyzing the diagnostic report.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein performing the postmortem diagnostic sequence comprises:
 classifying the detected fault based on a location of the detected fault; and   initiating a first predetermined postmortem diagnostic sequence of a plurality of postmortem diagnostic sequences in response to classifying the detected fault.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein initiating the first predetermined postmortem diagnostic sequence further comprises:
 activating a first operational component of the one or more operational components based on the classified detected fault;   receiving a signal from the first operational component; and   generating the diagnostic report based on the received signal.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the one or more operational components comprise:
 a plurality of sensors comprising a basket speed sensor configured to sense a rotational speed of a wash basket, a pressure sensor configured to sense a water pressure within the tub, a current sensor configured to sense a current draw of a motor connected with the wash basket, and a flow sensor configured to sense a flow of water into the tub;   one or more water valves in fluid communication with the tub; and   a drain pump in fluid communication with the tub.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein analyzing the diagnostic report comprises: determining a malfunction of at least one of the one or more operational components. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein implementing the responsive action comprises: storing the diagnostic report within a memory of the laundry treatment appliance. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein implementing the responsive action comprises: transmitting the diagnostic report to a remote connected device. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein implementing the responsive action comprises: canceling the laundry operation after performing the postmortem diagnostic sequence. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein implementing the responsive action comprises:
 providing a notification to a user, the notification comprising the detected fault.