Appliance electronic control system with programmable and reconfigurable fuzzy logic controller

摘要

An electronic control system, particularly adaptable to coin- operated laundry appliances, which enables owners of such machines to customize machine operation. Laundry parameters are stored in random access memory, and timing functions are performed in control logic. Thus, the owner may simply update the information on a computer and download the parameters to individual laundry machines. A portable receiver/transmitter may be utilized to transfer information to the laundry machine controller by way of an infrared communications link. Also disclosed is a reconfigurable fuzzy logic control which is general purpose, having a functionality that may be easily altered in accordance with the type of machine. The structure of the fuzzy logic controller is identical for all applications. Definitions of both fuzzy logic membership functions and fuzzy logic rules are input to the controller as a set of parameters, such that the fuzzy logic controller is programmably reconfigurable without any change in the actual fuzzy logic. In the disclosed embodiment, the reconfigurable and reprogrammable fuzzy logic controller is used for two different purposes, one relating to the control of a washing machine and the other to control of a clothes dryer.