US 11,939,720 B2
Laundry folding appliance and automated methods of operating the same
Nasib AlHaffar, Louisville, KY (US); Abdel Hamad, Louisville, KY (US); and Juan Manuel Huerta, Louisville, KY (US)
Assigned to Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc., Wilmington, DE (US)
Filed by Haier US Appliance Solutions, Inc., Wilmington, DE (US)
Filed on Mar. 16, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/203,152.
Prior Publication US 2022/0298721 A1, Sep. 22, 2022
Int. Cl. D06F 89/00 (2006.01); G06F 18/214 (2023.01); G06T 1/00 (2006.01); G06V 20/52 (2022.01)
CPC D06F 89/00 (2013.01) [G06F 18/214 (2023.01); G06T 1/0014 (2013.01); G06V 20/52 (2022.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A laundry folding appliance comprising:
a cabinet;
a fixed plate attached to the cabinet
one or more folding panels rotatably coupled to the fixed plate by one or more hinge mechanisms, the fixed plate and the one or more folding panels at least partially defining a flat folding surface;
an actuating assembly for selectively folding the one or more folding panels;
a camera assembly positioned in view of the flat folding surface; and
a controller operably coupled to the actuating assembly and the camera assembly, the controller being configured to:
obtain one or more images using the camera assembly;
identify a laundry article positioned on the flat folding surface by analyzing the one or more images using a laundry identification model;
determine a folding protocol for folding the laundry article; and
operate the actuating assembly to fold the laundry article in accordance with the folding protocol.