US20140007680A1 - Method for determining imbalance in drum washing machine - Google Patents
Method for determining imbalance in drum washing machine Download PDFInfo
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- US20140007680A1 US20140007680A1 US14/008,531 US201214008531A US2014007680A1 US 20140007680 A1 US20140007680 A1 US 20140007680A1 US 201214008531 A US201214008531 A US 201214008531A US 2014007680 A1 US2014007680 A1 US 2014007680A1
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- rpm
- motor
- imbalance
- rotation section
- laundry
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- 238000005406 washing Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 32
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 title claims abstract description 31
- 238000001035 drying Methods 0.000 claims description 20
- XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N water Substances O XLYOFNOQVPJJNP-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 claims description 15
- 238000005259 measurement Methods 0.000 claims description 6
- 239000006260 foam Substances 0.000 claims description 5
- 239000012141 concentrate Substances 0.000 claims 1
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 4
- 238000013019 agitation Methods 0.000 description 3
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000010009 beating Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000007796 conventional method Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000012986 modification Methods 0.000 description 1
- 230000004048 modification Effects 0.000 description 1
- 238000002791 soaking Methods 0.000 description 1
Images
Classifications
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- D06F37/203—
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
- D06F33/00—Control of operations performed in washing machines or washer-dryers
- D06F33/30—Control of washing machines characterised by the purpose or target of the control
- D06F33/48—Preventing or reducing imbalance or noise
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
- D06F34/00—Details of control systems for washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
- D06F34/14—Arrangements for detecting or measuring specific parameters
- D06F34/16—Imbalance
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
- D06F37/00—Details specific to washing machines covered by groups D06F21/00 - D06F25/00
- D06F37/30—Driving arrangements
- D06F37/304—Arrangements or adaptations of electric motors
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
- D06F2103/00—Parameters monitored or detected for the control of domestic laundry washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
- D06F2103/24—Spin speed; Drum movements
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
- D06F2103/00—Parameters monitored or detected for the control of domestic laundry washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
- D06F2103/26—Imbalance; Noise level
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
- D06F2105/00—Systems or parameters controlled or affected by the control systems of washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
- D06F2105/46—Drum speed; Actuation of motors, e.g. starting or interrupting
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
- D06F2105/00—Systems or parameters controlled or affected by the control systems of washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
- D06F2105/46—Drum speed; Actuation of motors, e.g. starting or interrupting
- D06F2105/48—Drum speed
-
- D—TEXTILES; PAPER
- D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
- D06F2105/00—Systems or parameters controlled or affected by the control systems of washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
- D06F2105/52—Changing sequence of operational steps; Carrying out additional operational steps; Modifying operational steps, e.g. by extending duration of steps
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a drum washing machine, and more particularly, to an imbalance determination method for a drum washing machine, which determines whether an imbalance occurs or not using a rotational speed (e.g., RPM) for each rotation section and an RPM variation during a spin-drying process.
- a rotational speed e.g., RPM
- washing machines may be classified as a pulsator washing machine and a drum washing machine.
- the pulsator washing machine is a water tank-type washing machine which rotates a washing tub on a vertical axis, and rotates a pulsator to agitate and wash laundry items dipped or at least partially immersed in wash water of the washing tub.
- the drum washing machine washes laundry items using a force that is caused when the laundry items fall downward after a horizontal drum housing the laundry items therein is rotated to move the laundry items upward, and a frictional force between the rotating drum and the laundry items is imparted to the laundry items.
- Conventional drum washing machines perform a balance spin-drying process such that laundry items adhere on an inner wall of the drum before the main spin-drying process is performed.
- the imbalance determination may be erroneous or not performed in a normal manner.
- the present invention can solve such problems, and an aspect of the invention is to provide a method for determining an imbalance in a drum washing machine, which additionally determines a rotational speed (e.g., an RPM) for each rotation section, as well as a variation of an RPM for each rotation section, and determines whether or not an imbalance occurs during the spin-drying process.
- a rotational speed e.g., an RPM
- a method for determining an imbalance in a drum washing machine includes: increasing an RPM of a motor to a target RPM, and then measuring a rotational speed (e.g., an RPM) for each rotation section; comparing the rotational speed (e.g., RPM) for each rotation section to an RPM limit to obtain a comparison result; and determining whether or not an imbalance occurs, according to the comparison result.
- a rotational speed e.g., an RPM
- Determining whether or not the imbalance occurs may include determining that the imbalance occurs when the RPM for each rotation section deviates from the RPM limit.
- Determining whether or not the imbalance occurs may further include determining a variation of the RPM for each rotation section when the RPM for each rotation section falls within the RPM limit.
- both the rotational speed (e.g., RPM) for each rotation section and the variation of the RPM for each rotation section are determined to improve the precision of the imbalance determination.
- FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a device for determining an imbalance of a drum washing machine in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention
- FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining an imbalance determination method for a drum washing machine in accordance with embodiment(s) of the present invention
- FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating the RPM of a motor during a balance spin-drying process in accordance with embodiment(s) of the present invention.
- FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating rotation sections of a drum in accordance with embodiment(s) of the present invention.
- FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an imbalance determination device of a drum washing machine in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention.
- the imbalance determination device in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention includes a control unit 10 , a motor 20 , and a load measurement unit 30 .
- the motor 20 serves to rotate a drum of the washing machine (not illustrated).
- the motor 20 may include a universal motor, for example, configured to rotate the drum.
- the motor 20 may be directly installed on the center axis of the drum (e.g., a direct-drive motor that directly drives an axle to which the drum is fixed or attached) or installed at one side of the tub (e.g., a belt-drive motor that drives a belt that, in turn, drives a wheel and/or axle to which the drum is fixed or attached).
- a power transmission device not illustrated, for example, a belt, a belt pulley or gear.
- the load measurement unit 30 serves to measure the load of the motor 20 , which is caused by rotations of the drum.
- control unit 10 When a spin-drying process is started, the control unit 10 performs a balance spin-drying process and a main spin-drying process while controlling the motor 20 .
- the main spin-drying process refers to a process of rotating the drum at high speed so as to remove wash water soaking into laundry items.
- the balance spin-drying process refers to a process of measuring an imbalance value to determine whether or not an imbalance occurs, while laundry items adhere on the inner wall of the drum (as a result of rotational force) before the main spin-drying process is performed.
- the balance spin-drying process includes an agitation operation, a laundry adherence operation, a water removal operation, and an imbalance determination operation.
- the agitation operation agitates laundry items within the drum so that the laundry items are not concentrated onto one side of the drum.
- the laundry adherence operation determines whether or not an imbalance occurs when the laundry items adhere to the inner wall of the drum (e.g., during relatively low-speed rotation of the drum).
- the water removal operation removes wash water and/or foam from the laundry items.
- the imbalance determination operation determines whether or not an imbalance occurs after the water removal operation.
- the motor 20 is rotated at a target rotation speed so that the laundry items adhere on the inner wall of the drum. Then, the RPM of the motor 20 is measured on the basis of the load of the motor 20 as measured by the load measurement unit 30 , and whether an imbalance occurs is determined on the basis of the RPM of the motor 20 .
- the control unit 10 measures the RPM of the motor 20 for a plurality of rotation sections of the drum (e.g., each rotation section). The control unit 10 determines whether or not the RPM measured for each of the plurality of rotation sections falls within a RPM limit. When the RPM deviates from the RPM limit, the control unit 10 determines that an imbalance occurs.
- a variation of the RPM measured for each rotation section of the drum is compared to a preset value so as to determine whether or not an imbalance occurs.
- the RPM for each rotation section can be used in addition to the variation of the RPM for each rotation section to determine whether or not an imbalance occurs.
- the RPM limit may be within 10% of the target RPM.
- FIGS. 2 , 3 and 4 a method for determining an imbalance in a drum washing machine in accordance with embodiment(s) of the present invention will be described in detail.
- FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the method for determining an imbalance in a drum washing machine in accordance with embodiment(s) of the present invention.
- FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating the rotational speed of the motor (in RPM) during a balance spin-drying process in accordance with embodiment(s) of the present invention.
- FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating rotation sections of the drum in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
- the control unit 10 controls the motor 20 to increase the RPM of the motor 20 to 45 RPM, thereby agitating the drum in the side-to-side direction, at step S 10 .
- the motor may rotate the drum at a speed of from 25 to 75 RPM.
- control unit 10 increases the RPM of the motor 20 to the target RPM and checks whether or not the RPM of the motor 20 reaches the target RPM, at steps S 20 and S 30 .
- the target RPM may be a value of from 50 to 150 RPM (e.g., 95 RPM).
- the target RPM is not limited to 95 RPM, but may be set to a speed at which the laundry items adhere on the inner wall of the drum.
- the control unit 10 When the RPM of the motor 20 reaches the target RPM, the control unit 10 does not control the motor 20 .
- the motor 20 and drum are allowed to freely rotate (e.g., by inertia).
- the load measurement unit 30 measures the load of the motor 20 for each of a plurality of rotation sections of the motor 20
- the control unit 10 measures an RPM (e.g., of the drum) for each rotation section based on the load of the motor 20 , at step S 40 .
- the number of rotation sections is 2 ⁇ M or 4 ⁇ N, where M is an integer of from 1 to 12 (e.g., from 3 to 8), and M is an integer of from 1 to 6 (e.g., from 2 to 4).
- the rotation of the motor 20 (or the rotation of the drum corresponding to the rotational drive of the motor 20 ) is divided into a plurality of rotation sections depending on the rotation angle of the motor 20 , and the RPM of the motor 20 is measured for each rotation section.
- the motor 20 includes 12 rotation sections A to L, obtained by dividing the rotational cycle of the motor 20 by 30 degrees.
- the RPM for each rotation section may be measured and compared to the RPM limit so as to determine whether or not the RPM for each rotation section falls within the RPM limit, at step S 50 .
- control unit 10 determines that an imbalance occurs, at step S 90 .
- control unit 10 may check whether or not the RPM for each rotation section falls within the RPM limit, and reflect an error caused by motion of the tub, thereby improving the precision and/or accuracy of the imbalance determination.
- the variation of the RPM for each rotation section is a difference in RPM between the respective rotation sections.
- the variation may include a difference in RPM between the rotation sections A and B or a difference in RPM between the rotation sections B and C as illustrated in FIG. 4 .
- the preset value is a reference value for determining whether an imbalance occurs.
- the control unit 10 may determine that an imbalance occurs.
- the variation across all of the plurality of rotation sections may be determined and compared to a preset value, and if the variation of the RPM across all rotation sections deviates from the preset value, it may indicate that an RPM in one rotation section is significantly different in comparison to an RPM in another rotation section.
- control unit 10 determines that an imbalance does not occur at step S 80 , and when the variation of the RPM for each rotation section exceeds the preset value, the control unit 10 determines that an imbalance occurs at step S 90 .
- the control unit 10 When it is determined that an imbalance does not occur, the control unit 10 increases the RPM of the motor 20 to perform the water removal operation, and when it is determined that an imbalance occurs, the control unit 10 performs the balance spin-drying process again.
- the preset or target RPM for the water removal operation is higher than the target RPM for the imbalance determination, and may be a value of from 125 to 250 RPM (e.g., 180 RPM), and the preset or target RPM for the second imbalance determination may be the same as the first imbalance determination (e.g., during the laundry adherence operation).
- the preset or target RPM for the main spin-drying process is higher than the preset or target RPM for the imbalance determination(s) and the water removal operation, and may be a value of from 200 to 400 RPM (e.g., 300 RPM), but is not limited to this value or range. Rather, it may be set to a speed at which free water is substantially removed from the laundry items.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Textile Engineering (AREA)
- Control Of Washing Machine And Dryer (AREA)
- Accessory Of Washing/Drying Machine, Commercial Washing/Drying Machine, Other Washing/Drying Machine (AREA)
Abstract
A method for determining an imbalance in a drum washing machine includes increasing a rotational speed of a motor of the drum washing machine to a target RPM, and then measuring an RPM for each rotation section; comparing the RPM for each rotation section to an RPM limit to obtain a comparison result; and determining whether an imbalance occurs according to the comparison result.
Description
- The present invention relates to a drum washing machine, and more particularly, to an imbalance determination method for a drum washing machine, which determines whether an imbalance occurs or not using a rotational speed (e.g., RPM) for each rotation section and an RPM variation during a spin-drying process.
- In general, washing machines may be classified as a pulsator washing machine and a drum washing machine.
- The pulsator washing machine is a water tank-type washing machine which rotates a washing tub on a vertical axis, and rotates a pulsator to agitate and wash laundry items dipped or at least partially immersed in wash water of the washing tub.
- The drum washing machine washes laundry items using a force that is caused when the laundry items fall downward after a horizontal drum housing the laundry items therein is rotated to move the laundry items upward, and a frictional force between the rotating drum and the laundry items is imparted to the laundry items.
- In particular, when the drum washing machine is used, damage to laundry items may be reduced, the laundry items may not get tangled, and a washing effect of beating and rubbing the laundry items may be achieved. Recently, the drum washing machine is frequently used.
- The above-described configuration is background for helping an understanding of the present invention, and does not necessarily mean that it is widely known in the technical field to which the present invention pertains.
- Conventional drum washing machines perform a balance spin-drying process such that laundry items adhere on an inner wall of the drum before the main spin-drying process is performed.
- During the balance spin-drying process, whether an imbalance occurs or not is determined. When a balancer attached to the tub has a small weight, the tub supporting the drum is moved according to the rotation of the drum.
- However, since the occurrence of the imbalance is determined based on only a variation in RPM for each rotation section, the increase and decrease in RPM caused by motion of the tub may not be sufficiently reflected. Thus, the imbalance determination may be erroneous or not performed in a normal manner.
- The present invention can solve such problems, and an aspect of the invention is to provide a method for determining an imbalance in a drum washing machine, which additionally determines a rotational speed (e.g., an RPM) for each rotation section, as well as a variation of an RPM for each rotation section, and determines whether or not an imbalance occurs during the spin-drying process.
- According to an aspect of the invention, a method for determining an imbalance in a drum washing machine includes: increasing an RPM of a motor to a target RPM, and then measuring a rotational speed (e.g., an RPM) for each rotation section; comparing the rotational speed (e.g., RPM) for each rotation section to an RPM limit to obtain a comparison result; and determining whether or not an imbalance occurs, according to the comparison result.
- Determining whether or not the imbalance occurs may include determining that the imbalance occurs when the RPM for each rotation section deviates from the RPM limit.
- Determining whether or not the imbalance occurs may further include determining a variation of the RPM for each rotation section when the RPM for each rotation section falls within the RPM limit.
- When the variation of the RPM for each rotation section falls within a preset value, it may be determined that the imbalance does not occur.
- When the variation of the RPM for each rotation section exceeds a preset value, it may be determined that the imbalance occurred.
- According to one or more embodiments of the invention, both the rotational speed (e.g., RPM) for each rotation section and the variation of the RPM for each rotation section are determined to improve the precision of the imbalance determination.
- The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
-
FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of a device for determining an imbalance of a drum washing machine in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention; -
FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining an imbalance determination method for a drum washing machine in accordance with embodiment(s) of the present invention; -
FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating the RPM of a motor during a balance spin-drying process in accordance with embodiment(s) of the present invention; and -
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating rotation sections of a drum in accordance with embodiment(s) of the present invention. - Embodiments of the invention will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the drawings may not be to precise scale and may be exaggerated in thickness of lines or sizes of components for descriptive convenience and clarity only. Furthermore, the terms as used herein are defined by taking functions of the invention into account and can be changed according to the custom or intention of users or operators. Therefore, definition of the terms should be made according to the overall disclosures set forth herein.
-
FIG. 1 is a block configuration diagram of an imbalance determination device of a drum washing machine in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention. - Referring to
FIG. 1 , the imbalance determination device in accordance with one or more embodiments of the present invention includes acontrol unit 10, amotor 20, and aload measurement unit 30. - The
motor 20 serves to rotate a drum of the washing machine (not illustrated). Themotor 20 may include a universal motor, for example, configured to rotate the drum. - The
motor 20 may be directly installed on the center axis of the drum (e.g., a direct-drive motor that directly drives an axle to which the drum is fixed or attached) or installed at one side of the tub (e.g., a belt-drive motor that drives a belt that, in turn, drives a wheel and/or axle to which the drum is fixed or attached). When themotor 20 is installed at one side of the tub, torque generated by themotor 20 is transmitted through a power transmission device (not illustrated), for example, a belt, a belt pulley or gear. - The
load measurement unit 30 serves to measure the load of themotor 20, which is caused by rotations of the drum. - When a spin-drying process is started, the
control unit 10 performs a balance spin-drying process and a main spin-drying process while controlling themotor 20. - The main spin-drying process refers to a process of rotating the drum at high speed so as to remove wash water soaking into laundry items.
- The balance spin-drying process refers to a process of measuring an imbalance value to determine whether or not an imbalance occurs, while laundry items adhere on the inner wall of the drum (as a result of rotational force) before the main spin-drying process is performed.
- The balance spin-drying process includes an agitation operation, a laundry adherence operation, a water removal operation, and an imbalance determination operation. The agitation operation agitates laundry items within the drum so that the laundry items are not concentrated onto one side of the drum. The laundry adherence operation determines whether or not an imbalance occurs when the laundry items adhere to the inner wall of the drum (e.g., during relatively low-speed rotation of the drum). The water removal operation removes wash water and/or foam from the laundry items. The imbalance determination operation determines whether or not an imbalance occurs after the water removal operation.
- In particular, during the laundry adherence operation and the imbalance determination operation, the
motor 20 is rotated at a target rotation speed so that the laundry items adhere on the inner wall of the drum. Then, the RPM of themotor 20 is measured on the basis of the load of themotor 20 as measured by theload measurement unit 30, and whether an imbalance occurs is determined on the basis of the RPM of themotor 20. - The
control unit 10 measures the RPM of themotor 20 for a plurality of rotation sections of the drum (e.g., each rotation section). Thecontrol unit 10 determines whether or not the RPM measured for each of the plurality of rotation sections falls within a RPM limit. When the RPM deviates from the RPM limit, thecontrol unit 10 determines that an imbalance occurs. - In the conventional method, a variation of the RPM measured for each rotation section of the drum is compared to a preset value so as to determine whether or not an imbalance occurs. However, according to embodiment(s) of the present invention, when the variation of the RPM for each rotation section falls within the preset value, the RPM for each rotation section can be used in addition to the variation of the RPM for each rotation section to determine whether or not an imbalance occurs. Thus, it is possible to improve the precision and/or accuracy of the imbalance determination.
- On the other hand, when the RPM measured for each of the plurality of rotation sections falls within the RPM limit, a variation of the RPM for each rotation section may be extracted, and whether or not the variation is within the preset value may be determined. Then, whether an imbalance occurs or not is determined according to the determination result.
- The RPM limit may be within 10% of the target RPM.
- Referring to
FIGS. 2 , 3 and 4, a method for determining an imbalance in a drum washing machine in accordance with embodiment(s) of the present invention will be described in detail. -
FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the method for determining an imbalance in a drum washing machine in accordance with embodiment(s) of the present invention.FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating the rotational speed of the motor (in RPM) during a balance spin-drying process in accordance with embodiment(s) of the present invention.FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating rotation sections of the drum in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. - Referring to
FIG. 2 , thecontrol unit 10 controls themotor 20 to increase the RPM of themotor 20 to 45 RPM, thereby agitating the drum in the side-to-side direction, at step S10. Thus, laundry items within the drum are uniformly spread so as not to be concentrated on one side of the Wb. However, during the agitation operation, the motor may rotate the drum at a speed of from 25 to 75 RPM. - Then, the
control unit 10 increases the RPM of themotor 20 to the target RPM and checks whether or not the RPM of themotor 20 reaches the target RPM, at steps S20 and S30. - The target RPM may be a value of from 50 to 150 RPM (e.g., 95 RPM). The target RPM is not limited to 95 RPM, but may be set to a speed at which the laundry items adhere on the inner wall of the drum.
- When the RPM of the
motor 20 reaches the target RPM, thecontrol unit 10 does not control themotor 20. Themotor 20 and drum are allowed to freely rotate (e.g., by inertia). At this time, theload measurement unit 30 measures the load of themotor 20 for each of a plurality of rotation sections of themotor 20, and thecontrol unit 10 measures an RPM (e.g., of the drum) for each rotation section based on the load of themotor 20, at step S40. In various embodiments, the number of rotation sections is 2×M or 4×N, where M is an integer of from 1 to 12 (e.g., from 3 to 8), and M is an integer of from 1 to 6 (e.g., from 2 to 4). - Referring to
FIG. 4 , the rotation of the motor 20 (or the rotation of the drum corresponding to the rotational drive of the motor 20) is divided into a plurality of rotation sections depending on the rotation angle of themotor 20, and the RPM of themotor 20 is measured for each rotation section. - In one embodiment, the
motor 20 includes 12 rotation sections A to L, obtained by dividing the rotational cycle of themotor 20 by 30 degrees. - In this way, the RPM for each rotation section may be measured and compared to the RPM limit so as to determine whether or not the RPM for each rotation section falls within the RPM limit, at step S50.
- When the RPM for each rotation section deviates from the RPM limit, the
control unit 10 determines that an imbalance occurs, at step S90. - As such, the
control unit 10 may check whether or not the RPM for each rotation section falls within the RPM limit, and reflect an error caused by motion of the tub, thereby improving the precision and/or accuracy of the imbalance determination. - When the RPM for each rotation section falls within the RPM limit, a variation of the RPM for each rotation section is extracted at step S60.
- The variation of the RPM for each rotation section is a difference in RPM between the respective rotation sections. For example, the variation may include a difference in RPM between the rotation sections A and B or a difference in RPM between the rotation sections B and C as illustrated in
FIG. 4 . - When the variation of the RPM for each rotation section is extracted, whether the variation of the RPM for each of the plurality of rotation sections falls within a preset value is determined at step S70. The preset value is a reference value for determining whether an imbalance occurs. When the variation of the RPM for each rotation section deviates from the preset value, it may indicate that an RPM in a next rotation section is significantly different in comparison to an RPM in a current rotation section. In this case, the
control unit 10 may determine that an imbalance occurs. Alternatively or additionally, the variation across all of the plurality of rotation sections may be determined and compared to a preset value, and if the variation of the RPM across all rotation sections deviates from the preset value, it may indicate that an RPM in one rotation section is significantly different in comparison to an RPM in another rotation section. - Thus, when the variation of the RPM for each rotation section falls within the preset value, the
control unit 10 determines that an imbalance does not occur at step S80, and when the variation of the RPM for each rotation section exceeds the preset value, thecontrol unit 10 determines that an imbalance occurs at step S90. - When it is determined that an imbalance does not occur, the
control unit 10 increases the RPM of themotor 20 to perform the water removal operation, and when it is determined that an imbalance occurs, thecontrol unit 10 performs the balance spin-drying process again. The preset or target RPM for the water removal operation is higher than the target RPM for the imbalance determination, and may be a value of from 125 to 250 RPM (e.g., 180 RPM), and the preset or target RPM for the second imbalance determination may be the same as the first imbalance determination (e.g., during the laundry adherence operation). The preset or target RPM for the main spin-drying process is higher than the preset or target RPM for the imbalance determination(s) and the water removal operation, and may be a value of from 200 to 400 RPM (e.g., 300 RPM), but is not limited to this value or range. Rather, it may be set to a speed at which free water is substantially removed from the laundry items. - Although some embodiments have been provided to illustrate the invention in conjunction with the drawings, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments are given by way of illustration only, and that various modifications and equivalent embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The scope of the invention should be limited only by the accompanying claims.
Claims (19)
1. A method for determining an imbalance in a drum washing machine, comprising:
increasing a rotational speed of a motor of the drum washing machine to a target RPM, and then measuring an RPM for each rotation section of the motor;
comparing the RPM for each rotation section to an RPM limit to obtain a comparison result; and
determining whether an imbalance occurs according to the comparison result.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the imbalance occurs comprises determining that the imbalance occurs when the RPM for each rotation section deviates from the RPM limit.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the imbalance occurs further comprises determining a variation of the RPM for each rotation section when the RPM for each rotation section falls within the RPM limit.
4. The method of claim 3 , wherein when the variation of the RPM for each rotation section falls within a preset value, the imbalance does not occur.
5. The method of claim 3 , wherein when the variation of the RPM for each rotation section exceeds a preset value, the imbalance occurs.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the drum washing machine further comprises a control unit, a drum rotated by the motor, and a load measurement unit.
7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the control unit controls the motor and measures the rotational speed of the motor.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the load measurement unit measures a load of the motor caused by rotational movement of the drum.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the target RPM is a value of from 50 to 150 RPM.
10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
allowing the motor and drum to freely rotate when the motor reaches the target RPM,
measuring a load of the motor for each of a plurality of rotation sections of the motor, and
measuring a rotational speed for each of the plurality of rotation sections based on the load of the motor.
11. A method of spin-drying laundry in a drum washing machine, comprising:
balance spin-drying the laundry by a process comprising:
determining an imbalance in the drum washing machine according to the method of claim 1 , and
removing wash water and/or foam from the laundry when no imbalance occurs; and
main spin-drying the laundry at a rotational speed higher than the target RPM.
12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising determining the imbalance when the laundry adheres to an inner wall of a drum rotated by the motor.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the target RPM is a value of from 50 to 150 RPM.
14. The method of claim 11 , further comprising agitating the laundry at a rotational speed less than the target RPM so that the laundry items do not concentrate onto one side of a drum rotated by the motor.
15. The method of claim 11 , further comprising, after removing wash water and/or foam from the laundry, determining again whether an imbalance occurs in the drum washing machine.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein determining again whether an imbalance occurs in the drum washing machine comprises:
changing the rotational speed of the motor to the target RPM, and then measuring a second RPM for each rotation section of the motor;
comparing the second RPM for each rotation section to the RPM limit to obtain a second comparison result; and
determining whether the imbalance occurs according to the second comparison result.
17. The method of claim 15 , wherein wash water and/or foam is removed from the laundry at a rotational speed higher than the target RPM.
18. The method of claim 17 , wherein wash water and/or foam is removed from the laundry at a rotational speed of from 125 to 250 RPM.
19. The method of claim 11 , wherein main spin-drying the laundry is performed at 200 to 400 RPM.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
KR10-2011-0027484 | 2011-03-28 | ||
KR20110027484 | 2011-03-28 | ||
PCT/KR2012/002212 WO2012134141A2 (en) | 2011-03-28 | 2012-03-27 | Method for determining imbalance in drum washing machine |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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US20140007680A1 true US20140007680A1 (en) | 2014-01-09 |
Family
ID=46932102
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US14/008,531 Abandoned US20140007680A1 (en) | 2011-03-28 | 2012-03-27 | Method for determining imbalance in drum washing machine |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
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US (1) | US20140007680A1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP2692928A4 (en) |
KR (1) | KR20120110047A (en) |
CN (1) | CN103459700B (en) |
WO (1) | WO2012134141A2 (en) |
Cited By (2)
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CN106996005A (en) * | 2017-03-28 | 2017-08-01 | 青岛海尔滚筒洗衣机有限公司 | A kind of roller washing machine is distributed dehydration controlling method |
JP2020150676A (en) * | 2019-03-13 | 2020-09-17 | 株式会社安川電機 | Power converter, washing machine and power conversion method |
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KR102253314B1 (en) * | 2014-02-19 | 2021-05-17 | 엘지전자 주식회사 | Washing method |
KR102325965B1 (en) | 2017-03-27 | 2021-11-11 | 엘지전자 주식회사 | Spinning Course Control Method of Laundry Treatment Machine |
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EP2692928A2 (en) | 2014-02-05 |
WO2012134141A3 (en) | 2013-01-03 |
EP2692928A4 (en) | 2014-12-03 |
KR20120110047A (en) | 2012-10-09 |
WO2012134141A2 (en) | 2012-10-04 |
CN103459700A (en) | 2013-12-18 |
CN103459700B (en) | 2016-10-19 |
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STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
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