U.S. patent application number 16/775938 was filed with the patent office on 2020-08-06 for laundry treating machine and control method for the same.
The applicant listed for this patent is LG Electronics Inc.. Invention is credited to Taegyu JANG, Hyeonsik LEE, Minsoo SEO.
Application Number | 20200248355 16/775938 |
Document ID | 20200248355 / US20200248355 |
Family ID | 1000004672692 |
Filed Date | 2020-08-06 |
Patent Application | download [pdf] |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200248355 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
JANG; Taegyu ; et
al. |
August 6, 2020 |
LAUNDRY TREATING MACHINE AND CONTROL METHOD FOR THE SAME
Abstract
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a control method
for a laundry treating machine comprising a first drum rotating
step that is configured to rotate the drum at a preset reference
RPM; a first water discharging step that is configured to rotate
the impeller at a preset first water discharge RPM during the first
drum rotating step; a second drum rotating step that is configured
to rotate the drum at a first drum RPM lower than the reference
RPM; a second water discharging step that is configured to rotate
the impeller at a second water discharge RPM lower than the first
water discharge RPM during the second drum rotating step, wherein a
water level inside the first discharge pipe is kept on being higher
than the highest water level inside the housing, while the first
water discharging step and the second water discharging steps are
performed.
Inventors: |
JANG; Taegyu; (Seoul,
KR) ; SEO; Minsoo; (Seoul, KR) ; LEE;
Hyeonsik; (Seoul, KR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
LG Electronics Inc. |
Seoul |
|
KR |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000004672692 |
Appl. No.: |
16/775938 |
Filed: |
January 29, 2020 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
D06F 33/48 20200201;
D06F 2103/26 20200201; D06F 33/42 20200201; D06F 2105/08 20200201;
D06F 2105/48 20200201; D06F 39/085 20130101 |
International
Class: |
D06F 33/42 20060101
D06F033/42; D06F 39/08 20060101 D06F039/08; D06F 33/48 20060101
D06F033/48 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 1, 2019 |
KR |
10-2019-0013825 |
Apr 19, 2019 |
KR |
10-2019-0046099 |
Claims
1. A method for controlling a laundry treating machine, wherein the
laundry treating machine comprises: a cabinet; a tub mounted in a
cabinet and configured to receive water; a drum rotatably mounted
in the tub and configured to hold laundry; a housing configured to
receive water; an impeller rotatably supported in the housing; and
a discharge pipe configured to guide the water in the tub toward
the housing, the method comprising: rotating the drum at a preset
reference revolutions per minute (RPM); while rotating the drum at
the reference RPM, rotating the impeller at a preset first water
discharge RPM such that a level of water inside the discharge pipe
is higher than a highest water level inside the housing; rotating
the drum at a first drum RPM lower than the reference RPM; and
while rotating the drum at the first drum RPM, rotating the
impeller at a second water discharge RPM lower than the first water
discharge RPM such that the level of water inside the discharge
pipe remains higher than the highest water level inside the
housing.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first water discharge RPM is
set to be a predetermined RPM that maintains a first amount of the
water discharged from the housing while rotating the impeller at
the first water discharge RPM, the first amount of the water being
smaller than a second amount of the water supplied to the discharge
pipe while rotating the drum at the reference RPM.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second water discharge RPM is
set to be a predetermined RPM that maintains a third amount of the
water discharged from the housing while rotating the impeller at
the second water discharge RPM, the third amount of the water being
smaller than a fourth amount of the water supplied to the discharge
pipe while rotating the drum at the first drum RPM.
4. The method of claim 2, wherein the first water discharge RPM is
configured to be a variable RPM that increases based on a fifth
amount of the water supplied to the housing increasing and
decreases based on the fifth amount of the water decreasing.
5. The method of claim 1, further comprising: controlling a
vibration sensor to measure vibration of the drum while rotating
the drum at the first drum RPM; rotating the drum at a second drum
RPM; and rotating the impeller at a third water discharging RPM
while rotating the drum at the second drum RPM.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein the third water discharge RPM is
configured to maintain a sixth amount of the water supplied to the
housing while rotating the drum at the second drum RPM, the sixth
amount of the water being larger than a seventh amount of the water
discharged from the housing while rotating the impeller at the
third water discharge RPM.
7. The method of claim 5, wherein the third water discharge RPM is
configured to be a variable RPM that increases based on an eighth
amount of the water supplied to the housing increasing and
decreases based on the eighth amount of the water decreasing.
8. The method of claim 5, further comprising: pausing the rotation
of the drum based on the measured vibration being greater than a
reference value; and pausing the rotation of the impeller based on
the measured vibration being greater than the reference value.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: based on completion
of pausing the rotation of the drum and pausing the rotation of the
impeller, alternately repeating clockwise and counter-clockwise
rotations of the drum; and based on completion of alternately
repeating the clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations of the
drum, performing: rotating the drum at the reference RPM; while
rotating the drum at the reference RPM, rotating the impeller at
the first water discharge RPM; rotating the drum at the first drum
RPM; and while rotating the drum at the first drum RPM, rotating
the impeller at the second water discharge RPM.
10. The method of claim 8, further comprising: based on completion
of pausing the rotation of the drum and pausing the rotation of the
impeller, alternately repeating clockwise and counter-clockwise
rotations of the drum; and based on completion of alternately
repeating the clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations of the
drum, performing: rotating the drum at the first drum RPM; and
while rotating the drum at the first drum RPM, rotating the
impeller at the second water discharge RPM.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the laundry treating machine
includes an impeller driver configured to rotate the impeller.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the discharge pipe is a first
discharge pipe, and wherein the laundry treating machine includes a
second discharge pipe configured to guide the water discharged from
the housing out of the cabinet.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein the laundry treating machine
includes a water discharge pump, wherein the water discharge pump
includes the housing and the impeller.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority to Korean Patent
Application No. 10-2019-0013825, filed on Feb. 1, 2019, and Korean
Patent Application No. 10-2019-0046099, filed on Apr. 19, 2019, the
entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in
their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE
Technical Field of the Disclosure
[0002] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a laundry
treating machine and a control method for the same.
Background of the Disclosure
[0003] A laundry treating machine means an apparatus configured to
wash clothes. Among conventional laundry treating machines, a
laundry treating machine includes a cabinet; a tub that is mounted
in the cabinet and configured to hold wash water; and a drum that
is rotatably mounted in the tub and configured to hold clothes
(hereinafter, laundry); a first discharge pipe configured to
discharge the water held in the tub to a water discharge pump; and
a second discharge pipe configured to guide the water discharged
from the water discharge pump outside the cabinet. The water
discharge pump provided in such a conventional laundry treating
machine is typically provided to flow the water drawn into the
first discharge pipe to the second discharge pipe by means of an
impeller.
[0004] The conventional laundry treating machine having the
above-noted structure may be operated to perform a cycle of
separating contaminants from the laundry by rotating the drum after
water is supplied to the tub; a cycle of discharging the water held
in the tub; and a cycle of removing water or water elements from
the laundry by rotating the drum (a spinning cycle).
[0005] The water discharge pump has to be actuated in the spinning
cycle, because noise and vibration are likely to occur if the water
held in the tub after separated from the laundry collides against
the drum rotating at a high rotation number.
[0006] However, the amount of the water separated from the laundry
during the spinning cycle gets decreased as time passes. Thus,
unless controlling the rotation number of the impeller provided in
the water discharge pump, noise and vibration might occur in the
water discharge pump disadvantageously.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE
[0007] Accordingly, an object of the present disclosure is to
address the above-noted and other problems.
[0008] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a
laundry treating machine that may minimize noise and vibration of a
water discharge pump configured to be actuated during a spinning
cycle for removing water from clothes, and a control method for the
same.
[0009] Particular embodiments described herein include a method for
controlling a laundry treating machine. The laundry treating
machine may include a cabinet; a tub mounted in a cabinet and
configured to receive water; a drum rotatably mounted in the tub
and configured to hold laundry; a housing configured to receive
water; an impeller rotatably supported in the housing; and a
discharge pipe configured to guide the water in the tub toward the
housing. The method includes rotating the drum at a preset
reference revolutions per minute (RPM); while rotating the drum at
the reference RPM, rotating the impeller at a preset first water
discharge RPM such that a level of water inside the discharge pipe
is higher than a highest water level inside the housing; rotating
the drum at a first drum RPM lower than the reference RPM; and
while rotating the drum at the first drum RPM, rotating the
impeller at a second water discharge RPM lower than the first water
discharge RPM such that the level of water inside the discharge
pipe remains higher than the highest water level inside the
housing.
[0010] In some implementations, the method can optionally include
one or more of the following features. The first water discharge
RPM may be set to be a predetermined RPM that maintains a first
amount of the water discharged from the housing while rotating the
impeller at the first water discharge RPM. The first amount of the
water may be smaller than a second amount of the water supplied to
the discharge pipe while rotating the drum at the reference RPM.
The second water discharge RPM may be set to be a predetermined RPM
that maintains a third amount of the water discharged from the
housing while rotating the impeller at the second water discharge
RPM. The third amount of the water may be smaller than a fourth
amount of the water supplied to the discharge pipe while rotating
the drum at the first drum RPM. The first water discharge RPM may
be configured to be a variable RPM that increases based on a fifth
amount of the water supplied to the housing increasing and
decreases based on the fifth amount of the water decreasing. The
method may include controlling a vibration sensor to measure
vibration of the drum while rotating the drum at the first drum
RPM; rotating the drum at a second drum RPM; and rotating the
impeller at a third water discharging RPM while rotating the drum
at the second drum RPM. The third water discharge RPM may be
configured to maintain a sixth amount of the water supplied to the
housing while rotating the drum at the second drum RPM, the sixth
amount of the water being larger than a seventh amount of the water
discharged from the housing while rotating the impeller at the
third water discharge RPM. The third water discharge RPM may be
configured to be a variable RPM that increases based on an eighth
amount of the water supplied to the housing increasing and
decreases based on the eighth amount of the water decreasing. The
method may include pausing the rotation of the drum based on the
measured vibration being greater than a reference value; and
pausing the rotation of the impeller based on the measured
vibration being greater than the reference value. The method may
include, based on completion of pausing the rotation of the drum
and pausing the rotation of the impeller, alternately repeating
clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations of the drum; and based on
completion of alternately repeating the clockwise and
counter-clockwise rotations of the drum, performing: rotating the
drum at the reference RPM; while rotating the drum at the reference
RPM, rotating the impeller at the first water discharge RPM;
rotating the drum at the first drum RPM; and while rotating the
drum at the first drum RPM, rotating the impeller at the second
water discharge RPM. The method may include, based on completion of
pausing the rotation of the drum and pausing the rotation of the
impeller, alternately repeating clockwise and counter-clockwise
rotations of the drum; and based on completion of alternately
repeating the clockwise and counter-clockwise rotations of the
drum, performing: rotating the drum at the first drum RPM; and
while rotating the drum at the first drum RPM, rotating the
impeller at the second water discharge RPM. The laundry treating
machine may include an impeller driver configured to rotate the
impeller. The discharge pipe may be a first discharge pipe. The
laundry treating machine may include a second discharge pipe
configured to guide the water discharged from the housing out of
the cabinet. The laundry treating machine may include a water
discharge pump, wherein the water discharge pump includes the
housing and the impeller.
[0011] Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a control
method for a laundry treating machine comprising a tub that is
mounted in a cabinet and holds water; a drum that is rotatably
mounted in the tub and holds laundry; a drum drive part that is
configured to rotate the drum; a housing that defines a
predetermined space for storing water; an impeller that is
rotatably provided in the housing; an impeller drive part that is
configured to rotate the impeller; a first discharge pipe that is
configured to guide the water held in the tub to the housing and a
second discharge pipe that is configured to guide the water
discharged from the housing to the outside of the cabinet, the
control method comprising: a first drum rotating step that is
configured to rotate the drum at a preset reference RPM; a first
water discharging step that is configured to rotate the impeller at
a preset first water discharge RPM during the first drum rotating
step; a second drum rotating step that is configured to rotate the
drum at a first drum RPM lower than the reference RPM; a second
water discharging step that is configured to rotate the impeller at
a second water discharge RPM lower than the first water discharge
RPM during the second drum rotating step, wherein a water level
inside the first discharge pipe may be kept on being higher than
the highest water level inside the housing, while the first water
discharging step and the second water discharging steps are
performed.
[0012] The first water discharge RPM may be set to be a
predetermined RPM that keeps the amount of the water discharged
from the housing during the first water discharging step on being
smaller than the amount of the water supplied to the first
discharge pipe during the first drum rotating step.
[0013] The water discharge RPM may be set to be a predetermined RPM
that keeps the amount of the water discharged from the housing
during the second water discharging step on being smaller than the
amount of the water supplied to the first discharge pipe during the
second drum rotating step.
[0014] The first water discharge RPM may be set to be a variable
RPM that increases when the amount of the water supplied to the
housing increases and decreases when the amount of the water
decreases.
[0015] The control method for the laundry treating machine may
further comprising a vibration measuring step that is configured to
control a vibration sensing part to measure vibration of the drum
during the second drum rotating step; and a third water discharging
step that is configured to rotate the impeller at a third water
discharging RPM during the third drum rotating step.
[0016] The third water discharge RPM may be set to be a
predetermined RPM that keeps the amount of the water supplied to
the housing during the third drum rotating step on being bigger
than the amount of the water discharged from the housing during the
third water discharging step.
[0017] The third water discharge RPM may be set to be a variable
RPM that increases when the amount of the water supplied to the
housing increases and decreases when the amount of the water
decreases.
[0018] The control method for the laundry treating machine may
further comprise a drum braking step that is configured to pause
the rotation of the drum and an impeller braking step that is
configured to pause the rotation of the impeller, that are
performed when the measured vibration is bigger than the reference
value.
[0019] The control method for the laundry treating machine may
further comprise an agitating step that is configured to
alternately repeating a clockwise direction drum rotation and a
counter-clockwise direction drum rotation, after the drum braking
step and the impeller braking step are completed, wherein the first
drum rotating step, the first water discharging step, the second
drum rotating step and the second water discharging step may be
re-performed after the agitating step is completed.
[0020] The control method for the laundry treating machine may
further comprise an agitating step that is configured to
alternately repeating a clockwise direction drum rotation and a
counter-clockwise direction drum rotation, after the drum braking
step and the impeller braking step are completed, wherein the
second drum rotating step and the second water discharging step may
be re-performed after the agitating step is completed.
[0021] The present disclosure has the effect of providing a laundry
treating machine that may minimize noise and vibration of a water
discharge pump configured to be actuated during a spinning cycle
for removing water from clothes, and a control method for the
same.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] The present disclosure will become more fully understood
from the detailed description given herein below and the
accompanying drawings, which are given by illustration only, and
thus are not limitative of the present disclosure, and wherein:
[0023] FIGS. 1 to 2B are diagrams illustrating one embodiment of a
laundry treating machine; and
[0024] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating one embodiment of a control
method for the laundry treating machine.
DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS
[0025] Hereinafter, referring to the accompanying drawings,
exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described.
Regardless of numeral references, the same or equivalent components
may be provided with the same reference numbers and description
thereof will not be repeated.
[0026] A laundry treating machine 100 according to one embodiment
may include a cabinet 1; a tub 2 that is provided in the cabinet
and configured to hold water; and a drum 3 that is rotatably
mounted in the tub 2 and holds laundry (e.g., clothes); a water
supply part 561 and 563 configured to supply water to the tub; and
a water discharge part 6 configured to discharge the water held in
the tub outside the cabinet.
[0027] The cabinet 1 may have a cabinet opening 11 that is provided
to facilitate communication between the inside and outside of the
cabinet. The cabinet opening 11 may be open and closed by a door 13
that is rotatably coupled to the cabinet 1.
[0028] The tub 2 may include a cylinder-shaped tub body 21 having
an inner empty space and a tub opening 23 that is provided in a
front surface of the tub body. The tub opening 23 may be connected
with the cabinet opening 13 through an insulation portion. The
insulation portion for connecting the cabinet opening 11 and the
tub opening 23 with each other may be configured to block the water
held in the tub body 21 from being discharged to the cabinet 1
through the tub opening 23 and also dampen the vibration of the tub
body 21 from being transferred to the cabinet 1.
[0029] The insulation portion may have an insulating body 41 that
is formed of a flexible material (e.g., rubber) to connect the
cabinet opening 11 and the tub opening 23 with each other. The
insulating body 41 may be formed of a cylinder-shaped flexible body
with one body fixed to the cabinet opening 11 and the other end
fixed to the tub opening 23.
[0030] The tub body 21 may be mounted in the cabinet 1 by means of
a tub support part. The tub support part may include a spring 25
provided to an upper area of a circumferential surface of the tub
body 21 to the cabinet 1; and a damper 26 provided to fix a lower
area of the circumferential surface to the cabinet.
[0031] A heater 273 configured to heat the water held in the tub
may be provided in the tub body 21. The heater may be provided in a
heating chamber 271 that is formed in the lower area of the
circumferential surface of the tub body 21 (which is the area
located lower than a rotation center of the drum). The heating
chamber 271 may be provided as a predetermined space that projects
from a bottom of the tub body towards a bottom of the cabinet, so
as to collect the water stored in the tub body 21.
[0032] The drum 3 may include a drum body 31 that is rotatable in
the tub body 21. The drum body 31 may be formed of a
cylinder-shaped body having an inner empty space. Drum-through
holes 32 may be formed in circumferential, front and rear surfaces
of the drum body 31, respectively, to facilitate communication
between the drum body inside and the tub body inside. A drum
opening 33 may be formed in a surface that is directed towards the
cabinet opening 11 (e.g., a front surface of the drum) in the space
defined by the drum body 31.
[0033] The drum body 31 may be rotatable by a drum drive part 35.
The drum drive part may include a stator 351 that is fixed to a
rear surface of the tub body 21 and configured to generate a
rotating field; a rotor 353 that is provided outside the tub body
21 and configured to be rotated by the rotating field; and a shaft
355 that penetrates a rear surface of the tub body 21 and connects
the rotor 353 with the drum body 31.
[0034] The laundry treating machine 100 may further include a
detergent supply part 5 that is configured to supply a washing
detergent to the tub body 21. The detergent supply part 5 may
include a case 51 that is provided in the cabinet 1; and a drawer
52 that is withdrawable from the case 41.
[0035] The drawer 52 mounted in the case 51 may be withdrawn out of
the cabinet 1 through a drawer introduction hole that is formed
through a front surface of the cabinet. The drawer 52 may be formed
in a polyhedron shape (e.g., a hexahedron) with an open top. The
drawer may include a storage 521 that defines a predetermined space
for storing a washing detergent; and a detergent outlet hole 523
that is in communication with the storage 521 and the case 51. The
detergent outlet hole 523 may be a through-hole that penetrates a
rear surface or a bottom surface of the storage 521 or it may be a
bell trap that is provided in the bottom of the storage 521.
[0036] In this instance, the water supply part may include a water
supply pipe 561 configured to supply water to the storage 521 from
an external water supply; and a water supply valve 563 configured
to open or close the water supply pipe 561 based on a control
signal of a controller (not shown). Accordingly, when water is
supplied to the storage 521 that stores the washing detergent
therein through the water supply pipe 561, the washing detergent
may flow to the case 51 through the detergent outlet hole 523,
together with the washing detergent stored in the storage 521.
[0037] The water and washing detergent that are discharged to the
case 51 may be supplied to the tub body 21 through the insulating
body 41. For that, an inlet pipe 43 may be provide in the
insulating body 41 to lead in the water and washing detergent and a
supply pipe 53 may be provided in the detergent supply part 5 to
guide the detergent and water towards the inlet pipe 43. The inlet
pipe 42 and the supply pipe 53 may be formed of a flexible material
(e.g., rubber). That is to minimize the vibration of the tub that
is transferred to the case 51 and the front panel 15 via the inlet
pipe 42 and the supply pipe 53.
[0038] The water held in the tub body 21 may be discharged outside
the cabinet 1 through the water discharge part 6.
[0039] The water discharge part 6 may include a chamber 61 that
defines a predetermined space for storing water; a first discharge
pipe 63 that is configured to guide the water from the tub body 21
to the chamber 61; and a water discharge pump 65 configured to flow
the water held in the chamber 61 towards a second discharge pipe
67. The second water discharge pipe 67 may be provided as means for
guiding the water discharged from the water discharge pump 65
towards the outside of the cabinet 1. The highest point of the
second discharge pipe 67 may pass a preset point that is higher
than the lowest point of the tub opening 23. The first discharge
pipe 63 may connect the heating chamber 271 and the chamber 61 with
each other.
[0040] The chamber 61 may include a filter 613 configured to filter
the water discharged from the tub. The chamber 61 may be provided
in a cylinder shape having a communication hole 611 that is formed
in a front surface thereof. The communication hole 611 may be in
communication with a filter coupling hole (not shown) that is
formed through the front surface of the cabinet. In this instance,
a user is able to insert the filter 613 through the filter coupling
hole.
[0041] The water discharge pump 65 may include a first housing 651
provided to communicate with the chamber 61 and define a
predetermined space for storing water; a first impeller 655 that is
rotatable in the first housing; a first impeller motor 657
configured to rotate the first impeller; and an outlet hole 653
penetrating a circumferential surface of the first housing and
connected with the second water discharge pipe 67.
[0042] The laundry treating machine 100 may further include
vibration sensing part 7 that is configured to measure presence of
vibration in the tub body 21 and the size of the vibration
generated in the tub body. The drum body 31 may be connected to the
rotor 353 by means of the shaft 355 penetrating the rear surface of
the tub body 21. Accordingly, the laundry treating machine 100 may
sense the vibration in the drum body 31 by means of the vibration
sensing part 7.
[0043] In addition, the laundry treating machine 100 may further
include a water level sensing part 8 that is configured to sense a
water level inside the tub body 21. The water level sensing part 8
may include a communication pipe 81 having water level scales that
are equal to the water level scales inside the tub body 31; and a
sensor 83 configured to sense pressure variation inside the
communication pipe 81.
[0044] The communication pipe 81 may have one end connected to the
first discharge pipe 382 and the other end located higher than the
rotation center (e.g., along an axis of the shaft 355) of the drum
body 31. Accordingly, once all of the water flows into the first
discharge pipe 63 from the tub body, the water level sensing part 8
may also sense a water level of the first discharge pipe 63.
[0045] When actuating the water discharge pump 65 during a spinning
cycle for removing water or water element from the laundry, noise
and vibration are likely to occur in the laundry treating machine
100 having the above-noted structure. A large amount of water is
supplied to the water discharge pump 65 in an early stage of the
spinning cycle. As the spinning cycle progresses, the amount of the
water supplied to the water discharge pump 65 may decrease such
that the water level inside the housing 651 may become lower than
an upper end of the impeller 655. When the impeller 655 is rotated
in a state where the water level inside the housing 651 is lower
than the upper end of the impeller 655, the friction between the
impeller 655 and the water might cause noise and vibration.
[0046] FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate a state where the water level
inside the housing 651 becomes lower than the upper end of the
impeller 655, when the spinning cycle and the water discharge
process are performed simultaneously. FIG. 2A illustrates a state
where a much amount of laundry is loaded into the drum body 31
enough to lower the tub body 21 towards the bottom of the cabinet.
FIG. 2B illustrates a state where the lowering of the tub body 21
does not happen.
[0047] When the tub body 21 is not lowered (see FIG. 2A), even one
end of the first discharge pipe 63 connected to the heating chamber
271 may be lowered towards the bottom of the cabinet 1 and a water
trap would be formed in the first discharge pipe 63. If such a
water trap is formed in the first discharge pipe 63, noise and
vibration might be caused by the water discharge pump more
often.
[0048] FIG. 3 illustrates a control method for the laundry treating
machine which may minimize the noise and vibration caused by the
water discharge pump, when the spinning and the water discharging
are performed simultaneously.
[0049] The control method shown in FIG. 3 may be applied to a
spinning process and a water discharging that are performed in a
washing cycle, or a water discharging process that is performed in
a spinning cycle. The washing cycle may be configured to rotate the
drum and separate foreign substances or contaminants from the
laundry after water and a washing detergent are supplied to the
tub. The rinsing cycle may be configured to rotate the drum after
supplying water to the tub and separate the foreign substances from
the laundry. The spinning cycle may be configured to rotate the
drum and separate water from the laundry.
[0050] The control method for the laundry treating machine may
include a first drum rotating step S10 configured to rotate the
drum 3 at a preset reference RPM (Revolution Per Minute) and remove
water from the laundry; a first water discharging step S20
configured to rotate the impeller 655 at a preset first water
discharge RPM during the first drum rotating step S10; a second
drum rotating step S30 configured to rotate the drum 3 at a first
drum RPM that is lower than the reference RPM; and a second water
discharging step S40 configured to rotate the impeller 655 at a
second water discharge RPM that is lower than the first water
discharge RPM.
[0051] The control method for the laundry treating machine is
characterized in that water levels inside the first discharge pipe
63 is kept being higher than the highest water level inside the
housing 651 during the first and second water discharging steps S20
and S40.
[0052] In other words, the first water discharge RPM may be set to
be a predetermined RPM that may keep the amount of the water
discharged to the second discharge pipe 67 from the housing 651
during the first water discharging step S20 to be smaller than the
amount of the water supplied to the first discharge pipe 63 during
the first drum rotating step S10.
[0053] Similarly, the second water discharge RPM may be set to be a
predetermined RPM that may keep the amount of the water discharged
to the second discharge pipe 67 from the housing 651 during the
second water discharging step S40 to be smaller than the amount of
the water supplied to the first discharge pipe 63 during the second
drum rotating step S30.
[0054] When the first and second water discharge RPMs are
controlled as mentioned above, the water level inside the housing
651 may be prevented from getting lower than the upper end of the
impeller 655. Accordingly, the control method may minimize the
noise and vibration caused in the water discharge pump during the
spinning by means of the above-noted steps.
[0055] Meanwhile, the first water discharge RPM and the second
water discharge RPM may not be fixed RPMs but set to be variable
(as a variable RPM) based on the amount of the water supplied to
the housing 651. In other words, the first and second water
discharge RPMs may be set to be variable based on the water levels
inside the first discharge pipe 63 that are measured by the water
level sensing part 8.
[0056] In this instance, the first and second water discharge RPMs
may be controlled to increase, when the amount of the water
supplied to the housing 651 increases, and decrease, when the
amount of the water decreases. Here, the RPM increase has to be
controlled to keep the water level in the first discharge pipe 63
on being higher than the highest water level inside the housing
651.
[0057] During the second drum rotating step S30, the control method
for the laundry treating machine may implement a vibration
measuring step S50 configured to control the vibration sensing part
7 to measure vibration in the drum body 31; and a vibration
determining step S51 configured to determine whether the vibration
measured in the vibration measuring step S50 is a preset reference
value or less.
[0058] When the measured vibration is the preset reference value or
less, the control method may implement a first drum rotating step
S70 configured to rotate the drum body 31 at a second drum RPM that
is higher than the reference RPM and separate water from the
laundry. The reason why the vibration measuring step S50 is
performed before the third drum rotating step S70 is to prevent a
big vibration from occurring when rotating the drum body 31 at a
high RPM.
[0059] When rotating the drum body 31 in a state where the laundry
is in close contact with some area of the drum body 31, the
rotation center of the drum body 31 may be eccentric not to be
equal to the rotation center of the drum drive part. The drum body
31 rotating in the eccentric state is likely to cause vibration and
the vibration may become bigger as the eccentricity becomes bigger
(it means that it may become bigger as the distance between the
shaft and the rotation center of the drum body becomes farther).
Accordingly, the control method may implement the first drum
rotating step S70 only when the vibration of the tub body 31 is the
reference value or less and then minimize the vibration of the tub
body 21 that might be generated during the third drum rotating step
S70.
[0060] During the third drum rotating step S70, the control method
may implement a third water discharging step S60 that is configured
to rotate the impeller 655 at a third water discharge RPM. In the
third water discharging step S60, a water level inside the first
discharge pipe 63 has to be kept being higher than the highest
level inside the housing 651 so as to minimize the noise and
vibration caused by the water discharge pump. Accordingly, the
first water discharging RPM has to be set to be a predetermined RPM
that may keep the amount of the water supplied to the housing 651
from the first discharge pipe 63 during the third drum rotating
step S70 on being higher than the amount of the water discharged to
the second discharge pipe 67 from the housing 651.
[0061] In addition, the third water discharge RPM may be set to be
a variable RPM that may increase, when the amount of the water
supplied to the housing 651 increases, and decrease, when the
amount decreases.
[0062] The third drum rotating step S70 may be performed for a
predetermined time period that is set in the third drum rotating
step. Once the time period passes, the control method may perform a
drum braking step S90 configured to end the rotation of the drum
body; and an impeller braking step S80 configured to end the
rotation of the impeller.
[0063] Meanwhile, when the vibration measured in the vibration
measuring step S50 is larger than the reference value, the control
method perform an eccentricity relieving step that is configured to
reduce the vibration of the drum body 31.
[0064] The eccentricity relieving step may include a drum braking
step S53 configured to pause the rotation of the drum body 31; an
impeller braking step S55 configured to pause the rotation of the
impeller 655; and an agitating step S57 configured to alternately
agitating clockwise and counter-clockwise direction rotations of
the drum body 31. The agitating step S57 may start once the drum
braking step S53 and the impeller braking step S55 are
completed.
[0065] After the completion of the agitating step S57, the control
method may re-start the first drum rotating step S10, the first
water discharging step S20, the second drum rotating step S30 and
the second water discharging step S40.
[0066] To reduce the time taken by the spinning, the control method
may re-perform the second drum rotating step S30 and the second
water discharging step S40 after completing the agitating step
S57.
[0067] The control method applied to a front loading type laundry
treating machine is described above, which includes the cabinet
opening 11 provided in the front surface of the cabinet. However,
the control method may be applied even to a top loading type
laundry treating machine which includes the cabinet opening
provided in the top surface of the cabinet. The tub opening is
provided in the top surface of the tub body and the drum opening is
provided in the top surface of the drum body. The shaft of the drum
body is provided through the bottom surface of the tub body. That
type having the above structure is one example of the top loading
type laundry treating machine.
[0068] As the present features may be embodied in several forms
without departing from the characteristics thereof, it should also
be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited
by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless
otherwise specified, but rather should be considered broadly within
its scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all
changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of
the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds, are therefore
intended to be embraced by the appended claims.
* * * * *