Method of controlling washing machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11535966-B2
Application number	US-201916431035-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 4, 2019
Priority date	Jun 4, 2018
Publication date	Dec 27, 2022
Grant date	Dec 27, 2022

Abstract

A method of controlling a washing machine includes spraying water into a drum through a direct water nozzle, rotating the drum at a spin-dry rinse speed, draining water from a tub while rotating the drum at the spin-dry rinse speed, supplying water to the tub to increase a water level in the tub, circulating water in the tub to spray circulated water into the drum through a circulation nozzle, rotating the drum at a laundry adherence speed lower than the spin-dry rinse speed, and in a state in which draining water from the tub and spraying the circulated water are stopped and at least a portion of the drum is disposed below the water level in the tub, accelerating the drum from the laundry adherence speed to a first tub cleaning speed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of controlling a washing machine including a tub configured to receive water, a drum rotatably disposed in the tub and configured to receive laundry through an introduction hole defined at a front of the drum, the method comprising:
rotating the drum at a spin-dry rinse speed to allow the laundry in the drum to rotate along with the drum and to be raised along an inner surface of the drum without falling from a highest point of the inner surface of the drum;
draining water from the tub while rotating the drum at the spin-dry rinse speed;
supplying water to the tub to increase a water level in the tub;
rotating the drum at a laundry adherence speed lower than the spin-dry rinse speed, the laundry adherence speed being set within a range of a rotation speed of the drum that allows the laundry to rotate along with the drum without falling from the highest point of the inner surface of the drum;
stopping draining water from the tub such that at least a portion of the drum is disposed below the water level in the tub;
in a state in which draining of the water from the tub is stopped and without supplying water to the tub after rotating the drum at the laundry adherence speed, accelerating the drum from the laundry adherence speed to a first tub cleaning speed;
in the state in which draining of the water from the tub is stopped and without supplying water to the tub, rotating the drum at a second tub cleaning speed that is less than the first tub cleaning speed; and
after rotating the drum at the second tub cleaning speed, rotating the drum at a laundry adherence maintaining speed less than the second tub cleaning speed while draining the water from the tub and supplying water to the tub, the laundry adherence maintaining speed being a preset rotation speed of the drum at which the laundry positioned on the inner surface of the drum does not fall from the highest point of the inner surface of the drum.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein rotating the drum at the spin-dry rinse speed comprises accelerating the drum from a stopped state to the spin-dry rinse speed.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein rotating the drum at the laundry adherence speed comprises decelerating the drum from the spin-dry rinse speed to the laundry adherence speed.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein supplying water to the tub comprises supplying water to the tub through a dispenser configured to receive detergent and water.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein supplying water to the tub comprises suppling water to the tub based on stopping draining water from the tub.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
performing a washing operation, the washing operation comprising supplying detergent to the drum, and rotating the drum to wash the laundry in the drum with detergent-dissolved water,
wherein the washing operation is performed before rotating the drum at the spin-dry rinse speed.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:
performing a spin drying operation based on completion of a rinsing operation,
wherein the spin drying operation comprises rotating the drum at a first spin dry speed lower than the spin-dry rinse speed and at a second spin dry speed higher than the spin-dry rinse speed.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the first spin dry speed is lower than the laundry adherence speed.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
spraying water into the drum through a direct water nozzle; and,
circulating water in the tub to spray circulated water into the drum through a plurality of circulation nozzles,
wherein rotating the drum at the spin-dry rinse speed is performed while water is sprayed into the drum through the direct water nozzle, and
wherein rotating the drum at the laundry adherence speed is performed while the circulated water is sprayed through the plurality of circulation nozzles.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein spraying water through the direct water nozzle is performed while the circulated water is sprayed through the plurality of circulation nozzles.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of circulation nozzles are connected to a pump through a conduit, and
wherein circulating water in the tub comprises simultaneously spraying the circulated water based on operation of the pump.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of circulation nozzles include four or more circulation nozzles, and
wherein simultaneously spraying the circulated water is performed through the plurality of circulation nozzles in a plurality of directions.

13. The method of claim 9 , wherein circulating water in the tub comprises:
while spraying the circulated water through the plurality of circulation nozzles, varying a speed of a pump configured to circulate water in the tub to the plurality of circulation nozzles.

14. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:
decelerating the drum from the first tub cleaning speed to a second tub cleaning speed higher than the laundry adherence speed.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:
spraying water into the drum through the direct water nozzle while draining the tub; and
decelerating the drum from the second tub cleaning speed to a laundry adherence maintaining speed.

16. The method of claim 9 , wherein the washing machine further includes a pump configured to rotate in a forward direction and a backward direction,
wherein draining water from the tub comprises rotating the pump in the forward direction, and
wherein spaying the circulated water comprises rotating the pump in the backward direction.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the washing machine further includes a main water supply valve configured to supply water to at least one of the direct water nozzle or a detergent dispenser, and a nozzle water supply valve configured to supply the circulated water to the plurality of circulation nozzles, the method further comprising:
closing the nozzle water supply valve; and
in response to closing the nozzle water supply valve, decelerating the drum from the spin-dry rinse speed to the laundry adherence speed.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:
stopping rotation of the pump in the forward direction; and
in response to stopping rotation of the pump in the forward direction, opening the main water supply valve to supply water to the tub through at least one of the direct water nozzle or the detergent dispenser.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein stopping rotation of the pump in the forward direction is performed based on an elapse of time after closing the nozzle water supply valve.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein decelerating the drum from the spin-dry rinse speed to the laundry adherence speed is performed while maintaining rotation of the pump in the forward direction.

21. The method of claim 1 , wherein the drum is configured to rotate about a rotational axis that is inclined upward at a predetermined angle relative to a horizontal axis.

22. The method of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of circulation nozzles are disposed symmetrically at a left side and at a right side with respect to a center of the introduction hole of the drum, and
wherein plurality of circulation nozzles comprise:
a first circulation nozzle disposed at one side among the left side and the right side and configured to spray water downward; and
a second circulation nozzle disposed at the same side as the first circulation nozzle and positioned below the first ci

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Jung Hwanjin
• Im Myunghun
• Woo Kyungchul

Classifications

• D06F37/30

  Driving arrangements  (control circuits or arrangements D06F34/08) · CPC title

• D06F33/36 Primary

  of washing · CPC title

• D06F2105/48

  Drum speed · CPC title

• D06B1/08

  from outlets being in, or almost in, contact with the textile material · CPC title

• D06F39/087

  Water level measuring or regulating devices · CPC title