Washing machine and control method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11725324-B2
Application number	US-201916675763-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 6, 2019
Priority date	Nov 6, 2018
Publication date	Aug 15, 2023
Grant date	Aug 15, 2023

Abstract

A washing machine includes a cabinet including an entrance which is formed in a front surface of the cabinet such that laundry is input into or output from the entrance, a tub mounted inside the cabinet, a drum received in the tub and rotatably provided, a motor to provide driving force to rotate the drum, and a vibration sensor to sense vibration of the tub.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A washing machine comprising:
a cabinet comprising a gasket that is disposed at a front surface of the cabinet, the gasket defining an entrance configured to receive laundry;
a tub disposed inside the cabinet, the tub having a front portion coupled to the gasket;
a spring that connects the cabinet to the tub in a vertical direction;
a drum disposed in the tub and configured to rotate relative to the tub, the drum being configured to receive the laundry through the entrance;
a motor disposed at a rear surface of the tub and configured to generate driving force for rotating the drum;
a controller configured to control the motor to perform a tumble motion of the drum a plurality of times in a rinsing mode by rotating the drum at a preset rotation speed for a preset period in each time of the tumble motion during the rinsing mode; and
a vibration sensor configured to sense vibration of the tub and to detect a volume of the laundry,
wherein the vibration sensor is disposed at a rear end side defined by the rear surface of the tub and a portion of a side surface of the tub to thereby detect a left-right vibration of the tub,
wherein the portion of the side surface of the tub extends toward the entrance from a circumference of the rear surface of the tub, and
wherein the controller is configured to:
acquire, by the vibration sensor, data of the left-right vibration of the tub for a total number of times of the tumble motions to be performed in the rinsing mode, and
detect the volume of the laundry based on the acquired data of the left-right vibration of the tub.

2. The washing machine of claim 1 , wherein the vibration sensor is positioned rearward of the spring and mounted on an outer circumferential surface of the tub.

3. The washing machine of claim 1 , wherein the vibration sensor comprises a six-axis vibration sensor.

4. The washing machine of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to:
terminate the tumble motion when a number of times of performing the tumble motions satisfies the total number of times,
calculate an average vibration value based on the data of the left-right vibration of the tub acquired for the total number of times of the tumble motions,
calculate a load level based on a measured weight of the laundry, and
match the volume of the laundry to the average vibration value for the calculated load level.

5. The washing machine of claim 4 , further comprising:
a non-transitory memory having stored a data table including a volume value that matches the data of the left-right vibration and that was determined based on a weight of laundry,
wherein the controller is configured to classify the volume of the laundry based on the data table stored in the non-transitory memory.

6. The washing machine of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to:
determine whether a stabilization duration has elapsed from a start point in each time of the tumble motion; and
based on determining that the stabilization duration has elapsed, acquire the data of the left-right vibration of the tub during an acquisition duration subsequent to the stabilization duration.

7. The washing machine of claim 6 , wherein the stabilization duration and the acquisition duration are preset, the acquisition duration being longer than the stabilization duration.

8. The washing machine of claim 6 , wherein the stabilization duration is preset from 8 to 14 seconds, and
wherein the acquisition duration is preset from 15 to 20 seconds subsequent to the stabilization duration.

9. The washing machine of claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to count a number of the tumble motions when each tumble motion is terminated.

10. The washing machine of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to determine whether a number of times of performing the tumble motions satisfies the total number of times of the tumble motions after acquiring the data of the left-right vibration of the tub.

11. The washing machine of claim 10 , wherein the controller is configured to repeat acquiring the data of the left-right vibration of the tub when the number of times of performing the tumble motion does not satisfy the total number of times.

12. The washing machine of claim 11 , wherein the controller is configured to store the data of the left-right vibration of the tub in a non-transitory memory.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Cho Younghan

Classifications

• D06F33/48 Primary

  Preventing or reducing imbalance or noise · CPC title

• D06F21/02

  about a horizontal axis · CPC title

• D06F34/18

  Condition of the laundry, e.g. nature or weight · CPC title

• D06F34/16

  Imbalance · CPC title

• D06F2103/04

  Quantity, e.g. weight or variation of weight · CPC title