Drum-type washing machine

Abstract

A drum-type washing machine including at least one lifter for supplying wash water from the outside of a drum to the inside of the drum, and a controller for controlling water supply operations and washing operations based on the angle of rotation of the drum sensed by an angle sensing device. The controller positions the lifter under a water supply pipe so that the wash water is directly supplied from the outside of the drum to the inside of the drum through the lifter. Thus, laundry loaded in the drum is uniformly and rapidly wetted with the wash water. The controller also causes the laundry carried by the lifter to fall from the top position of the drum to maximize dropping power in a wash mode.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2004-40000, filed Jun. 2, 2004, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates to a drum-type washing machine and, more particularly, to a drum-type washing machine having an improved water supply structure, in which laundry drops from a top position in a drum. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] A drum-type washing machine washes laundry using the frictional force between a drum and the laundry by operating a drum motor to rotate the drum containing detergent, wash water and the laundry. [0006] The drum-type washing machine is constructed such that the wash water filling a tub is supplied to the laundry in the drum through holes located in the drum. Since the wash water first fills a gap between the inne...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0009] Therefore, an aspect of the invention is to provide a drum-type washing machine having an improved water supply structure, in which laundry put into a drum is uniformly and rapidly wetted with wash water, and a rotational speed of the drum is controlled so that the laundry drops from the top position of the drum.

[0013] At least one lifter for carrying the laundry may be installed in the drum, and the controller may recognize the position of the laundry carried by the lifter using the angle sensing means and thereby control the rotational speed of the drum.

[0014] The controller may decrease the rotational speed of the drum before the laundry reaches the top position of the drum so that the laundry drops from the top position of the drum.

[0017] In accordance with another aspect, the present invention provides a drum-type washing machine comprising: a rotary drum; a motor for rotating the rotary drum; a motor-driving unit for driving the motor; at least one lifter, for lifting laundry and supplying wash water from the outside of the drum to the inside of the drum, installed in the rotary drum; sensing means for detecting the position of the lifter; and a controller for placing the lifter at a first predetermined position in a stopped state, in a water supply mode, to supply the wash water to the inside of the drum and for reducing the rotational speed of the drum when the lifter, rotated along the rotational direction of the drum, reaches a second predetermined position in a wash mode.

Problems solved by technology

Since the wash water first fills a gap between the inner circumference of the tub and the outer circumference of the drum before the wash water wets the laundry in the drum, it takes a long time to uniformly wet the laundry in the drum.

Accordingly, when compared to the case in which the laundry drops from the top position of the drum, the conventional drum-type washing machine has a low dropping power, thereby reducing the washing effect and requiring a long time to wash the laundry.

Images