Washing machine having vibration reducing apparatus and vibration reducing method using the same

Abstract

A washing machine with a vibration reducing apparatus is capable of reducing a tub by use of the gyroscopic effect. If the drum is rotated in an imbalanced state where the laundry is positioned at a side of the drum without being uniformly distributed, a biased force is applied to a rotary shaft, and the drum performs an eccentric motion, causing vibration of the tub. The vibration of the tub is increased when the drum rotates at a high speed. The washing machine measures vibration of the tub at the high speed, and generates a vibration restraining force, thereby preventing the vibration from being transmitted to the outside due to a reaction force. The efficiency in reducing the excessive vibration of the tub is enhanced, so that the interval between the tub and the frame is reduced, thereby increasing the capacity of the washing machine.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the priority benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2011-0117785, filed on Nov. 11, 2011 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND[0002]1. Field[0003]The following description relates to a washing machine having a vibration reducing apparatus for reducing a vibration of a tub through the gyroscopic effect, and a vibration reducing method using the same.[0004]2. Description of the Related Art[0005]In general, a washing machine (hereinafter referred to as a drum washing machine) includes a tub configured to contain water (washing water or rinsing water), a rotary drum (hereinafter referred to as a drum) rotatably installed inside the tub to accommodate laundry, and a motor generating a driving force used to rotate the drum. The drum may rotate around a horizontal axis, such as in a front-loading washing machine, for example, or the drum may...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent is about a washing machine that reduces vibrations by using a special device called a vibration reducing apparatus. This device measures the vibrations of the machine and calculates a "vibration displacement angle" based on this data. By creating a force to restrain the vibration of the machine, the device helps to make the washing process smoother. This patent is useful for anyone who wants to improve the performance of their washing machine.

Problems solved by technology

When proceeding with a washing through such a series of operations, if the drum is rotated in an imbalanced state so that the laundry is positioned at a side of the drum rather than being uniformly distributed, a biased force is applied to a rotary shaft, and thus the drum performs an eccentric motion, thereby causing the vibration of the tub.

However, the size of the frame defining the dimension of external appearance of the washing machine should be designed in consideration of the size of the entrance to an installation location or the size of the installation area itself, thereby limiting the size of the frame.

In addition, in order to maintain the rotation balance of the drum, a method of reducing the vibration has been suggested in which a ball balancer configured to maintain the rotation balance is installed along a circumference of the drum, such that a dynamic balance is maintained by the ball balancer at an unbalanced state of the drum due to the eccentricity of the laundry during a spin-dry cycle.

However, for the washing machine provided with a ball balancer, the position of the ball balancer required for maintaining the dynamic balance varies with the unbalanced position or the unbalanced size of the laundry.

Such a variation may cause a resonance at an initial spin-dry cycle that allows the tub to be excessively vibrated before reaching the balancing position for canceling the unbalanced load of the laundry.

Due to the excessive vibration of tub, the frame of the washing may be hit by the tub, and the entirety of the washing machine is subject to abnormal vibration, thereby degrading performance of the spin-dry cycle, and thus leading to a spin-dry failure.

The vibration sensor may measure vibration that is transmitted to the tub, such as when the drum rotates at a high speed in an unbalanced state where laundry is unevenly distributed in the drum.

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