Washing machine and control method thereof
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing washing machines with passive balancers require continuous drum rotation for imbalance correction, which is inefficient and may not effectively reduce vibrations and noise caused by unevenly distributed laundry.
Innovation Solution
A washing machine with actively movable balancing units controlled by a vibration sensor and controller, which adjusts the balancing units' movement to maintain constant or reduced vibration levels by alternating their rotation direction, ensuring balanced operation across different rotation speeds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a passive balancer (ball balancer or liquid balancer) is used, then the structure is simple, but the drum needs to be continuously rotated to reduce imbalance, which increases energy consumption and time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by transitioning from a passive balancer system to an actively movable balancer system. The balancer weights are no longer stationary or purely gravity-dependent but are actively positioned by motors along the drum circumference. This active positioning allows the system to dynamically adjust weight distribution in real-time without requiring continuous drum rotation, thereby reducing both energy consumption and correction time while maintaining structural feasibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the purely mechanical passive balancer system with a system that incorporates electrical actuators (motors) to move the balancing weights. This substitution of mechanical systems with electromechanical systems enables precise control over weight positioning, allowing the balancer to actively counteract imbalance forces without relying on continuous drum rotation, thus resolving the contradiction between structural simplicity and correction efficiency.
2Device complexity
If a passive balancer is used, then the device complexity is low, but vibration and noise are not effectively reduced due to continuous rotation requirement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback control system where sensors detect vibration and imbalance conditions, and this information is fed back to the controller which adjusts the position of the balancing weights accordingly. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables the system to actively respond to vibration and noise conditions, positioning weights to counteract harmful forces rather than requiring continuous rotation, thus effectively reducing vibration and noise while maintaining manageable device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
By making the balancer weights actively movable rather than passive, the system can dynamically adjust to real-time vibration and noise conditions. The weights are positioned to actively counterbalance the laundry distribution, reducing harmful vibrations and noise without the need for continuous drum rotation, thereby resolving the contradiction between device complexity and harmful factor reduction.
3Productivity
If actively movable balancers are used, then imbalance is quickly reduced, but the control system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the balancing function into multiple independent balancing weights that can be individually controlled. Each weight can be positioned independently by its own motor, allowing parallel adjustment of multiple weights to quickly counteract imbalance. This segmentation enables faster correction by distributing the control task across multiple actuators rather than requiring a single complex control mechanism, thus improving productivity while managing control system complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The actively movable balancer system uses multiple independently controllable weights that can dynamically adjust their positions along the drum circumference. This dynamic positioning capability allows the system to quickly respond to and correct imbalance conditions by optimally distributing weights, achieving fast imbalance correction while the modular control architecture manages system complexity.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If multiple balancing units are used to reduce imbalance, then vibration reduction is improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple balancing units into a coordinated system where multiple weights work together along the drum circumference. Rather than having independent balancing systems, the weights are integrated into a unified control framework that coordinates their positions to collectively counteract vibration. This merging approach achieves effective vibration reduction through multiple units while managing device complexity and manufacturing cost through integrated design and shared control architecture.
Data Source
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AI summary
Disclosed are a washing machine provided with a balancer that is actively movable and a control method thereof. The washing machine according to an embodiment includes a tub, a drum, a plurality of balancing units moving along the circumference of a front side or a rear side of the drum in order to reduce imbalance caused by concentration of laundry when the drum rotates, a vibration sensor sensing a vibration amount of the tub, and a controller moving the plurality of balancing units according to the vibration amount of the tub, measured by the vibration sensor. The controller controls a drum motor to rotate the drum at a constant rotation speed, moves the plurality of balancing units in the same rotation direction to minimize the vibration amount of the tub, measured by the vibration sensor, and thereafter moves the plurality of balancing units in different rotation directions to minimize the vibration amount of the tub, measured by the vibration sensor, thereby reducing imbalance.