Washing Machine Vibration Feedback Control for Dehydration Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Washing machines experience significant vibration and noise during the dehydrating cycle due to unbalanced clothes, which can damage the machine and reduce dehydration efficiency, causing user discomfort and varying levels of vibration and noise.
Innovation Solution
A washing machine equipped with a vibration sensor and a processor that maintains or increases the drum motor's rotation speed based on the sensed vibration values, reducing vibration and noise by adjusting the drum's rotation speed to compensate for clothing imbalances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the drum rotates at high speed during dehydrating operation, then dehydration efficiency is improved, but vibration and noise increase due to clothes unbalance
Solution Approach 1:
The vibration sensor continuously monitors the vibration level during dehydrating operation and provides feedback to the controller. When vibration exceeds a threshold, the controller reduces drum rotation speed to mitigate vibration and noise, then may increase speed again when vibration decreases, creating a dynamic feedback control loop that balances dehydration efficiency with vibration control
Solution Approach 2:
The drum rotation speed is made dynamically adjustable during the dehydrating operation rather than maintaining a constant high speed. The controller modifies the rotation speed in real-time based on vibration sensor feedback, allowing the system to adapt between high-speed dehydration and low-vibration operation modes
2Productivity
If clothes are unevenly spread in the drum, then dehydration operation can proceed, but eccentricity occurs causing increased vibration and noise
Solution Approach 1:
The vibration sensor detects eccentricity-induced vibrations and provides feedback to the controller. When eccentricity is detected through vibration patterns, the controller responds by adjusting drum speed to reduce the harmful effects of imbalance, allowing dehydration to continue with modified operational parameters
3Object-affected harmful factors
If drum rotation speed is reduced to reduce vibration, then vibration and noise decrease, but dehydration efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The drum rotation speed is periodically adjusted during the dehydrating operation based on vibration feedback. The controller creates a pattern of speed increases when vibration is low and speed reductions when vibration exceeds thresholds, maintaining an overall high-speed operation while periodically mitigating vibration peaks
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically balances between high-speed dehydration and vibration control by continuously adjusting rotation speed. Rather than selecting a fixed low speed to control vibration, the system maintains the ability to operate at high speeds when conditions permit while reducing speed only when necessary, optimizing both dehydration efficiency and vibration control
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively reduces vibration and noise dispersion, ensuring a consistent user experience by dynamically adjusting the drum's rotation speed in response to clothing unbalance, thereby enhancing dehydration efficiency and machine reliability.
Implementation Method 1
a vibration sensor configured to detect vibration of the tub
Implementation Method 2
The dehydrating course may rotate the drum at about 1000 revolutions per minute (rpm) and separate water that has been soaked in the clothes from the clothes
Data Source
AI summary
A washing machine is provided. The washing machine includes a tub, a drum rotatably arranged within the tub, a drum motor for rotating the drum, a vibration sensor for sensing the vibration of the tub, and a control unit which maintains the rotation speed of the drum motor on the basis that the sensing value of the vibration sensor reaches a certain predetermined value during a dehydration operation, and which continuously maintains or increases the rotation speed of the drum motor based on the variation value of the sensing value of the vibration sensor.