Wireless Drum Balancer for Washing Machine Vibration Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Drum-type washing machines experience unbalance and vibration due to cloth entanglement, leading to eccentricity and noise, which existing balancers like counterweights and ball balancers fail to adequately address, especially when the drum rotates at high speeds.
Innovation Solution
A balancer system with a cylindrical drum, transmission coil, drive modules, gear rails, balancing weights, and a guide case that uses wireless power transmission and a control circuit to actively adjust the center of gravity of the drum, reducing unbalance and noise through the movement of balancing weights along the drum's circumference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a counter weight or ball balancer is used to counterbalance eccentricity, then the unbalance of the drum is reduced, but the structure becomes complex and the number of parts increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the balancing function from complex mechanical structures (counterweights, ball balancers) and implements it through a simplified system consisting of a movable weight and a drive mechanism that actively adjusts the center of gravity, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining unbalance reduction effectiveness
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces traditional passive mechanical balancing systems with an active control system that uses a motor to drive a weight along a rail, dynamically adjusting the center of gravity to counterbalance eccentricity, thus simplifying the overall structure while improving reliability
2Reliability
If traditional balancers are used, then unbalance is reduced, but the system requires additional parts and complex assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the balancing function with the drum structure by integrating the movable weight and drive mechanism directly into the drum assembly, eliminating the need for separate counterweights and ball balancers, thereby reducing the number of parts while maintaining vibration reduction effectiveness
3Device complexity
If wireless power transmission is implemented, then the number of parts is reduced and structure is simplified, but power transmission reliability must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces mechanical power transmission components (wires, connectors, switches) with wireless power transmission technology, eliminating physical connections and reducing the number of parts while maintaining power supply reliability through electromagnetic field-based energy transfer
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 system effectively reduces vibration and noise by actively adjusting the center of gravity of the drum, improving operational stability and reducing the number of parts while maintaining a simple structure and not influencing the drum's center of gravity.
Implementation Method 1
a transmission coil generating a wireless power signal and transmitting power wirelessly
Implementation Method 2
a reception coil which generates power from a magnetic field formed by the transmission coil
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a balancer and a washing machine including the same. The balancer includes at least two drive modules which provide a driving force; at least two gear rails having a ring shape which are gear-coupled to each of the drive modules and rotated; at least two balancing weights which move along a circumference of a drum by the rotation of each of the gear rails and change a center of gravity of the drum; a reception coil which generates power from a magnetic field formed by a transmission coil; and a guide case which accommodates at least the reception coil and the drive modules.