Claims
- 1. A method of reducing displacement of a wash basket that is rotatable about an axis of rotation within a washing machine, the washing machine having a drive motor for rotating the wash basket, the method comprising:mounting a balancing ring to the wash basket in a plane that is generally perpendicular to the axis of rotation, the balancing ring having a balancing mass that is movable relative to the balancing ring; supporting the wash basket by a suspension structure to the washing machine; determining two resonant critical frequencies for two transnational degrees of freedom of the suspension structure that are generally in the plane of the balancing ring; determining three resonant rotational frequencies for three rotational degrees of freedom of the suspension structure; tuning the suspension structure so that the two critical frequencies of translation each occur at or below the critical first motor speed, and so that the three frequencies of rotation occur at or above a second motor speed that is above the first motor speed.
- 2. The method of reducing displacement according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:initially ramping up the motor to an initial spin speed for rotating the wash basket wherein the initial spin speed is incrementally higher than the first motor speed and lower than the second speed; dwelling the motor for a time period at the initial spin speed until the balancing mass moves within the ring to a correcting position that offsets any imbalance of the wash basket; and subsequently ramping up the motor to a steady state final spin speed that is above the second speed for rotating the wash basket.
- 3. The method of reducing displacement according to claim 2, wherein the steps of ramping up further comprises:ramping up the motor at a rate that permits the balancing mass to remain in the correcting position relative to the balancing ring while ramping-up as well as after reaching the steady state final spin speed.
- 4. The method of reducing displacement according to claim 2, further comprising the steps of:coupling a controller to the motor that is capable of controlling the speed of the motor to accomplish the steps of initially ramping up, dwelling and subsequently ramping up the motor speed.
- 5. The method of reducing displacement according to claim 1, wherein the step of mounting further comprises:mounting a fluid balancing ring having an annular chamber and a balancing fluid held within the chamber and movable around the chamber.
- 6. The method of reducing displacement according to claim 1, where the step of mounting further comprises:mounting a ball balancing ring having an annular chamber and both a viscous fluid and a plurality of weighted balls held within the chamber and movable around the chamber.
- 7. The method of reducing displacement according to claim 1, wherein the wash basket is rotatable about a generally vertical axis.
- 8. The method of reducing displacement according to claim 1, wherein the wash basket is rotatable about a generally horizontal axis.
- 9. A washing machine comprising:a) a wash basket that is rotatable about an axis relative to the washing machine; b) a drive motor for rotating the wash basket; c) a balancing ring mounted to the wash basket in a plane that is generally perpendicular to the rotation axis, the balancing ring having a balancing mass that is movable relative to the balancing ring; and d) a suspension structure mounted to the washing machine and supporting the wash basket, the suspension structure having, i) two resonant critical frequencies for two transnational degrees of freedom of the suspension structure that are generally perpendicular to the axis of rotation that each occur at or below a critical first motor speed, and ii) three other resonance frequencies for three rotational degrees of freedom of the suspension structure that each occur at or above a second motor speed that is higher than the first speed.
- 10. The washing machine according to claim 9, further comprising:a motor controller that i) initially ramps up the motor to an initial spin speed that is incrementally higher than the first motor speed and lower than the second motor speed, ii) dwells the motor at the initial spin speed until the balancing mass of the balancing ring is repositioned to reduce any imbalance in the wash basket, and, iii) subsequently ramps up the motor to the steady state final spin speed that is higher than the second motor speed.
- 11. The washing machine according to claim 10, wherein the motor controller finally ramps up the motor at a rate that permits the balancing mass to remain in the same correcting position relative to the balancing ring while ramping up as well as after reaching the steady state final spin speed.
- 12. The washing machine according to claim 9, wherein the balancing ring comprises a fluid balancing ring having an annular chamber and the fluid held in the chamber and movable around the chamber.
- 13. The washing machine according to claim 9, wherein the balancing ring comprises a ball balancing ring having an annular chamber and both a viscous fluid and a plurality of weighted balls held in the chamber and movable around the chamber.
- 14. The washing machine according to claim 9, wherein the wash basket is rotatable about a generally vertical axis.
- 15. The washing machine according to claim 9, wherein the wash basket is rotatable about a generally horizontal axis.
- 16. A method of reducing displacement of a wash basket that is rotatable about an axis of rotation within a washing machine, the washing machine having a drive motor for rotating the wash basket, the method comprising:mounting a balancing ring to the wash basket in a plane that is generally perpendicular to the axis of rotation, the balancing ring having a balancing mass that is movable relative to the balancing ring; supporting the wash basket by suspension structure to the washing machine; determining two resonant critical frequencies for two translational degrees of freedom of the suspension structure that are generally in the plane of the balancing ring; and initially ramping up the drive motor to the initial spin speed that is above a first motor speed at or below which each of the critical frequencies occurs; dwelling the drive motor at the initial spin speed for a time period that permits the balancing mass to move relative to the balancing ring and to lock up with the balancing ring; and subsequently ramping-up at the drive motor to a final steady state spin speed at a rate that permits the balancing mass to remain generally stationary relative to the balancing ring while ramping up as well as after reaching the steady state final spin speed.
- 17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising the step of:coupling a programmable motor controller to the drive motor for controlling the ramping up and the dwelling steps.
Parent Case Info
This application claims the benefit of Provisional Application No. 60/213,682 filed Jun. 23, 2000.
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|
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Jun 2000 |
US |