Patent Application
20250129530
The disclosure relates to a washing machine that performs a washing process and a spin-drying process on laundry and a method for controlling the washing machine.
In general, a washing machine may include a tub accommodating water for washing and a drum rotatably installed in the tub. In addition, the washing machine may wash laundry by rotating the drum containing the laundry.
The laundry may be put into the drum through an inlet formed in a main body, and the inlet formed in the main body may be opened and closed by a door.
The washing machine may perform a washing cycle including a washing process of separating contaminants from the laundry using water mixed with detergent, a rinsing process of rinsing away foam or residual detergent from the laundry with detergent-free water, and a spin-drying process of spin-drying the laundry at high speed, and the like.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the disclosure.
SUMMARY
Aspects of the disclosure are to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to provide a washing machine that performs a washing process and a spin-drying process on laundry and a method for controlling the washing machine.
Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments.
In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a washing machine is provided. The washing machine includes a cabinet having an inlet through which laundry is inserted, a plurality of legs disposed under the cabinet and configured to support the cabinet, a tub provided inside the cabinet, a drum rotatable in the tub, and a drum motor configured to provide power to rotate the drum, a vibration sensor configured to detect vibrations occurring in the cabinet along at least two axes, memory storing one or more computer programs, and one or more processors communicatively coupled to the memory and the vibration sensor, wherein the one or more computer programs include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors individually or collectively, cause the washing machine to determine a leg that is not seated on an installation surface among the plurality of legs based on a phase difference between a first signal and a second signal output from the vibration sensor.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, a method performed by a washing machine including a cabinet having an inlet through which laundry is inserted, a tub provided inside the cabinet and having an opening, and a drum rotatable in the tub is provided. The method includes rotating the drum, obtaining a first signal and a second signal output from a vibration sensor configured to detect vibrations occurring in the cabinet along at least two axes while the drum rotates, and determining a leg that is not seated on an installation surface among the plurality of legs based on a phase difference between a first signal and a second signal output from the vibration sensor.
In accordance with another aspect of the disclosure, one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media storing one or more computer programs including computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to perform operations are provided. The operations include rotating a drum of a washing machine, obtaining a first signal and a second signal output from a vibration sensor of the washing machine configured to detect vibrations occurring in the cabinet along at least two axes while the drum rotates; and determining a leg that is not seated on an installation surface among the plurality of legs based on a phase difference between a first signal and a second signal output from the vibration sensor.
Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses various embodiments of the disclosure.
The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain embodiments of the disclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
The same reference numerals are used to represent the same elements throughout the drawings.
The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.
The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.
According to an embodiment, a washing machine 100 may include: a cabinet 101 having an inlet through which laundry is inserted; a plurality of legs 104 disposed under the cabinet and configured to support the cabinet; a tub 120 provided inside the cabinet; a drum 130 rotatable in the tub; and a motor 140 configured to provide power to rotate the drum.
The washing machine 100 may further include a vibration sensor 171 configured to detect vibrations occurring in the cabinet along at least two axes.
The washing machine 100 may further include at least one processor 191 configured to determine a leg that is not seated on an installation surface among the plurality of legs based on a phase difference between a first signal and a second signal output from the vibration sensor.
The at least one processor may be configured to determine that a left leg of the plurality of legs is not seated on the installation surface, based on the phase difference between the first signal and the second signal being less than a first reference value.
The at least one processor may be configured to determine a right leg of the plurality of legs is not seated on the installation surface, based on the phase difference between the first signal and the second signal exceeding a second reference value.
The first reference value may be selected from a range of 45 to 80 degrees, and the second reference value may be selected from a range of 100 to 135 degrees.
The at least one processor may be configured to determine that a front left leg of the plurality of legs is not seated on the installation surface, based on the phase difference between the first signal and the second signal being less than a first reference value.
The at least one processor may be configured to determine that a front right leg of the plurality of legs is not seated on the installation surface, based on the phase difference between the first signal and the second signal exceeding a second reference value.
The at least two axes may include an X-axis and a Y-axis corresponding to an XY plane parallel to a bottom side of the washing machine.
The vibration sensor may include a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) to measure acceleration in three axes including an X-axis and a Y-axis corresponding to an XY plane parallel to a bottom side of the washing machine.
The vibration sensor may be disposed in an upper front of the cabinet.
The at least one processor may be configured to obtain a Lissajous curve based on the first signal and the second signal, and calculate the phase difference between the first signal and the second signal based on the Lissajous curve.
The at least one processor may be configured to determine the leg that is not seated on the installation surface among the plurality of legs during a spin-drying process or a test operation.
The washing machine may further include at least one of a speaker or a display configured to output a notification about the leg that is not seated on the installation surface among the plurality of legs.
The washing machine may further include a communication module configured to transmit a notification about the leg that is not seated on the installation surface among the plurality of legs to a server or a mobile device.
According to an embodiment, a method for controlling a washing machine relates to a method for controlling a washing machine including a cabinet having an inlet through which laundry is inserted, a tub provided inside the cabinet and having an opening, and a drum rotatable in the tub.
The method may include: rotating the drum; and obtaining a first signal and a second signal output from a vibration sensor configured to detect vibrations occurring in the cabinet along at least two axes while the drum rotates.
The method may include determining a leg that is not seated on an installation surface among the plurality of legs based on a phase difference between a first signal and a second signal output from the vibration sensor.
The determining of the leg not seated on the installation surface among the plurality of legs may include determining that a left leg of the plurality of legs is not seated on the installation surface, based on the phase difference between the first signal and the second signal being less than a first reference value.
The determining of the leg not seated on the installation surface among the plurality of legs may include determining that a right leg of the plurality of legs is not seated on the installation surface, based on the phase difference between the first signal and the second signal exceeding a second reference value.
The first reference value may be selected from a range of 45 to 80 degrees, and the second reference value may be selected from a range of 100 to 135 degrees.
The determining of the leg not seated on the installation surface among the plurality of legs may include determining that a front left leg of the plurality of legs is not seated on the installation surface, based on the phase difference between the first signal and the second signal being less than a first reference value.
The determining of the leg not seated on the installation surface among the plurality of legs may include determining that a front right leg of the plurality of legs is not seated on the installation surface, based on the phase difference between the first signal and the second signal exceeding a second reference value.
The at least two axes may include an X-axis and a Y-axis corresponding to an XY plane parallel to a bottom side of the washing machine.
The vibration sensor may include a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) to measure acceleration in three axes including an X-axis and a Y-axis corresponding to an XY plane parallel to a bottom side of the washing machine.
The vibration sensor may be disposed in an upper front of the cabinet.
The determining of the leg not seated on the installation surface among the plurality of legs may include obtaining a Lissajous curve based on the first signal and the second signal, and calculating the phase difference between the first signal and the second signal based on the Lissajous curve.
The determining of the leg not seated on the installation surface among the plurality of legs may include determining the leg that is not seated on the installation surface among the plurality of legs during a spin-drying process or a test operation.
The method may further include outputting a notification about the leg that is not seated on the installation surface among the plurality of legs.
The method may further include transmitting a notification about the leg that is not seated on the installation surface among the plurality of legs to a server or a mobile device.
Embodiments described in the disclosure and configurations shown in the drawings are merely examples of the embodiments of the disclosure, and may be modified in various different ways at the time of filing of the application to replace the embodiments and drawings of the disclosure.
The terms used in the specification are merely used to describe embodiments, and are not intended to limit and/or restrict the disclosure. The singular forms are intended to include the plural unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
It is to be understood that when the terms “includes,” “comprises,” “including,” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, figures, steps, operations, components, members, or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, figures, steps, operations, components, members, or combinations thereof.
The terms such as “˜portion”, “˜device”, “˜block”, “˜member”, “˜module” and the like may refer to a unit for processing at least one function or act. For example, the terms may refer to at least one process processed by at least one hardware, such as a field-programmable gate array (FPGA)/application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), software stored in memory, or processors.
It is to be understood that the terms “first”, “second”, or the like, may be used only to distinguish one component from another, not intended to limit the corresponding component in other aspects.
Reference numerals used for method steps are just used for convenience of description, but not to limit an order of the steps. Thus, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, the written order may be practiced otherwise.
The term “at least one” used herein includes any and all combinations of the associated listed items. For example, it is to be understood that the term “at least one of a, b, or c” may include only a, only b, only c, both a and b, both a and c, both b and c, or all of a, b and c.
A washing machine and a method for controlling the same according to an aspect of the disclosure are described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings.
It should be appreciated that the blocks in each flowchart and combinations of the flowcharts may be performed by one or more computer programs which include instructions. The entirety of the one or more computer programs may be stored in a single memory device or the one or more computer programs may be divided with different portions stored in different multiple memory devices.
Any of the functions or operations described herein can be processed by one processor or a combination of processors. The one processor or the combination of processors is circuitry performing processing and includes circuitry like an application processor (AP, e.g. a central processing unit (CPU)), a communication processor (CP, e.g., a modem), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a neural processing unit (NPU) (e.g., an artificial intelligence (AI) chip), a Wi-Fi chip, a Bluetooth® chip, a global positioning system (GPS) chip, a near field communication (NFC) chip, connectivity chips, a sensor controller, a touch controller, a finger-print sensor controller, a display drive integrated circuit (IC), an audio CODEC chip, a universal serial bus (USB) controller, a camera controller, an image processing IC, a microprocessor unit (MPU), a system on chip (SoC), an IC, or the like.
A washing machine 100 according to an embodiment may include a front-loading washing machine in which an inlet 101a for inserting or taking out laundry is disposed on a front side of the washing machine 100 as shown in
Referring to
A tub 120 may be provided inside the cabinet 101. The tub 120 may accommodate water for washing or rinsing laundry.
The cabinet 101 forms an exterior of the washing machine 100, and accommodates components such as the tub 120 and a drum 130. The cabinet 101 may be referred to as a frame or a main body. That is, regardless of the name referred to, as long as a component performs the same role as the cabinet 101 in the embodiment, it may be interpreted as a configuration corresponding to the cabinet 101 of the washing machine 100.
The tub 120 may include a tub bottom side 122 that is approximately circular, and a tub side wall 121 that is formed along the circumference of the tub bottom side 122. An opening may be formed on a side facing the bottom of the tub 120 to allow laundry to be put into or taken out.
For the front-loading washing machine, as shown in
For the top-loading washing machine, as shown in
The drum 130 may be rotatable inside the tub 120. The drum 130 may receive power for rotation from a motor 140. A bearing 122a for rotatably fixing the motor 140 may be disposed on the tub bottom side 122.
The drum 130 may accommodate laundry. For example, the drum 130 may have a cylindrical shape with one bottom side open. The drum 130 may include a drum bottom side 132 that is approximately circular and a drum side wall 131 formed along the circumference of the drum bottom side 132. An opening may be formed on the other bottom side of the drum 130 to allow laundry to be put into or taken out of the drum 130.
Through holes 131a connecting the inside and outside of the drum 130 may be formed on the drum side wall 131 to allow water supplied to the tub 120 to flow into the drum 130.
For the front-loading washing machine, as shown in
For the top-loading washing machine, as shown in
The drum bottom side 132 may be connected to a rotation shaft 141 of the motor 140 rotating the drum 130. The motor 140 may generate torque to rotate the drum 130.
The motor 140 may be disposed outside of the bottom side 122 of the tub 120, and may be connected to the bottom side 132 of the drum 130 through the rotation shaft 141. The rotation shaft 141 penetrates the tub bottom side 122 and may be rotatably supported by the bearing 122a provided on the tub bottom side 122.
The motor 140 may include a stator 142 fixed to the outside of the tub bottom side 122, and a rotor 143 that is rotatable relative to the tub 120 and the stator 142. The rotor 143 may be connected to the rotation shaft 141.
The rotor 143 may rotate through magnetic interaction with the stator 142, and the rotation of the rotor 143 may be transmitted to the drum 130 through the rotation shaft 141.
The motor 140 may include, for example, a brushless direct current (BLDC) motor or a permanent synchronous motor (PMSM) whose rotation speed is easy to control.
For the top-loading washing machine, as shown in
The inner shaft 145a may be connected to the pulsator 133. The outer shaft 145b may be connected to the drum bottom side 132. The clutch 145 may transmit the rotation of the rotation shaft 141 to both the pulsator 133 and the drum 130 through the inner shaft 145a and the outer shaft 145b, or may transmit the rotation of the rotation shaft 141 only to the pulsator 133 through the inner shaft 145a.
A water supply device 150 may supply water to the tub 120 and the drum 130. The water supply device 150 may include a first water supply device 151 supplying water without detergent to the drum 130, and a second water supply device 152 supplying water containing detergent to the tub 120 and the drum 130.
The water supply device 150 may include water supply pipes 151b and 152b connected to an external water supply source to supply water to the tub 120, and water supply valves 151a and 152a arranged on the water supply pipes 151b and 152b.
The water supply pipes 151b and 152b may be disposed above the tub 120, and may extend from the external water supply source to a detergent container 181 or the front of the tub 120.
The water supply valves 151a and 152a may allow or block the supply of water from the external water supply source to the tub 120 in response to an electrical signal. For example, the water supply valves 151a and 152a may include a solenoid valve that opens and closes in response to an electrical signal.
A detergent supply device 180 may supply detergent to the tub 120 and the drum 130. The detergent supply device 180 may include the detergent container 181 disposed above the tub 120 to store detergent, and a mixing pipe 182 connecting the detergent container 181 to the tub 120.
The detergent container 181 may be connected to the second water supply pipe 152b, and water supplied through the second water supply pipe 152b may be mixed with detergent in the detergent container 181. The mixture of detergent and water may be supplied to the tub 120 through the mixing pipe 182.
The first water supply pipe 151b may be connected to the external water supply source to supply water to the tub 120 without passing through the detergent container 181. The water without detergent may be used to rinse the laundry. To this end, the first water supply pipe 151b may be connected to at least one nozzle 151c and 151d for supplying water without detergent into the tub 120.
The at least one nozzle 151c and 151d may include the first nozzle 151c spraying water without detergent toward the door 102 and the second nozzle 151d spraying water without detergent toward the tub 120.
The first nozzle 151c may spray water directly toward the door 102, and the water falling directly may be stored in the tub 120 after washing the door 102.
The second nozzle 151d may spray water into the drum 130 and may be inclined toward the inside of the drum 130 to have a spray angle that is not interfered with by the door 102. Accordingly, water without detergent sprayed through the second nozzle 151d may be immediately stored in the tub 120.
A drainage device 160 may discharge water in the tub 120 or the drum 130 to the outside. The drainage device 160 may include a drain pipe 161 arranged below the tub 120 and extending from the tub 120 to the outside of the cabinet 101.
For the front-loading washing machine, as shown in
For the top-loading washing machine, as shown in
Referring to
The structures described with reference to
Referring to
For example, the motor driver 10 may include a rectifier circuit, a direct current (DC) link circuit, and an inverter circuit. The rectifier circuit may include a diode bridge including a plurality of diodes, and may rectify alternating current (AC) power of an external power source. The DC link circuit may include a DC link capacitor storing electric energy, and may remove ripples of the rectified power and output DC power.
The inverter circuit may include a plurality of pairs of switching elements, and may convert the DC power of the DC link circuit into DC or AC drive power, and supply the drive current to the motor 140.
The user interface 110 may include an input device 111 for receiving a user input to select to turn the washing machine 100 on or off, to select to start/stop an operation of the washing machine 100, to select a washing course, to select a rinsing process or a spin-drying process, or to select a process execution time or intensity of the washing machine 100.
In addition, the user interface 110 may include a display 112 to display various information for guiding the user input described above, display information about a currently running process, or display information about a state of the washing machine 100.
In addition, the user interface 110 may further include a speaker 113 to audibly output a notification about an operation or state of the washing machine 100.
The input device 111 and the display 112 may be provided separately, or together as a touch screen.
The washing machine 100 may include a detector 170 detecting data indicating a current state of the washing machine 100. For example, the detector 170 may include a current sensor detecting a current flowing to the motor 140. In addition, the washing machine 100 may include a vibration sensor detecting vibration occurring in the washing machine 100, which will be described in detail below.
The controller 190 may control an operation of the washing machine 100 according to the user input received by the user interface 110, and may use an output of the detector 170 to control the operation of the washing machine 100.
The controller 190 includes at least one memory 192 storing a program for performing the aforementioned operations and the operation to be described below, and at least one processor 191 executing the stored program.
For example, the controller 190 may control the water supply device 150 to supply water to the drum 130 and control the motor driver 10 to rotate the drum 130 to perform a washing process, a rinsing process, and a spin-drying process, and thus washing may be performed according to the washing course selected by a user. Alternatively, the washing process may be omitted and at least one of the rinsing process or the spin-drying process may be performed according to the user's selection.
The controller 190 may rotate the drum 130 according to a predetermined spin-drying profile when performing the spin-drying process. Here, rotating the drum 130 by the controller 190 may include controlling the motor 140, and controlling the motor 140 may include transmitting a control signal to the motor driver 10.
For example, the controller 190 may rotate the drum 130 according to a spin-drying profile shown in
Referring to
The spin-drying profile may be stored in the memory 192, and the processor 191 may perform the spin-drying process by rotating the drum 130 according to the stored spin-drying profile. Alternatively, the spin-drying profile may be appropriately changed according to the load of laundry accommodated in the drum 130.
The spin-drying profile of
As may be seen in the spin-drying profile of
In particular, in a case where at least one of the plurality of legs 104 of the washing machine 100 is not properly installed, for example, in a case where at least one of the plurality of legs 104 is spaced apart from the plane (hereinafter referred to as the ‘installation surface’) on which the washing machine 100 is installed, the vibration may occur more significantly.
Accordingly, the washing machine 100 according to an embodiment may detect the vibration occurring during the spin-drying process, and perform a process to correspond thereto. In particular, the washing machine 100 may determine which leg of the plurality of legs 104 is causing the vibration, and provide information about the leg to the user, thereby inducing the user to take appropriate action. Hereinafter, the related configuration and operation will be described in detail.
Referring to
Referring to
However, the position of the vibration sensor 171 illustrated in
The vibration sensor 171 may be implemented as at least one of various sensors capable of detecting vibrations. For example, the vibration sensor 171 may be implemented as at least one of a displacement sensor that measures a displacement of vibration, a velocity sensor that measures a velocity, or an acceleration sensor that measures an acceleration.
Specifically, the vibration sensor 171 may be implemented as a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) to improve vibration detection performance. In this case, the MEMS may be mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) of the washing machine 100. For example, the PCB with the MEMS may be a PCB connected to the user interface 110 or a PCB to which the controller 190 is provided.
The number or position of the vibration sensor 171 is not limited as long as it may effectively measure vibrations occurring in the cabinet 101.
As described above, the washing machine 100 may be provided with the four legs 104 at the bottom to support the washing machine 100. In general, the two rear legs 104R are fixed, and the two front legs 104F are used to allow the washing machine 100 to be adhered to an installation surface.
In this instance, in a case where even one of the four legs 104 is not properly installed, vibrations may occur significantly during a spin-drying process. Referring to
The washing machine 100 according to an embodiment may detect the vibrations caused by such an unbalanced leg, and may also determine which leg of the plurality of legs 104 is causing such vibrations. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation related thereto are described in detail.
As described above, MEMS may be used as an example of the vibration sensor 171. In this case, the vibration sensor 171 may measure acceleration for each of an X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis. In the embodiment, the vibration sensor 171 may be installed such that the X-axis corresponds to the front of the washing machine 100, the Y-axis corresponds to the left direction of the washing machine 100, and the Z-axis corresponds to the upper direction of the washing machine 100. An XY plane may be parallel to the bottom side of the washing machine 100.
In order to verify an output of the vibration sensor 171 in a case where the leg 104 of the washing machine 100 is unbalanced, experiments were conducted for each of the following cases: a case where all four legs 104 are seated on the installation surface (normal), a case where the front right leg 104F-R is unseated and is separated from the installation surface by 2 mm, and a case where the front left leg 104F-L is unseated and is separated from the installation surface by 2 mm.
For the experiment, a spin-drying process of the washing machine 100 was performed under an eccentric load of 300 g, and an output of the vibration sensor 171 was obtained at the maximum spin-drying speed of 1000 RPM.
As a result, in the normal case, signals as shown in
Referring to
In particular, the washing machine 100 according to an embodiment may determine whether the legs 104 are normally installed or whether the legs 104 are balanced based on the X-axis signal and the Y-axis signal among the X-axis signal, the Y-axis signal, and the Z-axis signal shown in
The controller 190 may generate a Lissajous curve using the X-axis signal (hereinafter referred to as the first signal) and the Y-axis signal (hereinafter referred to as the second signal) among the signals output from the vibration sensor 171.
As a result, in the case where the legs 104 are normally installed, a Lissajous curve having a shape as shown in
Referring to
Referring to
θ=sin−1(B/A) Equation 1
By calculating the phase difference between the first and second signals using the Lissajous curve obtained through the above-described experiment, the phase difference between the first and second signals is calculated as 73.9 degrees in the case where the legs 104 are normally installed, the phase difference between the first and second signals is calculated as 127.4 degrees in the case where the front right leg 104F-R is unseated, and the phase difference between the first and second signals is calculated as 44.6 degrees in the case where the front left leg 104F-L is unseated
Based on the experimental results, or based on simulation or theory, a reference value may be set to determine whether the legs 104 are normally installed.
Meanwhile, it is assumed in the above-described example that the front legs 104F are unseated on the installation surface, but depending on the implementation of the washing machine 100, the front legs 104F may be fixed and the rear legs 104R may be adjusted to be in close contact with the installation surface.
In this case, a left leg and a right leg that are determined as unseated on the installation surface by the controller 190 may be the rear left leg and the rear right leg, respectively.
In addition, in this case, an installation location of the vibration sensor 171 may be changed to the rear of the cabinet 101.
Referring to
For example, the first reference value may be set to a value selected from a range of 45 to 80 degrees, and the second reference value may be set to a value selected from a range of 100 to 135 degrees.
However, the above-described reference value ranges are only an example, and a reference value may be different from the above example based on an experiment, simulation, or theory for the washing machine 100.
The controller 190 may output a notification in a case where an imbalance is detected in at least one of the plurality of legs 104 based on an output of the vibration sensor 171 while the washing machine 100 is performing a spin-drying process.
The notification may be output audibly through the speaker 113 or visually through the display 112.
For example, in a case where the notification is output through the speaker 113 and the controller 190 determines that the right leg 104F-R is unseated on the installation surface, the notification indicating that the right leg is detected as unseated on the installation surface may be output through the speaker 113, as shown in
In a case where the controller 190 determines that the left leg 104F-L is unseated on the installation surface, a notification indicating that the left leg is detected as unseated on the installation surface may be output through the speaker 113, as shown in
The specific content of the output notification may be different from the example above, as long as it may convey information about which leg is unseated.
Meanwhile, even though vibrations occur due to improper installation of the leg, the controller 190 may continue the spin-drying process to completion, may stop the spin-drying process, and may perform a noise reduction process by adjusting an RPM of the drum 130 according to a set algorithm.
Referring to
The communication module 20 may include a wireless communication module that wirelessly exchanges data with electronic devices. Alternatively, the communication module 20 may further include a wired communication module.
The wireless communication module may wirelessly communicate with a base station or an access point (AP), and may exchange data with electronic devices via the base station or the access point.
For example, the wireless communication module may wirelessly communicate with an access point (AP) using WiFi (IEEE 802.11 standard), or may communicate with a base station using code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband CDMA (WCDMA), global system for mobile communication (GSM), long term evolution (LTE), 5th generation (5G), WiBro, and the like.
In addition, the wireless communication module may also directly communicate with electronic devices. For example, the wireless communication module may exchange data with nearby external devices using Wi-Fi Direct, Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1 standard), ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4 standard), and the like.
In a case where the controller 190 detects an unbalanced leg of the washing machine 100, a mobile device 300 of a user may display a notification 311 about the unbalanced leg on a display 310 as shown in
To this end, the controller 190 may transmit a notification about the unbalanced leg to a server through the communication module 20. When the notification is transmitted, the server may transmit a related notification to the user's mobile device 300. In this instance, the mobile device 300 may be a pre-registered mobile device, and an application for managing home appliances including the washing machine 100 may be installed on the mobile device 300.
Alternatively, the communication module 20 may directly transmit the notification about the unbalanced leg to the mobile device 300 using a short-range wireless communication method such as Bluetooth.
Meanwhile, the above unbalanced leg detection and the notification output may be performed during a test operation of the washing machine 100. In this case, the aforementioned operation may be performed using the output of the vibration sensor 171 while the drum 130 is rotated at high speed for the test operation of the washing machine 100.
By providing the user with information about which leg is not properly installed in any manner, the user may reinstall the improperly installed leg to allow the leg to be seated on the installation surface, thereby reducing the noise caused by the vibrations of the washing machine 100.
Hereinafter, a method for controlling a washing machine according to an embodiment is described. The method for controlling a washing machine according to an embodiment may be performed by the washing machine 100 according to the embodiment described above. That is, in the method for controlling a washing machine according to an embodiment, the control target may be the washing machine 100 according to the above embodiment.
Accordingly, the above description of the washing machine 100 is applicable to the method for controlling a washing machine according to an embodiment, unless otherwise stated. Conversely, the following description of the method for controlling a washing machine according to an embodiment is applicable to the washing machine 100 unless otherwise stated.
Referring to
Here, rotating the drum 130 by the controller 190 may include controlling the motor 140, and controlling the motor 140 may include transmitting a control signal to the motor driver 10.
The controller 190 may perform the spin-drying process by rotating the drum 130 according to a pre-stored spin-drying profile. Alternatively, the spin-drying profile may be appropriately changed according to the load of laundry accommodated in the drum 130.
During spin-drying, the vibration sensor 171 may detect vibration in the X-axis direction and vibration in the Y-axis direction, and may output a first signal and a second signal corresponding to the detected vibrations.
The vibration sensor 171 may output the first signal and the second signal in real time or periodically during spin-drying, or may output the first signal and the second signal when a spin-drying speed, i.e., an RPM of the drum 130, reaches a maximum speed.
The controller 190 calculates a phase difference between the first signal and the second signal output from the vibration sensor 171 at operation 1200. For example, the controller 190 may calculate a phase difference between the first signal and the second signal output from the vibration sensor 171 when the RPM of the drum 130 reaches the maximum speed.
As described above, the controller 190 may generate a Lissajous curve using the first signal and the second signal among the signals output from the vibration sensor 171. The controller 190 may calculate the phase difference between the first signal and the second signal using the Lissajous curve (see Equation 1).
In a case where the calculated phase difference is less than a first reference value (Yes in operation 1300), the controller 190 may determine that a left leg is unseated on an installation surface at operation 1400. In a case where the calculated phase difference exceeds a second reference value (No in operation 1300, Yes in operation 1600), the controller 190 may determine that a right leg is unseated on the installation surface at operation 1700.
For example, the first reference value may be set to a value selected from a range of 45 to 80 degrees, and the second reference value may be set to a value selected from a range of 100 to 135 degrees.
In both the case where the leg unseated on the installation surface is the left leg at operation 1400 and the case where the leg unseated on the installation surface is the right leg at operation 1700, a notification indicating that the leg is not properly installed may be output at operation 1500.
The notification may be output audibly through the speaker 113 of the washing machine 100 or visually through the display 112.
In addition, the notification may be transmitted to a server through the communication module 20, and the server may transmit the notification to the registered mobile device 300. The mobile device 300 to which the notification has been transmitted may visually or audibly output information about the leg unseated on the installation surface among the legs of the washing machine.
Alternatively, the communication module 20 may directly transmit the notification to the mobile device 300.
According to the washing machine and the control method described above, a defective leg installation of the washing machine may be effectively detected and the detection result may be provided to a user. As a result, the user may reinstall the legs of the washing machine and the vibration noise generated during rotation of the drum may be reduced.
Furthermore, in detecting the leg installation defect of the washing machine, which leg of the left leg or the right leg is defective may be detected and information about the leg may be provided to the user, thereby guiding the reinstallation of the leg.
The above-described method for controlling the washing machine may be stored in a recording medium that stores instructions executable by a computer. That is, the instructions to perform the method for controlling the washing machine may be stored in the recording medium.
The instructions may be stored in the form of program codes, and when executed by a processor, the disclosed embodiments may be performed.
The recording medium may be implemented as a computer-readable recording medium, wherein the recording medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable medium.
The computer-readable recording medium may include all kinds of recording media storing instructions that may be interpreted by a computer. For example, the computer-readable recording medium may be a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, a flash memory, an optical data storage device, etc.
It will be appreciated that various embodiments of the disclosure according to the claims and description in the specification can be realized in the form of hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software.
Any such software may be stored in non-transitory computer readable storage media. The non-transitory computer readable storage media store one or more computer programs (software modules), the one or more computer programs include computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device individually or collectively, cause the electronic device to perform a method of the disclosure.
Any such software may be stored in the form of volatile or non-volatile storage such as, for example, a storage device like read only memory (ROM), whether erasable or rewritable or not, or in the form of memory such as, for example, random access memory (RAM), memory chips, device or integrated circuits or on an optically or magnetically readable medium such as, for example, a compact disk (CD), digital versatile disc (DVD), magnetic disk or magnetic tape or the like. It will be appreciated that the storage devices and storage media are various embodiments of non-transitory machine-readable storage that are suitable for storing a computer program or computer programs comprising instructions that, when executed, implement various embodiments of the disclosure. Accordingly, various embodiments provide a program comprising code for implementing apparatus or a method as claimed in any one of the claims of this specification and a non-transitory machine-readable storage storing such a program.
While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2022-0107973 | Aug 2022 | KR | national |
This application is a continuation application, claiming priority under § 365 (c), of an International application No. PCT/KR2023/009080, filed on Jun. 29, 2023, which is based on and claims the benefit of a Korean patent application number 10-2022-0107973, filed on Aug. 26, 2022, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/KR2023/009080 | Jun 2023 | WO |
| Child | 18984258 | US |
