# US 12,006,616 B2 · Drain pump driving apparatus and laundry treatment machine including the same

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- Number: US 12,006,616 B2
- Document ID: US12006616B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/258,149
- Filed: 2019-07-05
- Published: 2021-07-29
- Granted: 2024-06-11
- Earliest claimed: 2018-07-06
- Assignees: LG Electronics Inc.
- Applicants: LG Electronics Inc.
- Inventors: Jieon Kim; Jeongbin Rew; Junho Lee
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12006616B2

## CPC

- D06F 34/10: Power supply arrangements, e.g. stand-by circuits
- D06F 33/42: of draining
- D06F 33/47: Responding to irregular working conditions, e.g. malfunctioning of pumps (safety arrangements D06F37/42)
- D06F 37/30: Driving arrangements (control circuits or arrangements D06F34/08)
- D06F 39/085: {Arrangements or adaptations of pumps}
- F04D 13/06: the pump being electrically driven
- F04D 15/00: Control, e.g. regulation, of pumps, pumping installations or systems
- H02H 7/122: for inverters, i.e. DC/AC converters
- H02P 27/06: using DC to AC converters or inverters (H02P27/05 takes precedence)
- H02P 27/08: with pulse width modulation
- H02P 29/024: Detecting a fault condition, e.g. short circuit, locked rotor, open circuit or loss of load
- H02P 29/026: {the fault being a power fluctuation}
- D06F 2103/48: of the motor driving the pump
- D06F 2105/08: Draining of washing liquids
- D06F 2105/46: Drum speed; Actuation of motors, e.g. starting or interrupting
- D06F 2105/58: Indications or alarms to the control system or to the user
- D06F 2105/62: Stopping or disabling machine operation
- F04D 1/00: Radial-flow pumps, e.g. centrifugal pumps; Helico-centrifugal pumps (adapted for pumping specific fluids F04D7/00; priming or boosting F04D9/00)
- H02P 2201/09: Boost converter, i.e. DC-DC step up converter increasing the voltage between the supply and the inverter driving the motor
- H02P 2201/15: Power factor correction [PFC] circuit generating the DC link voltage for motor driving inverter
- Y02B 40/00: Technologies aiming at improving the efficiency of home appliances, e.g. induction cooking or efficient technologies for refrigerators, freezers or dish washers
- D06F: LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
- F04D: NON-POSITIVE-DISPLACEMENT PUMPS (engine fuel-injection pumps F02M; ion pumps H01J41/12; electrodynamic pumps H02K44/02)
- H02H: EMERGENCY PROTECTIVE CIRCUIT ARRANGEMENTS (indicating or signalling undesired working conditions G01R, e.g. G01R31/00, G08B; locating faults along lines G01R31/08; emergency protective devices H01H)
- H02P: CONTROL OR REGULATION OF ELECTRIC MOTORS, ELECTRIC GENERATORS OR DYNAMO-ELECTRIC CONVERTERS; CONTROLLING TRANSFORMERS, REACTORS OR CHOKE COILS
- Y02B: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO BUILDINGS, e.g. HOUSING, HOUSE APPLIANCES OR RELATED END-USER APPLICATIONS

## Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a drain pump driving apparatus and a laundry treatment machine including the same. A drain pump driving apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a converter; an inverter to output converted AC voltage to a drain pump motor; an output current detector to detect an output current flowing in the motor; and a controller to control the inverter, wherein in case in which the speed of the motor increases and the output current flowing in the motor decreases during a predetermined period among an operation period of the drain motor, the controller controls the inverter to be turned off. Accordingly, it is possible to protect internal circuit elements in case the motor loses its synchronism.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A drain pump driving apparatus comprising:
a drain pump including a water introduction part for introducing water, a chamber connected to the water introduction part, an impeller disposed within the chamber, a motor disposed on an opposite side of the water introduction part relative to the impeller, and a water discharge part for discharging water and connected to one side of the chamber, wherein the water discharge part is formed in a direction normal to the chamber;
a converter to output a direct current (DC) voltage;
an inverter module including an inverter to convert the DC voltage from the converter into an alternating current (AC) voltage based on a switching operation and to output the converted AC voltage to the motor;
an output current detector to detect an output current flowing in the motor; and
a controller configured to control the inverter,
wherein in case in which a speed of the motor increases and the output current flowing in the motor decreases during a predetermined period among an operation period of the motor, the controller is configured to control the inverter to be turned off,
wherein in case in which a level of the output current is maintained within a given range during a first period among the operation period and then increases during a second period among the operation period, and the level of the output current flowing in the motor during a third period between the first period and the second period is higher than the level of the output current flowing in the motor during the second period, the controller is configured to control the inverter to be turned off.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The drain pump driving apparatus of claim 1,
wherein in case in which pulse width in motor voltage information received from the inverter module decreases and the output current flowing in the motor decreases during a predetermined period among the operation period of the motor, the controller is configured to control the inverter to be turned off.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The drain pump driving apparatus of claim 1, wherein in case in which a level of motor voltage information received from the inverter module is constant or within a predetermined range during the predetermined period, the controller is configured to control the inverter to be turned off.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The drain pump driving apparatus of claim 3, wherein in case in which the level of the motor voltage information received from the inverter module varies during the operation period of the motor, the controller is configured to control the inverter to perform the switching operation of the inverter.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The drain pump driving apparatus of claim 1, wherein in case in which the speed of the motor is constant during the first period while the level of the output current is maintained and then the speed of the motor decreases during the second period while the level of the output current increases, the controller is configured to control the inverter to be turned off.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The drain pump driving apparatus of claim 1, wherein in case in which the speed of the motor is constant during the first period while the level of the output current is maintained and then the speed of the motor decreases during the second period while the level of the output current increases, the controller is configured to output an error message.

### Claim 7

A laundry treatment machine comprising:
a washing tub;
a driver to drive the washing tub;
a drain pump including a water introduction part for introducing water, a chamber connected to the water introduction part, an impeller disposed within the chamber, a motor disposed on an opposite side of the water introduction part relative to the impeller, and a water discharge part for discharging water and connected to one side of the chamber, wherein the water discharge part is formed in a direction normal to the chamber; and
a drain pump driving apparatus to drive the drain pump,
wherein the drain pump driving apparatus comprises:
a converter to output a direct current (DC) voltage;
an inverter module including an inverter to convert the DC voltage from the converter into an alternating current (AC) voltage based on a switching operation and to output the converted AC voltage to the motor;
an output current detector to detect an output current flowing in the motor; and
a controller configured to control the inverter,
wherein in case in which a speed of the motor increases and the output current flowing in the motor decreases during a predetermined period among an operation period of the motor, the controller is configured to control the inverter to be turned off,
wherein in case in which a level of the output current is maintained within a given range during a first period among the operation period and then increases during a second period among the operation period, and the level of the output current flowing in the motor during a third period between the first period and the second period is higher than the level of the output current flowing in the motor during the second period, the controller is configured to control the inverter to be turned off.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The laundry treatment machine of claim 7,
wherein in case in which pulse width in motor voltage information received from the inverter module decreases and the output current flowing in the motor decreases during a predetermined period among an operation period of the motor, the controller is configured to control the inverter to be turned off.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The laundry treatment machine of claim 7, wherein in case in which a level of motor voltage information received from the inverter module is constant or within a predetermined range during the predetermined period, the controller is configured to control the inverter to be turned off.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The laundry treatment machine of claim 9, wherein in case in which the level of the motor voltage information received from the inverter module varies during the operation period of the motor, the controller is configured to control the inverter to perform the switching operation of the inverter.

### Claim 11 (depends on 7)

The laundry treatment machine of claim 7, wherein in case in which the speed of the motor is constant during the first period while the level of the output current is maintained and then the speed of the motor decreases during the second period while the level of the output current increases, the controller is configured to control the inverter to be turned off.

### Claim 12 (depends on 7)

The laundry treatment machine of claim 7, wherein in case in which the speed of the motor is constant during the first period while the level of the output current is maintained and then the speed of the motor decreases during the second period while the level of the output current increases, the controller is configured to output an error message.