Drum type washing machine and its control method

Abstract

The present invention provides a drum-type washing machine which features suppression of vibrations and noises during dehydration. To this end, an unbalanced load occurring around a rotation axis of the drum due to uneven distribution of laundry is canceled. More specifically, a plurality of water tanks (20) each having an opening on the inner periphery thereof are provided around the rotation axis on the back side of the drum (3). Where an eccentric load occurring due to the uneven distribution of the laundry is greater than an allowable level, a water supply valve (14) is opened to introduce water into the respective water tanks (20) with the drum 3 kept rotated, and the water is kept retained in the water tanks by a centrifugal force. Thereafter, the rotation speed of the drum (3) is temporarily reduced at a time point according to the position of the eccentric load to cause the water to fall only from water tanks (20) located at the same position as the position of the eccentric load or adjacent the position of the eccentric load for reduction of the weight of the water retained therein. The eccentric load occurring due to the uneven distribution of the laundry is canceled by an eccentric load generated by the water tanks not fully filled with the water and the other water tanks fully filled with the water, whereby the unbalanced load exerted on the entire drum (3) can be eliminated.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.