Dehydrating method for a washing machine
AssigneesMitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha, Nihon Kentetsu Co., Ltd.
InventorsHiroshi Hirooka, Takeshi Saito, Hirobumi Urabe
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In the initial stage of the dehydrating operation (spin cycle) in a washing machine, operations of rotating the dehydrating tank at a low speed for a predetermined period of time or of stopping the driving motor temporarily when the speed of rotation of the dehydrating tank reaches a predetermined low value are repeated a plurality of times. During this operation, the water contained in the clothes in the dehydrating tank is partly removed and the weight of the load decreased as much. Therefore, in a dehydrating operation in which the tank is rotated at a high speed, the clothes do not have a strong tendency to shift to one side, with the result that little vibration and noise are produced.
Claims7
A method of dehydrating a load of cloths in a tank of a washing machine which comprises the steps of:
- (a) automatically detecting that the operation of said washing machine is in an initial stage of a dehydrating operation;
- (b) in said initial stage of said dehydrating operation, causing said tank to be rotated at a predetermined low speed for a predetermined period of time to partially remove water from said load;
- and
- (c) rotating said tank at high speed when said predetermined period has passed.
The method as claimed in claim 14, further including the steps of generating a rectangular wave clocking signal using a clock circuit and, in response to said clocking signal and the detected speed of rotation of said tank, selecting predetermined half-wave portions of a sinusoidal power waveform to be applied to said motor by said frequency conversion means, thereby affecting said speed of rotation of said tank.
A method of dehydrating a load of clothes in a tank of a washing machine which comprises the steps of:
- (a) automatically detecting whether said washing machine is performing an initial stage of a dehydration operation;
- (b) determining whether a dehydrating operation being carried out is a first dehydrating operation or a second dehydrating operation;
- (c) in said initial stage of said dehydrating operation, causing said tank to be rotated at a predetermined low speed for a predetermined period of time to partially remove water from said load;
- and
- (d) rotating said tank at high speed when said predetermined period has passed, and adding water to said load when it is determined that said second dehydrating operation is being carried out.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.