Direct drive oscillating basket washing machine and control for a washing machine

A drive for a laundry machine having means for agitating fluid and fabrics therein to launder the fabrics and thereafter for spinning the fabrics to centrifugally extract fluid from the fabrics, said drive comprising:

• an electrically energizable motor drivingly connected to said means for agitating and for spinning;
• wash control means effective to provide a timed series of predetermined signals each of said signals having a value representative of a corresponding velocity of said motor;
• and
• motor control means connected to receive the signals and effective to control said motor for operation at a velocity substantially corresponding to the then current signal.

A fabric washing machine comprising agitation means adapted to contact fabrics to be washed and oscillatable in forward and reverse directions to agitate the fluid and fabrics;

• a motor operatively connected to said agitation means;
• and
• operation control means operatively connected to said motor;
• said operation control means including memory means for storing at least one set of empirically determined values representative of corresponding angular motor velocities defining at least one wash stroke of said agitation means;
• said operation control means being operative to call up individual values from said memory means in a predetermined timed sequence and to cause said motor to operate in accordance with the then called up value.

A fabric washing machine comprising:

• agitation means adapted to contact fabrics to be washed and oscillatable in forward and reverse directions to agitate the fluid and fabrics;
• an electronically commutated motor having a stator and a rotor, said rotor being oscillatable in forward and reverse directions;
• drive means directly connecting said motor rotor to said agitation means for oscillating said agitation means in the same instantaneous direction and at substantially the same angular velocity as said rotor;
• and
• operation control means operatively connected to said motor;
• said operation control means including memory means for storing at least one set of empirically determined values representative of corresponding angular rotor velocities defining at least one wash stroke of said agitation means;
• said operation control means being operative to call up individual values from said memory means in a predetermined timed sequence and to cause said rotor to operate in accordance with the then called up value.

A fabric washing machine comprising:

• agitation means adapted to contact fabrics to be washed and oscillatable in forward and reverse directions to agitate the fabrics;
• a switched reluctance motor having a stator and a rotor, said rotor being oscillatable in forward and reverse directions;
• drive means directly connecting said motor rotor to said agitation means for oscillating said agitation means in the same instantaneous direction and at substantially the same angular velocity as said rotor;
• and
• operation control means operatively connected to said motor;
• said operation control means including memory means for storing at least one set of empirically determined values representative of corresponding angular rotor velocities defining at least one wash stroke of said agitation means;
• said operation control means being operative to call up individual values from said memory means in a predetermined timed sequence and to cause said rotor to operate in accordance with the then called up value.

A fabric washing machine comprising:

• a wash container adapted to receive fluid and fabrics to be washed in the fluid, said container being oscillatable in forward and reverse directions to agitate the fluid and fabrics;
• a switched reluctance motor having a stator and a rotor, said rotor being oscillatable in forward and reverse directions;
• drive means directly connecting said rotor to said container for oscillating said container in the same instantaneous direction and at substantially the same arcuate speed as said rotor;
• and
• operation control means operatively connected to said motor;
• said operation control means including memory means for storing at least one set of empirically determined values representative of corresponding angular rotor velocities defining at least one wash stroke of said container;
• said operation control means being operative to call up individual values from said memory means in a predetermined timed sequence and to cause said rotor to operate in accordance with the then called up value.

A fabric washing machine comprising:

• a container adapted to receive fluid and fabrics to be washed in the fluid, said container being rotatably oscillatable to agitate the fluid and fabrics and being continuously rotatable in one direction for centrifugally extracting fluid from the fabrics;
• a switched reluctance motor having a stator and a rotor, said rotor being rotatably oscillatable and being continuously rotatable in one direction;
• drive means directly connecting said rotor to said container for rotating said container in the same direction and at substantially the same angular velocity as said rotor;
• operation control means operatively connected to said motor;
• said operation control means including memory means effective to store at least one set of empirically determined wash values representative of desired instantaneous rotor velocities;
• said operation control means being operative to call up individual wash values in a predetermined timed sequence to provide at least one wash stroke operation of said container;
• and
• said memory means also being effective to store a set of empirically determined spin values representative of desired instantaneous rotor velocities and said operation control means being operative to call up individual spin values in a predetermined timed sequence to provide at least one centrifugal extraction operation of said container.