Whirlpool Corporation

Other

Whirlpool Cornoration

Christopher L Borlin

Brian P Janke

Stephen L Keres

Joseph M Keres

Adrian A Rodriguez

Guilherme Bencke Teixeira Da Silva

George W Malheiros

Stephen D Ostdiek

Mark R Haslanger

Christopher H Matulis

Donald E Erickson

Gregory M Garstecki

Apparatus and methods of reducing a likelihood of contact between a rotating laundry-container, such as a basket or drum, located within a tub of a laundry treating appliance where the method includes rotating the drum during a measurement period, determining a torque, speed, acceleration, and position of the drum, using a parameter estimator to estimate the position of a mass relative to an imbalance of laundry and accelerating the rotation of the drum when the mass is determined to be angularly spaced from the relative position of the imbalance of laundry.

Laundry treating appliance and methods of operation

An apparatus and method for reducing displacement of a washing machine having a drum rotatable about an axis of rotation is disclosed. The washing machine comprises a chassis and a motor for rotation a drum. The drum is suspended from the chassis by a suspension. The suspension can comprise springs having six natural frequencies that can resonate at a rotational speed of the drum driven by the motor. The suspension system can be tuned such that resonant frequencies can be varied based upon rotational speed of the drum.

Laundry treating appliance with tuned suspension system

Methods of reducing a likelihood of contact between a rotating laundry-container, such as a basket or drum, located within a tub of a laundry treating appliance where the method includes rotating the drum during a measurement period, determining a torque, speed, acceleration, and position of the drum, using a parameter estimator to estimate the position of a mass relative to an imbalance of laundry and accelerating the rotation of the drum when the mass is determined to be angularly spaced from the relative position of the imbalance of laundry.

A laundry treating appliance for treating laundry according to an automatic cycle of operation includes a chassis defining an interior, a tub provided within the interior, a drum provided within the tub, a motor mounted to the tub and having a drive shaft drivingly coupled to the drum to selectively rotate the drum about the longitudinal axis, a suspension system, and at least one counterweight, wherein the suspension system and the at least one counterweight are configured such that the capacity efficiency of the laundry treating appliance is greater than 45%.

Laundry treating appliance and method of assembly

A laundry treating appliance includes a rotatable drum for receiving a laundry load. The rotatable drum includes a cylindrical body with a cylindrical wall about a longitudinal axis, and a metal cover at one end thereof, the metal cover having an annular groove formed by a first wall, a second wall spaced from the first wall, a third wall extending between the first and second walls, and a fourth wall extending from the second wall. A metal adjoining piece having a first adjoining wall is coupled with the third wall and a second adjoining wall is coupled with the fourth wall, wherein a hollow annular raceway is defined by the second wall, the third wall, the first adjoining wall, and the second adjoining wall. A sound dampener is disposed adjacent at least one of the walls.

Laundry treating appliance with integrated dynamic balancer

A laundry treating appliance includes a rotatable drum for receiving a laundry load. The rotatable drum includes a cylindrical body with a cylindrical wall about a longitudinal axis, and a metal cover at one end thereof, the metal cover having an annular groove formed by a first wall, a second wall spaced from the first wall, a third wall extending between the first and second walls, and a fourth wall extending from the second wall. A first land is secured to the third wall and has a leg extending toward the second wall adjacent to the third wall, and a second land is secured to the fourth wall. A non-metal adjoining piece is coupled with the first and second land. A hollow annular raceway is defined by the second wall, the leg, the first adjoining wall, and the second adjoining wall and includes a moveable mass disposed therein.

A method operating a laundry treating appliance having a rotatable drum at least partially defining a treating chamber for receiving a laundry load for treatment according to an automatic cycle of operation and a ball balance ring mounted to the rotatable drum and defining an internal raceway in which a plurality of balls are located, where the method includes rotating the drum at or above a satellizing speed, determining positions of the plurality of balls, and accelerating the rotational speed of the drum based on the determined positions of the plurality of balls.

Growing community of inventors

Stevensville, MI, United States of America

Christopher L Borlin