Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Masahiro Imai

Ryuuho Narita

Hiroshi Ikeda

Yosiyuki Makino

Yoshiyuki Makino

Hiroshi Nishimura

Kazunobu Nagai

Terutaka Aoshima

Morio Asahi

Katsuharu Matsuo

Nobuichi Nishimura

Satoru Matsumoto

Kazutoshi Tani

Koichi Hosomi

Takayuki Hirano

Yutaka Inagaki

Masaru Koshimizu

Toru Imai

Kiyoshi Okazaki

Isamu Nitta

Kiyoshi Yamashita

Kimihiko Nakamura

Tokihiko Ikemizu

Tooru Imai

Takaharu Yamamoto

Tetsukazu Tanaka

Mitsuhiro Kojima

Yoshiyuku Makino

A full-automatic washing machine includes a rotatable tub for accommodating laundry together with water, an agitator provided in the rotatable tub for agitating the water or the laundry, a variable-speed washing motor for directly driving the agitator, and a variable-speed dehydrating motor for directly driving the rotatable tub.

Full-automatic washing machine with two drive motors

A full-automatic washing machine includes an outer tub, a rotatable tub rotatably mounted in the outer tub, an agitator rotatably mounted in the rotatable tub, and a brushless motor for direct driving at least one of the rotatable tub and the agitator. The brushless motor including windings of a plurality of phases and a rotor. Also, the washing machine includes rotor position detecting elements to detect a rotational position of the rotor. The rotor position detecting element are less in number than the phases of the motor. An energizing signal forming element to generate a sinusoidal energizing signal for each of the phases based on the detected rotational position of the rotor. Last, a driving element to energize the windings of the phases based on the energizing signals.

Control device capable of supplying sinusoidal power to brushless motor

A full automatic washing machine includes an outer tub, a rotatable tub mounted for rotation in the outer tub, an agitator mounted for rotation in the rotatable tub, a brushless motor for directly driving the agitator or the rotatable tub and the agitator, and a Hall IC for detecting a rotational position of a rotor of the brushless motor, generating a position signal. A sinusoidal energization signal is formed on the basis of the position signal generated by the Hall IC. The brushless motor is energized on the basis of the formed energization signal.

Washing machine with direct drive mechanism for rotatable tub and

A washing machine includes a hollow tub shaft mounted on a first stationary portion of the machine for rotation, a rotatable tub rotatably mounted on an upper end of the tub shaft, an agitator shaft concentrically inserted in the tub shaft for rotation, an agitator mounted on the upper end of the agitator shaft, a stator fixed to a second stationary portion of the machine to be concentric with the agitator shaft to constitute an electric motor together with the stator, and a clutch including a holder mounted on the tub shaft for rotation with the tub shaft. The clutch further includes a first engagement portion formed in a third stationary portion of the machine, a second engagement portion formed in the rotor, a lever mounted on the holder to be selectively engaged with one of the first and second engagement portions, the lever operatively coupling the rotor to the agitator shaft when engaged with the first engagement portion, the lever operatively coupling the rotor to both of the agitator and tub shafts when engaged with the second engagement portion, and toggle type springs holding the lever in engagement with the first and second engagement portions respectively.

Washing machine with improved drive structure for rotatable tub and

A washing machine includes an outer tub, a rotatable tub rotatably mounted in the outer tub, an agitator mounted in the rotatable tub, a hollow tub shaft transmitting a rotating force to the rotatable tub, an agitator shaft inserted in the tub shaft for transmitting a rotating force to the agitator and having a lower end, an electric motor including a stator concentric with the agitator shaft and a rotor mounted on the lower end of the agitator shaft, a clutch for changing between a first mode in which the tub shaft is operatively coupled to the agitator shaft in a dehydration step so that the motor rotor, the agitator shaft and the tub shaft are rotated together and a second mode in which the tub shaft is decoupled from the agitator shaft in a wash step so that the tub shaft is prevented from being rotated with the motor rotor and the agitator shaft, and a mechanism housing mounted on an outer bottom of the outer tub. The tub shaft, the agitator shaft, the motor and the clutch are mounted on the mechanism housing to be composed into an integral mechanism unit.

A full automatic washing machine includes in an operation panel a display device together with power ON and OFF switches and a light-emitting diode serving as a pilot lamp. The display device is formed into the shape of a rectangular flat plate and has elasticity. The display device is constituted by a nematic curvilinear aligned phase (NCAP) liquid crystal panel and a reflecting plate. The display device includes a plurality of display sections for displaying a plurality of pieces of information about the washing operation. A membrane switch is disposed on the back of the display device. The membrane switch is turned on when the display device is depressed. The membrane switch has a plurality of key switches positioned so as to correspond to the display sections of the display device.

Washing machine with operation panel including display device and

An automatic washing machine includes a clutch float having external gear teeth. The clutch float is located around a shaft which is driven by an electric motor and to which an agitator is secured. The clutch float couples the shaft to an inner rotatable tub when its external gear teeth are engaged with internal gear teeth at the inner tub side in a dehydration step. The clutch float moves upwardly in subjection to buoyancy when water is supplied into the inner tub in a wash step. The external gear teeth of the clutch float are disengaged from the internal gear teeth so that the shaft is decoupled from the inner tub. The washing machine further includes a rotation restricting float which moves upwardly in subjection to the buoyancy in the wash step to couple the inner tub to an outer stationary tub and which decouples the inner tub from the outer tub in the dehydration step. A device delivers a position signal indicative of the position of the clutch float which is vertically movable. Based on the position signal, a control device controls the drive motor. The drive motor is of an outer rotor type and a motor control circuit is disposed in its stator.

Float-type clutch for automatic washing machine

A washing machine includes a dehydrating tub whose interior is divided by rotational angle detecting elements into a plurality of circumferential areas. A period of time required for each area to pass a water pouring location is cumulated by a timer function of a microcomputer in a rinse-with-dehydration operation in which the dehydrating tub is rotated with water being supplied to the tub, A quantity of water poured into or contained in laundry in each area is determined on the basis of a cumulated value so that insufficiency in the quantity of poured water due to rotational unevenness of the dehydrating tub is solved. The washing machine further includes an area display which has area display sections corresponding to the areas and which displays the hydrous state of the laundry in each area, The area display also serves to display the rotational state of the dehydrating tub and an agitator,

Automatic washing machine with improved arrangement for preventing

A full automatic washing machine includes a non-volatile memory, such as EEPROM, for storing data of contents of the washing operation executed at a plurality of times in the past. A control circuit originates the data during execution of every washing operation. The data stored in the non-volatile memory are read out and displayed when some switches on an operation panel are operated in a specific mode. The displayed data serve to find out the cause for trouble or failure in the washing machine.

Washing machine with means for storing and displaying data of contents

A washing machine includes a rotational tub, a single-phase induction motor driving the rotational tub in a dehydrating operation and having a main and an auxiliary coils, a speed detector for detecting a speed of the motor, thereby generating a detection signal, and an output changeover device for changing between an operation mode in which both of the main and auxiliary coils are excited and the other operation mode in which either the main or auxiliary coil is excited. When the motor speed is increased in the dehydrating operation, a control circuit controls the motor in a feedback manner. More specifically, in low and medium speed ranges, the control circuit executes a control pattern in which both of the main and auxiliary coils are excited and selectively executes another control pattern in which only the auxiliary coil is excited when necessary.

Washing machine

An abnormal vibration detecting device for detecting abnormal vibration of a rotational tub of a washing machine includes first and second abnormal vibration detectors. The first abnormal vibration detector includes a detecting lever rotatively moved where it collides with the rotational tub when it vibrates transversely, and a detection switch responsive to the rotative movement of the detecting lever. The second abnormal vibration detector includes a rotational speed detecting section detecting the rotational speed of a motor driving the rotational tub and a comparator section comparing a speed signal detected by the rotational speed detecting section with a reference speed signal determined based on the rise characteristic of rotation of the rotational tub appearing in the state that the rotational tub is in the condition of slight abnormal vibration.

Abnormal vibration detecting device for washing machine

An operation control device for a washing machine incorporating electrical equipment such as a motor and electromagnetic valves includes a sub microcomputer for controlling the electrical equipment incorporated in the washing machine and a host microcomputer supplying control commands to the sub microcomputer to control the same. The host microcomputer determines whether or not a control sequence of the washing machine has reached a stage where the incorporated electrical equipment are to be controlled by the sub microcomputer and then, supplies a reset signal to the sub microcomputer to reset the same when a result of the determination signifies a negative.

Operation control device for washing machines

A clothes washing machine includes an agitator driven for agitating clothes to be washed, a dc brushless motor for driving the agitator and a microcomputer-based control device. A voltage applied to the motor can be varied in accordance with a voltage value command delivered from the control device. The number of revolution of the motor is detected and compared with a reference number of revolution for determination of whether the motor is locked or not. When the control device sequentially detects at a predetermined number of times that the number of revolution of the motor is equal to or below the reference number of revolution or below, it is determined that the motor is locked.

Clothes washing machine

A dehydrator includes a dehydration basket for containing clothes to be dehydrated, a variable speed motor such as a dc brushless motor for driving the dehydration basket so that the basket is rotated for dehydrating the clothes, and a microcomputer-based control device controlling rotational speed of the motor so that the rotational speed of the motor is increased stepwise when a dehydration operation is initiated.

Growing community of inventors

Tajimi, Japan

Masahiro Imai