Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Panasonic Corporation

Kyokuto Electric Company, Limited

Mitsuyuki Kiuchi

Keizo Amagami

Takumi Mizukawa

Shoichi Matsui

Sadayuki Tamae

Hisayuki Imahashi

Hirokazu Yoshida

Hideyuki Kominami

Hisashi Hagiwara

Masahiro Suzuki

Yoshio Ogino

Takao Kobayashi

Tatsuo Saka

Takeru Nakamura

Shigeo Hamaoka

Hideki Nakata

Shigeru Kusunoki

Kazuhiko Asada

Kaneharu Yoshioka

Hiroshi Fujieda

Norimasa Kondo

Masatatsu Nakamura

Tadao Toyooka

Hiroyuki Saito

Kenji Hattori

Shigeru Maeda

Yoshiaki Sakita

Akihito Ohtani

Hisachi Hagiwara

Kouji Funakoshi

Shigeharu Saegusa

Shuichi Kojima

Hitoshi Wakita

With the use of three inverter circuits controlled by a single processor, the controller of the motor-driving apparatus provides a rotation drum-driving motor, a compressor-driving motor and a blow fan-driving motor with a simultaneous sinusoidal-wave control. The configuration above offers stable sinusoidal-wave drive, reducing vibration noise of the rotation drum, the compressor and the blow fan.

Motor driving apparatus of washing and drying machine

A motor drive unit comprises a DC power source, a plurality of inverter circuits for converting the a power of this DC power source to an AC power, current detectors for detecting an output current of at least one of those plurality of inverter circuits and a controller for performing PWM control of those plurality of inverter circuits. This controller is constructed in a way to synchronize a PWM period of the plurality of inverter circuits, so as to drive a plurality of motors at once by means of those plurality of inverter circuits respectively.

Motor drive unit

An apparatus for driving a motor of a dishwasher includes an AC power source, a rectification circuit for converting an AC power from the AC power source to a DC power, an inverter circuit for converting the DC power from the rectification circuit to an AC power, a motor driven by the inverter circuit to drive a wash pump and/or a drain pump, a current detector for detecting an output current of the inverter circuit, and a controller for performing a PWM (pulse width modulation) control of the inverter circuit based on an output signal of the current detector to thereby control the motor to rotate at a set rotation speed. A phase difference between an output voltage and the output current of the inverter circuit or a reactive current is controlled to have a predetermined value.

Motor driving apparatus for use in a dishwasher

A washing machine motor drive device drives a motor using an inverter circuit, which implements a constant torque control through a change in the torque-revolution speed characteristic of the motor. This facilitates an easy control of braking torque (negative torque), thereby providing a maximized braking torque. An easy control of regenerative energy is also provided, and back electromotive force is consumed by the internal resistance of the motor. Practically described, DC power of a rectifier circuit connected to an alternating current source is converted by an inverter circuit into AC power for driving the motor for operating an agitator or a washing/spinning tub. Motor rotor position is detected by rotor position detector, motor current is detected by current detector, and a control device controls the inverter circuit for resolving the motor current into a current component corresponding to magnetic flux and a current component corresponding to torque. At a motor braking operation, the current component corresponding to magnetic flux and the current component corresponding to torque are controlled independently. As a result, the torque at high speed revolution can be increased, or the efficiency at low speed revolution can be improved. This leads to the use a downsized and energy-conscious motor, and contributes to the prevention of an abnormal rise of DC voltage in the inverter circuit.

Washing machine motor drive device

A cloth amount detecting device in a washing machine including a process controller for controlling a process of washing, rinsing and spin-drying cloths put into the washing machine is designed to detect the amount of the cloths. If the user of the washing machine changes the level of water within the washing machine to a different water level after the amount of cloths has been detected, a reference value used to determine the amount of cloths is updated by learning in dependence on the water level so changed by the user and the number of waveforms of a drive motor, to thereby accomplish a determination faithful to the amount of cloths.

Cloth amount detector in washing machine

A control device for a washing machine, comprising: a state detecting device for detecting a state of the washing machine, which includes a soil detecting member for detecting degree of soil of liquid in a tub of the washing machine, a quantity detecting member for detecting quantity of items to be washed and a liquid level detecting member for detecting liquid level in the tub; a control unit which receives a signal from the state detecting device so as to control washing, rinsing and hydro-extracting operations of the washing machine; and an operational condition changing device for changing an operational condition of the washing machine, which can be operated by a user; the control unit including control rule data for determining periods allocated to the washing, rinsing and hydro-extracting operations, respectively such that the control rule data is changed by operating the operational condition changing device.

Control device for washing machine

A washing machine apparatus includes an optical sensor for detecting a light permeability of a liquid contained in a washer tank. The time duration of a washing cycle is determined in accordance with two variables. The first variable is a saturating time in which the detected light permeability becomes relatively constant. The second variable is the overall light permeability change during the washing cycle at the saturation time. The saturating time period and the light permeability change are fuzzy processed to obtain a remaining time duration of the washing cycle.

Washing machine having optical sensor for detecting light permeability

A washing machine apparatus includes an optical sensor which detects a light permeability of a liquid contained in a washer tank and a volume sensor which detects a volume of laundries contained in the washer tank. A minimum washing time and a maximum washing time of a washing cycle are set based on the detected volume of laundries. During the washing cycle, at a saturation time in which the detected light permeability becomes relatively constant, an overall light permeability change is detected. A remaining washing time is set based on the thus detected overall light permeability change, so long as the total washing time falls within the minimum and maximum set in accordance with the detected volume of laundries.

The automatic washing machine according to the present invention is provided with an optical sensor which consists of a light emitting element and a light receiving element to detect the light permeability of a solution of washing detergent and rinse water in a washer tank, and an output control means for controlling an output of the light emitting element of the optical sensor. The output control means is adapted to control such that the light permeability of water or air fed in the washer tank is a reference value, with effecting the initial setting of the optical sensor. Accordingly, the optical sensor is prevented from erroneously detecting the light permeability when it is stained with water drops or the like and, decreases its output. Moreover, the automatic washing machine is provided with a volume sensor for detecting the volume of laundries to be washed. Therefore, washing is controlled in accordance with not only the dirtiness degree of the laundries indicated by the above light permeability, but the volume of the laundries. In addition, a judging means is further provided in the washing machine so as to detect the kind of the using detergent, and accordingly washing or rinsing can be controlled in accordance with the kind of the detergent.

Control apparatus for washing machine

The control device for a washing machine is provided to have a function of testing the working characteristic of the transmission sensing device for sensing light transmission of water filled while the water supplied in a washing bath is fresh before putting detergent therein or stirring the cloth for rinsing. The control device makes it possible to automatically test the working characteristic of the transmission sensing device and judge if abnormality takes place if the washing or rinsing operation is executed while the washing machine is in operation.

A washing machine includes an optical sensor for detecting a light permeability of detergent solution and rinse water in a washer tank. The optical sensor includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element. A microprocessor is provided for controlling a luminous intensity of the light emitted from the light emitting element. More specifically, the microprocessor sets the luminous intensity of the light emitting element such that an intensity of the light detected by the light receiving element is equal to or greater than a stored reference value during at least one of two operating states. The first of the two operating states is a state in which water is absent from the water tank. A second of the two operating states is a state in which water is present in the water tank and prior to agitation of the water in the water tank. Various processing cycles of the washing machine are carried out in accordance with the light permeability detected by the optical sensor.

Induction heating apparatus

An induction heat cooking apparatus includes an inverter which generates ultrasonic frequency energy for heating a magnetic load by induction, and a small load detection circuit. The detection circuit includes a comparator which compares the input and output parameters of the inverter and latches a bistable device when the input power is smaller than the output parameter. The bistable device shuts down the inverter to prevent inadvertently placed small utensil objects from being excessively heated.

Small load detection by comparison between input and output parameters

An induction heating apparatus comprising a static power converter operative to produce high-frequency power from low-frequency power and a heating unit to produce a time-varying magnetic field in response to the high-frequency power. The power converter includes a switching circuit and control means for triggering at high frequency during an incipient stage of operation of the apparatus and lower frequency varying according to the input power to the power converter and the load of the heating unit after the incipient stage.

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Nara, Japan

Mitsuyuki Kiuchi