General Electric Company

Richard E McKnight, Jr

Thomas R Payne

Steven Andrew Rice

William W Wead

A fabric washing machine includes a container to receive fabrics and washing fluid. An SRM is operatively connected to oscillate and rotate the container. Ribs formed on the center post of the container agitate the fabrics and fluid as the container is oscillated. Just prior to a spin extraction operation the container is oscillated with an asymmetric pattern that travels further in one direction than in the other. To minimize wrapping of the fabrics about the center post the asymmetric pattern is periodically reversed. Also, just prior to the spin operation the motor is operated at a constant torque and the time to accelerate the container from one speed to a higher speed is measured one or more times. The inertia of the load, and thus the size of the fabric load, is calculated from the time measurements. The motor then is operated at a constant torque to accelerate the container from a threshold speed for a predetermined period of time and the final speed of the container is measured. This speed measurement is compared to the predetermined terminal speed of a comparable balanced load to determine the degree of unbalance in the load of fabrics. The terminal speed of the spin operation is then set based upon the determined load size and degree of unbalance.

Electronic washer control including automatic balance, spin and brake

A fabric washing machine includes a container to receive fabrics and fluid to wash the fabrics. A switched reluctance motor is operatively connected to oscillate and rotate the container. A control operates the machine by providing commutation signals to the motor to energize the stator phases in a predetermined sequence as corresponding rotor phases approach the stator phase being energized. To stop the machine the control repeatedly senses the instantaneous alignment of the stator and rotor phases and supplies commutation signals to the motor to energize the stator phases in the same sequence but as corresponding rotor phases have become aligned with the stator phase being energized.

Growing community of inventors

Louisville, KY, United States of America

Richard E McKnight, Jr