Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Toshiba Consumer Marketing Corporation

Toshiba Ha Products Co., Ltd.

Toshiba Home Appliances Corporation

Toshiba Consumer Electronics Holdings Corporation

Tsuyoshi Hosoito

Kazunobu Nagai

Yoji Okazaki

Sari Maekawa

Toshimasa Tanaka

Shinichiro Kawabata

Isamu Nitta

Toshimitsu Aizawa

Michiaki Ito

Futoshi Isono

Shinichiro Ip Division Toshiba Corp Kawabata

Yoji c/o Ip Division Toshiba Corporation Okazaki

An inverter device provided on a washing machine for controlling a permanent magnet motor being provided with a rotor magnet including a first permanent magnet and a second permanent magnet having a level of coercivity smaller than the first permanent magnet. An excitation current is produced to vary the amount of magnetism of the second permanent magnet to execute a dehydrate operation with a magnetic flux of the rotor magnet reduced and to execute an operation being specified to operate at a lower maximum rotation count compared to the dehydrate operation with the magnetic flux of the rotor magnet increased. When the amount of magnetism of the second permanent magnet is varied while rotation of the permanent magnet motor is stopped, a phase of the excitation current for varying the amount of magnetism is switched depending on a rotation stop position of the rotor.

Inverter device for washing machine

A washer dryer including a DC power supply generator that generates a DC power supply from an AC power supply; a heat pump that circulates refrigerant between a compressor, a condenser and an evaporator; an air circulatory path that circulates air between the condenser and the evaporator; a first inverter circuit that receives the DC power supply to drive a compressor motor; a rotary tub disposed rotatably within an exterior tub; a rotary tub motor that directly drives the rotary tub at least during dehydration; a second inverter circuit that receives the DC power supply having an output terminal connected to windings of the rotary tub motor; a voltage detector that detects DC voltage occurring between the second inverter circuit and a power supply bus; a brake controller that controls the DC voltage within a predetermined range by controlling a regenerative electric power when braking is applied.

Washer dryer

A motor controller including a vector controller that controls a permanent magnet motor including a rotor being provided with a permanent magnet having a coercivity low enough to allow modification in amount of magnetization and that executes a vector control by detecting current flowing at the permanent magnet motor; a speed/position detector that detects a rotational speed and a rotational position of the permanent magnet motor; a magnetization controller that increases or decreases the magnetization of the permanent magnet depending on the rotational position of the permanent magnet motor through adjustment in status of the magnetization of the permanent magnet by way of armature counteraction; and a demagnetization detector that detects a decrease in the magnetization of the permanent magnet magnetized by the magnetization controller during operation of the permanent magnet motor.

Motor controller and drum washing machine

The present invention is directed to a drum washing machine. In particular, the drum washing machine includes a rotating tub, wherein the rotating tub has a cylindrical drum having a front formed with a circular opening through which laundry is put into the rotating tub and having a rear that is closed. The drum washing machine further includes a DC brushless motor for generating a driving force for wash, rinse and dehydration operations and a rotor. The drum washing machine further includes a rotational shaft of the motor having a front end directly fixed to the rotating tub and a rear end fixed to a core of the rotor, so that torque developed by the motor is directly transmitted to the rotating tub. A current detector is provided in the drum washing machine for detecting electric current flowing into the motor. A torque control unit is also provided in the drum washing machine for performing a vector control for the motor on the basis of the current detected by the current detector, so that torque developed by the motor is rendered optimum for at least the wash and dehydration operations. A speed control unit for controlling a rotational speed of the motor, based on the current detected by the current detector and a laundry amount determining unit for determining an amount of laundry in the rotating tub, based on a magnitude of an accumulated value of torque current in a period when a rotational speed of the motor is accelerated are also provided in the drum washing machine of the present invention.

Drum washing machine

A motor control unit includes a power converter unit that energize a motor based on a commutating signal, the motor having a rotor provided with a permanent magnet and a stator having a coil wound thereto; a start-up controller that outputs a commutating signal to the power converter unit during a start-up operation, the commutating signal having a predetermined conductive pattern corresponding to a command rotational speed; a voltage calculator that calculates a voltage of the motor during the start-up operation by applying a parameter for the motor, the command rotational speed, and a current flown in the coil of the motor to a voltage-current equation of the motor; and a determiner that, during the start-up operation, compares a voltage calculated by the voltage calculator and an actual voltage of the motor and that determines occurrence of rotational abnormalities when the actual voltage is lower than the calculated voltage.

Motor control unit

An inverter for a washer performing drive control of an electric motor imparting a rotational driving force required for washing, rinsing and dehydrating operations in a full automatic washer performing the washing, rinsing and dehydrating processes continuously. The inverter comprises control means for operating the motor with a full field in the low speed rotational region of washing, rinsing and dehydrating operations, with weak field in the high speed rotational region of dehydrating operation, and performing vector control of the output of the motor in the case of full field operation, and voltage/phase control of the motor in the case of field weakening operation.

Inverter for washer and inverter for washer-drier

A drum washing machine including a cylindrical drum, a DC brushless motor directly connected to the drum, a current detector detecting current flowing through the motor, a torque control vector-controlling the motor on the basis of the current detected by the current detector so that motor torque becomes optimum at least in a wash or dehydration operation, and a laundry weight estimator accelerating the motor with a maximum output torque developed when determining that motor speed is between a first speed at which laundry is assumed to start falling from an uppermost part of inner periphery of the drum when motor speed is reduced from a high speed side and a second speed at which laundry is assumed to start sticking to an uppermost part of the inner periphery of the drum, estimating laundry weight according to a q-axis current value in the vector control during an accelerating period.

A washing machine includes an electric motor developing torque used for wash, rinse and dehydration operations, a current detector detecting current flowing into the motor, and a torque controller performing a vector control for the motor on the basis of the current detected by the current detector so that the torque developed by the motor is optimum for at least each of the wash and dehydration operations.

Washing machine with vector control for drive motor

A leak detection method for electrical equipment provided with an electric motor, includes the step of detecting, during non-energization of the motor, a voltage generated in a voltage-dividing resistor provided between a winding of the motor and ground, thereby detecting leak produced in the motor.

Growing community of inventors

Seto, Japan

Tsuyoshi Hosoito