Washing machine and method of controlling the same

Abstract

A washing machine and a method of controlling the same by braking a spin-drying tub after interrupting the power of a motor for the spin-drying tub is disclosed. The washing machine comprises a mode selection unit for selecting a spin-drying mode, and a spin-drying timer for selecting a spin-drying time. The spin-drying timer includes a spin-drying switch and a motor control switch each having a different operation time. When the spin-drying mode is selected by the mode selection unit, the spin-drying switch of the spin-drying timer is connected to the solenoid of a drain motor and the motor control switch is connected to a motor driving circuit via a starting switch of the drain motor. As the motor control switch is turned off (the spin-drying switch is turned on) at a time earlier than a selected spin-drying time to interrupt power for the motor, the rotation speed of the spin-drying tub is reduced. After this, when the selected spin-drying time has passed, the spin-drying switch is turned off to interrupt power to the solenoid. Accordingly, as braking is performed with a small frictional braking force, lifetime of the braking device can be lengthened due to a reduced abrasion of the brake band and the brake drum, and vibration and noise occurring at the time of braking of the spin-drying tub can be decreased.