Patent ID: 9096964
Filing Date: 2015-08-04
Classification: D06F

Abstract:
1. A method for determining a load and/or an unbalance of a laundry drum of a washing machine, comprising the steps of: driving the laundry drum with an electric motor having a stator with at least one winding coupled to an inverter controlled by a control unit, accelerating the laundry drum to a predetermined rotational speed by operating the electric motor in a motor mode, slowing down the laundry drum by operating the electric motor in a generator mode, while slowing down the laundry drum, measuring at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of an electric current flowing through the at least one winding of the stator and an electric intermediate circuit voltage of the inverter, evaluating a time dependence of electric power supplied by the electric motor operating in generator mode during a revolution of the laundry drum, and determining the load and/or the unbalance from the measured parameter and from the time dependence of the supplied electric power.