Patent ID: 8739581

Claim:
A washing machine which includes a water tub and an electric motor configured to rotate a load housed in the water tub and configured to execute a washing operation including a wash step, a rinse step, and a dehydration step, the motor comprising: a stator including a stator coil; a rotor including a rotor magnet arranged circumferentially with respect to the rotor, the rotor magnet including a permanent magnet; and a control device configured to control energizing of the stator coil to change a magnetic flux of the rotor magnet; wherein the control device is configured to apply a first voltage to the stator coil in the wash step of the washing operation to cause the rotor magnet to be magnetized so that a magnetic flux of the rotor magnet acting on the stator is increased without reversal of a direction of magnetization; and the control device is configured to apply a second voltage to the stator coil in the dehydration step of the washing operation to cause the rotor magnet to be magnetized so that the magnetic flux of the rotor magnet acting on the stator is reduced without reversal of a direction of magnetization as compared with the magnetic flux in the wash step.