Patent ID: 7765837

Claim:
A washing machine comprising: a cabinet; a tub mounted within said cabinet; a basket rotationally mounted within said tub for relative rotation therewith; a suspension assembly configured to support said tub within said cabinet; a variable speed motor for rotating said basket about a rotation axis; an inverter operatively coupled to said motor; and a controller comprising a microcomputer and a memory coupled to said microcomputer, said controller operatively coupled to said inverter and said motor, said memory storing instructions including at least one step, and said controller, when said microcomputer executes the instructions stored in said memory: controls said motor to accelerate said basket to a first rotational speed above a natural resonant frequency (NRF); operates said motor at a predetermined constant torque until the predetermined constant torque transmitted to said basket from said motor is substantially equal to a drag torque on said basket; and controls said motor to maintain said basket at said first rotational speed for a pre-determined first hold time based on said drag torque on said basket.