Apparatus for sensing vibration of washing machine and method thereof

Abstract

An apparatus for sensing vibration of a washing machine capable of precisely detecting a vibration amount of a tub at each rpm bandwidth by dividing an rpm of a motor into a plurality of bandwidths and by using a multi-axis inertia sensor, and a method thereof. The method comprises: detecting an rpm of a motor; dividing the detected rpm into a plurality of bandwidths; and detecting a vibration amount of a tub at the divided bandwidths.

1 . A method for sensing vibration of a washing machine, comprising: 
 detecting an rpm of a motor;    detecting a vibration amount of a tub based on the detected rpm.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of detecting an rpm of a motor comprises: 
 detecting an output current of the motor;    comparing the detected output current with a reference current corresponding to a preset rpm; and    detecting an rpm of the motor based on the comparison result.    
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of detecting an rpm of a motor comprises: 
 detecting an input voltage and an output current of the motor;    comparing the detected voltage and current with a reference voltage and a reference current each corresponding to a preset rpm; and    detecting an rpm of the motor based on the comparison result.    
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of detecting a vibration amount of a tub comprises detecting a vibration amount of the tub in one axis direction and in a multi-axis direction.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of detecting a vibration amount of a tub comprises detecting a maximum vibration-detection sensitivity according to the detected rpm with using one multi-axis inertia sensor consisting of a plurality of axis sensors.  
   
   
       6 . A method for sensing vibration of a washing machine, comprising: 
 detecting an rpm of a motor;    dividing the detected rpm into a plurality of bandwidths; and    detecting a vibration amount of a tub at the divided bandwidths.    
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the step of detecting an rpm of a motor comprises: 
 detecting an output current of the motor;    comparing the detected output current with a reference current corresponding to a preset rpm; and    detecting an rpm of the motor based on the comparison result.    
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the step of detecting an rpm of a motor comprises: 
 detecting an input voltage and an output current of the motor;    comparing the detected voltage and current with a reference voltage and a reference current each corresponding to a preset rpm; and    detecting an rpm of the motor based on the comparison result.    
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the step of dividing the detected rpm into a plurality of bandwidths comprises: 
 setting a low speed bandwidth as an unbalance detecting bandwidth,    setting a middle speed bandwidth as a resonance detecting bandwidth; and    setting a high speed bandwidth as a maximum speed determining bandwidth.    
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the step of detecting a vibration amount of a tub comprises detecting a vibration amount of the tub in one axis direction and in a multi-axis direction.  
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the step of detecting a vibration amount of a tub comprises detecting a maximum vibration-detection sensitivity at the divided rpm bandwidths with using one multi-axis inertia sensor consisting of a plurality of axis sensors.  
   
   
       12 . An apparatus for sensing vibration of a washing machine, comprising: 
 an rpm detecting unit for detecting an rpm of a motor;    an rpm bandwidth dividing unit for dividing the detected rpm into a plurality of bandwidths; and    a vibration amount detecting unit for detecting a vibration amount of a tub at the divided bandwidths.    
   
   
       13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the rpm detecting unit comprises an encoder for calculating the number of rotations of a rotor of the motor so as to detect the rpm of the motor.  
   
   
       14 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the rpm detecting unit comprises a hole sensor for detecting a current in a rotation direction of the motor so as to detect the rpm of the motor.  
   
   
       15 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the rpm detecting unit comprises a plurality of vibration amount sensors for detecting each vibration amount of the tub in one axis direction and in a multi-axis direction.  
   
   
       16 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the vibration amount detecting unit comprises one multi-axis inertia sensor consisting of a plurality of axis sensors having each maximum vibration-detection sensitivity at each rpm bandwidth.