Out of balance method and apparatus

Abstract

A method of assessing out of balance in a laundry apparatus comprising, during operation of the apparatus: receiving output from one or more OOB sensors, determining from the OOB sensor output: a mass and/or rotating inertia, and a relative phase between a rotating assembly motion and non-rotating assembly motion, and generating OOB output indicative of balance of laundry in the drum.

1 . A method of assessing out of balance in a laundry apparatus comprising, during operation of the apparatus:
 receiving output from one or more out of balance (OOB) sensors,   determining from the OOB sensor output:
 a mass and/or rotating inertia, and 
 a relative phase between a rotating assembly motion and non-rotating assembly motion, 
   and   generating one or more OOB outputs indicative of balance of laundry in the drum.   
     
     
         2 . A method according to  claim 1  further comprising determining, from the OOB sensors, a speed of rotation of the rotating assembly. 
     
     
         3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein the relative phase is determined from an output of a gyroscope and from a drive motor and/or a drum speed. 
     
     
         6 . (canceled) 
     
     
         7 . (canceled) 
     
     
         8 . A method according to  any preceding claim 1  comprising:
 further determining from the OOB sensor output:
 a non-rotating assembly parameter, and/or 
 a rotating assembly parameter, 
 
 to generate one or more OOB outputs indicative of balance of laundry in the drum. 
 
     
     
         9 . A method according to  claim 8  wherein the non-rotating assembly parameter is determined from the output of a gyroscope. 
     
     
         10 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein the mass and/or rotating inertia is determined from the output of a weight sensor and/or a drive motor. 
     
     
         11 . A method according to any to  claim 8  wherein the rotating assembly parameter is determined from the output of a drive motor, which is optionally one or more of current, voltage, torque, position and/or speed. 
     
     
         12 . (canceled) 
     
     
         13 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein the one or more OOB outputs are generated using a model. 
     
     
         14 . A method according to  claim 13  wherein the model is a function of:
 the mass and/or rotating inertia, 
 and 
 the relative phase between the rotating assembly motion and non-rotating assembly motion, 
 and optionally a drive motor speed. 
 
     
     
         15 . A method accord to  claim 1  wherein relative phase between the rotating assembly motion and the non-rotating assembly motion comprises a phase difference between movement of one or more axes of an inner drum and a drive motor and/or a drum rotation. 
     
     
         16 . A method according to  claim 13  wherein the model comprises one or more of: equation(s), algorithm(s), numerical method(s), look-up table(s) and/or other mathematical construct(s) which can be used to process the OOB sensor output to generate the one or more OOB outputs. 
     
     
         17 . A method according to  claim 16  wherein processing the OOB sensor output to generate OOB outputs comprises one or more of:
 simultaneously solving dynamic motion equations, and 
 using look-up tables to retrieve appropriate values from pre-solved dynamic motion equations. 
 
     
     
         18 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein the OOB output comprises one or more of:
 a static OOB mass 
 a dynamic OOB mass 
 a dynamic OOB angle 
 a decision on existence of OOB, and/or 
 a control signal to operate the laundry apparatus. 
 
     
     
         19 . A method according to  claim 1  further comprising:
 determining whether an OOB condition exists, and/or 
 determining the character or severity of the OOB condition if it exists. 
 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19  wherein either or both of the steps of determining whether an OOB condition exists, and/or determining the character or severity of the OOB condition if it exists comprises comparing the one or more OOB outputs to a predetermined threshold or limit. 
     
     
         21 . (canceled) 
     
     
         22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . (canceled) 
     
     
         24 . (canceled) 
     
     
         25 . A method according to  claim 1  wherein the method is carried out during a spin cycle of the laundry apparatus operation, and optionally during a dehydration spin cycle. 
     
     
         26 . (canceled) 
     
     
         27 . A laundry apparatus comprising,
 a drum to receive laundry, and a drive motor to drive rotation of the drum,   one or more out of balance (OOB) sensors, comprising at least a gyroscope, and   a controller,   wherein the controller is configured to implement the method as claimed in  claim 1 .   
     
     
         28 . (canceled) 
     
     
         29 . A laundry apparatus according to  claim 27  wherein the drum has a substantially horizontal axis. 
     
     
         30 . (canceled) 
     
     
         31 . (canceled) 
     
     
         32 . (canceled) 
     
     
         33 . (canceled) 
     
     
         34 . The laundry apparatus of  claim 27  further comprising:
 a non-rotating assembly suspended within an outer cabinet, and 
 a rotating assembly within the non-rotating assembly, comprising the drum for laundry, 
 wherein the rotating assembly can be rotated relative to the non-rotating assembly by the drive motor. 
 
     
     
         35 . (canceled) 
     
     
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         43 . A laundry apparatus  claim 27  wherein the drive motor is coupled to directly drive rotation of the drum. 
     
     
         44 . (canceled) 
     
     
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         52 . (canceled)