Abstract: A method is specified for controlling a multiphase motor that is commutated by an inverter-side bridge circuit, in the course of which a particularly precise and technically simple detection of a control-relevant variable of a considered motor phase, in particular of a motor phase current and/or a back EMF voltage and/or a variable derived therefrom, takes place. It is provided here to determine the control-relevant variable with the aid of the current state of a freewheeling diode that is disposed in a phase half bridge, assigned to the respective motor phase, of the bridge circuit, the current state being detected during an on time in which a power switch, connected in parallel with the freewheeling diode, of the phase half bridge exhibits a conducting state, and a power switch connected in series with the freewheeling diode exhibits a blocking state.

Abstract: A circuit configuration for driving an electric motor, in particular of a washing machine, includes power switches connected to connection terminals of the electric motor and to a voltage intermediate circuit. A driver circuit is connected to the voltage intermediate circuit and to the power switches. A control unit, in particular a micro controller, is connected to the driver circuit. The control unit generates control signals for controlling at least one rotation speed of the electric motor. The driver circuit generates short-circuit control signals for driving the power switches, which bring about a short circuit of the connection terminals connected to the power switches, independently of the control signals from the control unit. The driver circuit generates the short-circuit control signals as a function of a detection of an overvoltage of the voltage intermediate circuit over a desired voltage range. A method for controlling an electric motor is also provided.

Abstract: In order to be able to implement higher rotary spin speeds without structurally endangering the machine, a characteristic value that is as accurate as possible for the currently prevailing drum loading is desirable, for loading-dependent rotary speed limitation. Acceleration to a spin speed is interrupted in order to measure the respective electrical power consumption of the drive motor for a given rotary speed and then for a lower rotary speed that does not lead to the further removal of water from the laundry in the drum. Then the energy requirement and the acceleration period back up to the given rotary speed are measured, before the drum is accelerated to spin speed.

Abstract: An internal unit of a washing machine or spin-dryer normally includes a washing container, which has a laundry drum mounted in the container such that it can rotate, and an electric motor for driving the laundry drum via a reduction gear, a transmission, or direct drive. The internal unit is suspended in a machine housing such that it can vibrate and constitutes an overall system which can vibrate in a damped manner and which is subject to unbalance-dependent resonance phenomena in specific regions of the rotational speed of the laundry drum. The causes of these resonance phenomena are vibratory movements due to momentary unbalances in the load in the laundry drum. To reduce these unbalance-dependent resonance phenomena, the internal unit is provided with a vibration sensor which is rigidly or substantially rigidly coupled to the internal unit.

Abstract: A method is specified for controlling a polyphase brushless electric motor, wherein the motor phase currents which are associated with the phases are produced by clocked variation of the respectively applied electrical potential. In this case, the motor phase currents flow back from the electric motor via a common return line with the peak current value in the return line being detected and being included in a controlled variable. Furthermore, a circuit configuration is specified, which is provided in a corresponding manner in order to carry out the control method. The control method and the circuit configuration allow the motor phase currents to be taken into account in the control of the electric motor in a simple and cost-effective manner.

Abstract: A circuit configuration for driving an electric motor, in particular of a washing machine, includes power switches connected to connection terminals of the electric motor and to a voltage intermediate circuit. A driver circuit is connected to the voltage intermediate circuit and to the power switches. A control unit, in particular a micro controller, is connected to the driver circuit. The control unit generates control signals for controlling at least one rotation speed of the electric motor. The driver circuit generates short-circuit control signals for driving the power switches, which bring about a short circuit of the connection terminals connected to the power switches, independently of the control signals from the control unit. The driver circuit generates the short-circuit control signals as a function of a detection of an overvoltage of the voltage intermediate circuit over a desired voltage range. A method for controlling an electric motor is also provided.

Abstract: An apparatus detects a vibratory movement of the rotary shaft of an internal unit, which is suspended such that it can vibrate, of a washing machine having a laundry drum which is driven by an electric motor. The apparatus has a sensor part and a measured-value detector which is connected to the rotary shaft and provides a measured variable which varies periodically with the rotational speed of the rotary shaft and periodically with the vibratory movement in at least one direction parallel to the axis of rotation or in at least one radial direction.

Abstract: A circuit configuration and a method for determining a current drawn from a mains by a converter through a dc voltage intermediate circuit, replaces a required pulse-resistant input current measuring resistor with a conductor track of the circuit configuration itself. Since the input current drawn from the mains by the dc voltage intermediate circuit is on average equal to the output current delivered to the converter, the present resistance of the conductor track is given by the resistance of the measuring resistor downstream of the dc voltage intermediate circuit, weighted with the quotient of the input and output voltage drops. In that way, the mains current and therewith the power factor can be influenced by way of a current limiter without requiring an expensive pulse-resistant special resistor for mains current measurement.

Abstract: Before a washing machine is switched over to a very high spin speed in the spin program of the washing machine, the existing imbalance due to irregular distribution of laundry in the drum should be checked. If the imbalance is too strong, the spin program should be interrupted if there is a threat of excessively high bearing forces to be expected. The fluctuation in rotary speed, which may have a high frequency due to the drum speed, and of the power consumption of the washing machine motor measured downstream of the direct current intermediate circuit prior to the feed thereof into the inverter for producing the rotary field in the motor. There, the vector product of the current and the voltage for imbalance measurement by determining power is blocked off from mains network interference effects by the high capacitance of the direct current intermediate circuit.

Abstract: A large domestic appliance has main and auxiliary drives (17, 24) thereof supplied from the same dc voltage intermediate circuit (19) which is provided only once, by way of change-over switch sets (12), by half-bridge circuits (21, 21?). For that purpose a frequency converter (15) with its bridge circuit (21) for the main drive (17) is switched over in single-pole or multiple mode to the rotary field motor (23, 25) of the auxiliary drive (24) by way of a change-over switch set (12) connected in its output-side motor lines (13); or in the frequency converter (15) two half-bridge circuits (21, 211) which are associated with the main and the auxiliary drives (17, 24) are operated in parallel from the dc voltage intermediate circuit (19).

Abstract: In a synchronous motor with a permanent-magnet rotor for driving a washing machine to make commutation which is sensor-controlled in dependence on the rotary position of the rotor more precise, it is no longer the movement of the magnetic rotor dipole magnetic field past magnetic field sensors installed in the region of the air gap between the stator and the rotor that is interrogated. Rather an angular resolution and commutation triggering are improved by a relatively large number of actuators on an actuator disc that is non-rotatably connected directed to the rotor being interrogated. The actuators trigger, in an incremental pulse sender, counting pulses for a counter whose counting position that has been balanced up in dependence on direction of rotation specifies the instantaneous angular position of the disc and thus the rotor relative to the stator.

Abstract: Before a washing machine is switched over to a very high spin speed in the spin program of the washing machine, the existing imbalance due to irregular distribution of laundry in the drum should be checked. If the imbalance is too strong, the spin program should be interrupted if there is a threat of excessively high bearing forces to be expected. The fluctuation in rotary speed, which may have a high frequency due to the drum speed, and of the power consumption of the washing machine motor measured downstream of the direct current intermediate circuit prior to the feed thereof into the inverter for producing the rotary field in the motor. There, the vector product of the current and the voltage for imbalance measurement by determining power is blocked off from mains network interference effects by the high capacitance of the direct current intermediate circuit.

Abstract: The laundry in a rotating, obliquely mounted drum falls in the direction of action of gravitational force and therefore is no longer perpendicularly with respect to the axis of rotation of the drum, which results in an uneven distribution over the axial length of the drum, this leading to wobbling movement during the rotation of the drum that cannot be measured by conventional rotational sensor systems with their rigid attachment. In order to be able to counteract such movements on the drive side, these two further components of inertia have to be sensed orthogonally with respect to the main axis of inertia. For this purpose, the output signal of the rotational sensor, which signal indicates the rotational speed of the drum, experiences a variation in its output signal, the variation being dependent on the additional pitching and yawing movements of the laundry drum.

Abstract: In the context of a single-phase universal motor, which has proven its worth in particular as an agile washing machine drive, the novel control provides for a substantial reduction in the remagnetization losses, rotary speed dependency, level of efficiency, and the fluctuations in the motor current pulsating at double the mains frequency, together with the resulting losses and production of noise in particular because of torque fluctuations and electromagnetically excited oscillations of the stator iron core. The motor is no longer operated by way of the phase-angle control, which is synchronized with the mains frequency, of a pulse-fired triac which is self-turning off with the current zero crossing and also no longer operated by way of the pulse duty factor of a chopper oscillating freely at high frequency.

Abstract: A rotary speed control that is dependent on the instantaneous position of the entrainment members in the rotating drum affords a further degree of freedom in terms of introducing mechanical energy into the laundry that is being moved in the interior of the washing drum. By way of the intensity or duration of the washing operation, this permits additional optimization of the washing result, insofar as the interaction between the washing drum and the laundry now definedly varies over the rotation of the drum topography or the instantaneous drum movement can be adapted to the current condition of interaction between the entrainment member and the laundry.

Abstract: In a synchronous motor with a permanent-magnet rotor for driving a washing machine to make commutation which is sensor-controlled in dependence on the rotary position of the rotor more precise, it is no longer the movement of the magnetic rotor dipole magnetic field past magnetic field sensors installed in the region of the air gap between the stator and the rotor that is interrogated. Rather an angular resolution and commutation triggering are improved by a relatively large number of actuators on an actuator disc that is non-rotatably connected directed to the rotor being interrogated. The actuators trigger, in an incremental pulse sender, counting pulses for a counter whose counting position that has been balanced up in dependence on direction of rotation specifies the instantaneous angular position of the disc and thus the rotor relative to the stator.

Abstract: In order to be able to implement higher rotary spin speeds without structurally endangering the machine, a characteristic value that is as accurate as possible for the currently prevailing drum loading is desirable, for loading-dependent rotary speed limitation. Acceleration to a spin speed is interrupted in order to measure the respective electrical power consumption of the drive motor for a given rotary speed and then for a lower rotary speed that does not lead to the further removal of water from the laundry in the drum. Then the energy requirement and the acceleration period back up to the given rotary speed are measured, before the drum is accelerated to spin speed.

Abstract: In the context of a single-phase universal motor, which has proven its worth in particular as an agile washing machine drive, the novel control provides for a substantial reduction in the remagnetization losses, rotary speed dependency, level of efficiency, and the fluctuations in the motor current pulsating at double the mains frequency, together with the resulting losses and production of noise in particular because of torque fluctuations and electromagnetically excited oscillations of the stator iron core. The motor is no longer operated by way of the phase-angle control, which is synchronized with the mains frequency, of a pulse-fired triac which is self-turning off with the current zero crossing and also no longer operated by way of the pulse duty factor of a chopper oscillating freely at high frequency.

Abstract: A large domestic appliance has main and auxiliary drives (17, 24) thereof supplied from the same dc voltage intermediate circuit (19) which is provided only once, by way of change-over switch sets (12), by half-bridge circuits (21, 21′). For that purpose a frequency converter (15) with its bridge circuit (21) for the main drive (17) is switched over in single-pole or multiple mode to the rotary field motor (23, 25) of the auxiliary drive (24) by way of a change-over switch set (12) connected in its output-side motor lines (13); or in the frequency converter (15) two half-bridge circuits (21, 211) which are associated with the main and the auxiliary drives (17, 24) are operated in parallel from the dc voltage intermediate circuit (19).

Abstract: In order to be able to operate variably and in particular in an optimised manner in a large domestic appliance not only the main drive (17) thereof but also the auxiliary drive (24) thereof, without having to substantially increase the overall control complication and expenditure of the appliance required for that purpose, the main and auxiliary drives (17, 24) are fed from the same dc voltage intermediate circuit (19) which is provided only once, by way of change-over switch sets (12), by half-bridge circuits (21, 21′).