A front-load laundry appliance includes a drum that is rotationally operable within a tub about a generally horizontal rotational axis. A plurality of lifters are coupled to an interior surface of the drum. A fluid delivery path is at least partially defined within the drum and the plurality of lifters. A fluid delivery system delivers fluid into the fluid delivery path in a direction parallel to the generally horizontal rotational axis.

Provided are an apparatus for and a driving method of driving a washing machine in which a washing tub is rotated by an inertial force in a freewheeling condition or at a low power driving mode, and a pulsator is reversely rotated, in a state where the pulsator and the washing tub are rotated in one direction. When driving the pulsator and the washing tub in the opposite directions, the inner rotor and the outer rotor are driven in a first direction where the washing tub is rotated, to then set the inner rotor to any one of a free-wheeling mode, an intermittent driving mode, and a low power driving mode, to thus rotate the washing tub, and the outer rotor is driven in one direction opposing the first direction to thus reversely rotate the pulsator.

The present invention relates to a washing machine and a spin-drying control method for the same, the washing machine including an inner tub, a drain pump, a motor and a control unit that controls the drain pump and the motor and carries out a spin-drying cycle including a sub spin-drying cycle and a main spin-drying cycle. The control unit changes a preset rotation time of the inner tub in the main spin-drying cycle according to the rotation speed of the inner tub during the sub spin-drying cycle, or determines whether to change the spin-drying time of the main spin-drying cycle according to a current value of the drain pump during the main spin-drying cycle, thereby improving spin-drying efficiency.

A washer includes a drum, a motor connected to the drum, a motor drive connected to the motor and configured to supply a driving current to the motor to rotate the drum, and a processor connected to the motor drive. The processor is configured to control the motor drive to supply the driving current to the motor to rotate the motor at a target speed and to determine a magnitude of a load accommodated in the drum while controlling a rotational speed of the motor within a predetermined range.

A motor system can include a motor configured to be operated according to at least a portion of an operation cycle specifying at least one target speed for the motor and a controller configured to obtain an estimated winding resistance of the motor, wherein the estimated winding resistance is determined based at least in part on an estimator gain factor, and wherein the estimator gain factor is inversely dependent on a speed of the motor; wherein the at least one target speed comprises at least one low speed such that at least a portion of the operation cycle is a low speed portion of the operation cycle, the at least one low speed having a speed of less than about 10 percent of a maximum speed of the operation cycle.

An axial air gap motor comprises: a frame; a stator that is arranged in an outer side of the frame in a radial direction; a first rotor that is spaced from one side of the stator in an axial direction, that has an air gap therebetween, and that is rotatably arranged in one side of the frame; and a second rotor that is spaced from the other side of the stator in the axial direction, that has an air gap therebetween, that is rotatably arranged in the other side of the frame, and that is connected with the first rotor in the axial direction.

A method of operating a washing machine appliance is provided. The washing machine appliance includes a rotatable basket and a motor configured to drive the rotatable basket. The method includes sensing an attribute of articles in the basket. The method also includes determining a pause duration for an agitation operation based at least in part on the sensed attribute of the articles in the basket. The method further includes performing the agitation operation for a period of time. The agitation operation includes activating a motor of the washing machine appliance to agitate the articles within the basket for an agitation duration and deactivating the motor of the washing machine appliance for the pause duration. The period of time is equal to the sum of the agitation duration and the pause duration.

A method of operating a washing machine appliance is provided. The washing machine appliance includes a rotatable basket and a motor configured to drive the rotatable basket. The method includes sensing an attribute of articles in the basket. The method also includes determining a pause duration for an agitation operation based at least in part on the sensed attribute of the articles in the basket. The method further includes performing the agitation operation for a period of time. The agitation operation includes activating a motor of the washing machine appliance to agitate the articles within the basket for an agitation duration and deactivating the motor of the washing machine appliance for the pause duration. The period of time is equal to the sum of the agitation duration and the pause duration.

A front-load laundry appliance includes a drum that is rotationally operable within a tub about a generally horizontal rotational axis. A plurality of lifters are coupled to an interior surface of the drum. A fluid delivery path is at least partially defined within the drum and the plurality of lifters. A fluid delivery system delivers fluid into the fluid delivery path in a direction parallel to the generally horizontal rotational axis.

A front-load laundry appliance includes a drum that is rotationally operable within a tub about a generally horizontal rotational axis. A plurality of lifters are coupled to an interior surface of the drum. A fluid delivery path is at least partially defined within the drum and the plurality of lifters. A fluid delivery system delivers fluid into the fluid delivery path in a direction parallel to the generally horizontal rotational axis.