Laundry treatment appliance

Abstract

A laundry treatment appliance has a laundry treatment apparatus with a rotatably mounted laundry drum held in a housing such that it can move. The laundry treatment apparatus has an electric motor for driving the laundry drum, a control system for actuating the electric motor, a vibration sensor for detecting a vibratory movement of the laundry treatment apparatus, and a vibration-damping apparatus for damping a vibratory movement. The vibration-damping apparatus has at least one controllable vibration damper which can be actuated in dependence on the vibratory movement of the laundry treatment apparatus for changing the vibration-damping properties of the vibration damper. The control system, in the event of a malfunction in a power supply system, actuates the electric motor such that the electric motor generates electrical energy from a rotary movement of the laundry drum and makes it available to the control system.

1 . A laundry treatment appliance, comprising:
 a housing;   a laundry treatment apparatus having a rotatably mounted laundry drum, said laundry treatment apparatus held in said housing such that said laundry treatment apparatus can move;   an electric motor for driving said rotatably mounted laundry drum in rotation;   a control system for actuating said electric motor, it being possible to connect said control system to a power supply system;   at least one vibration sensor for detecting a vibratory movement of said laundry treatment apparatus;   at least one vibration-damping apparatus for damping the vibratory movement of said laundry treatment apparatus, said vibration-damping apparatus having at least one controllable vibration damper which can be actuated by said control system in dependence on the vibratory movement of said laundry treatment apparatus, the vibratory movement being detected by said at least one vibration sensor, for changing vibration-damping properties of said vibration damper;   said control system formed such that, in an event of a malfunction in the power supply system associated with the said control system, said control system:
 actuates said electric motor such that said electric motor obtains electrical energy from a rotary movement of said rotatably mounted laundry drum and makes the electrical energy available to said control system; and 
 actuates said at least one vibration damper in dependence on the vibratory movement of said laundry treatment apparatus, which is detected by said vibration sensor, in order to damp the vibratory movement of said laundry treatment apparatus; and/or 
 actuates said electric motor to brake the rotary movement of said rotatably mounted laundry drum. 
   
     
     
         2 . The laundry treatment appliance according to  claim 1 ,
 further comprising at least one further sensor detecting at least one of a rotation speed, a fluctuation in the rotation speed, a torque or a fluctuation in the torque of said electric motor; and   wherein said control system actuates at least one of said electric motor or said at least one vibration damper in dependence on a measurement variable which is detected by said at least one further sensor in an event of a malfunction in the power supply system associated with the said control system.   
     
     
         3 . The laundry treatment appliance according to  claim 1 ,
 further comprising at least one device for detecting a phase position of an unbalance of said rotatably mounted laundry drum; and   wherein said control system actuates at least one of said electric motor or said at least one vibration damper in dependence on a detected phase position of the unbalance in an event of a malfunction in the power supply system associated with said control system.   
     
     
         4 . The laundry treatment appliance according to  claim 2 , wherein:
 said laundry treatment appliance has a door-locking apparatus; and   said control system actuates said door-locking apparatus in dependence on the measurement variable detected by said at least one further sensor in an event of the malfunction in the power supply system associated with said control system.   
     
     
         5 . The laundry treatment appliance according to  claim 1 , wherein said control system is configured in order to identify a malfunction in the power supply system associated with said control system. 
     
     
         6 . The laundry treatment appliance according to  claim 1 , wherein said at least one vibration damper of said vibration-damping apparatus is an electrically controllable frictional damper. 
     
     
         7 . A method for operating a laundry treatment appliance having a laundry treatment apparatus with a rotatably mounted laundry drum, the laundry treatment apparatus being held in a housing of the laundry treatment appliance such that the laundry treatment apparatus can move, the laundry treatment appliance further having an electric motor for driving the rotatably mounted laundry drum in rotation, a control system for actuating the electric motor and the control system being connectable to a power supply system, and at least one vibration-damping apparatus for damping a vibratory movement of the laundry treatment apparatus, which comprises the steps of:
 in an event of a malfunction in the power supply system associated with the power supply system, performing, via the control system, the steps of:
 actuating the electric motor such that the electric motor obtains electrical energy from a rotary movement of the rotatably mounted laundry drum and makes the electrical energy available to the control system; and 
 actuating at least one vibration damper in dependence on the vibratory movement of the laundry treatment apparatus to damp the vibratory movement of the laundry treatment apparatus; and/or 
 actuating the electric motor to brake the rotary movement of the rotatably mounted laundry drum. 
   
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 7 , which further comprises actuating, via the control system, at least one of the electric motor or the at least one vibration damper in dependence on at least one of a rotation speed, a fluctuation in rotation speed, a torque or a fluctuation in torque of the electric motor in an event of a malfunction in the power supply system associated with the control system. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 7 , which further comprises actuating, via the control system, at least one of the electric motor or the at least one vibration damper in dependence on a phase position of an unbalance of the rotatably mounted laundry drum in an event of a malfunction in the power supply system associated with the control system. 
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 7 , which further comprises actuating, via the control system, a door-locking apparatus of the laundry treatment appliance in dependence on one of a rotation speed or a torque of the electric motor in an event of a malfunction in the power supply system associated with the control system.