EP3498906A1

EP3498906A1 - Control of vibration in a washing machine

Info

Publication number: EP3498906A1
Application number: EP17207616.8A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Muhammet Kürsat SARIARSLAN; Ömür ÖCAL
Original assignee: Vestel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret AS
Current assignee: Vestel Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret AS
Priority date: 2017-12-15
Filing date: 2017-12-15
Publication date: 2019-06-19
Also published as: TR201722195A1

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a system (100) for controlling vibration of a washing machine. The system comprises a drum (110) having a plurality of movable drum sections (111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118), a plurality of driving units (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208) each of which is connected to each of the plurality of movable drum sections and configured to move a corresponding movable drum section, a plurality of weight sensors (301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308) each of which is connected to each of the plurality of movable drum sections and configured to measure weight of content (403, 407) placed in the corresponding movable drum section, and a controller (500) configured to instruct at least one of the plurality of driving units to move radially the corresponding movable drum section based on the measured weight of content of each of the plurality of movable drum sections.

Description

Technical Field

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of control of vibration of a device. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a system for controlling vibration of a washing machine and to a method thereof.

Background

Nowadays, among various types of washing machines, a drum type washing machine predominates other types of washing machines in the commercial market. The drum type washing machine comprises a drum that rotates on a center axis in order to wash and spin-dry a laundry inside of the drum. During the spin-drying process, However, vibration is one of the most common and crucial problems with the washing machine.
During the washing process, several portions of the laundry may move randomly within the drum and finally be located together at a lower surface inside of the drum because of gravity, thereby causing unbalanced weight distribution of the laundry inside of the drum. When the spin-drying process of the washing machine starts with highly fast rotation ratio of the drum, the laundry can be dried by generated centrifugal force inside of the drum. However, since there is unbalanced weight distribution inside, a heavy portion will generate more force on the center axis of the drum than any other portions and thus force on the center axis will become directional. Thereby, it causes the washing machine to vibrate. The vibration of the washing machine may make severe noise and further cause malfunction or even breakdown due to the damaged components.

Problem

It is thus an object of the present disclosure to provide an effective way for a system to control vibration of a washing machine that avoids one or more of these, or other, problems.

Summary

According to a first aspect, a system for controlling vibration of a washing machine is provided. The system comprises a drum having a plurality of movable drum sections, a plurality of driving units each of which is connected to each of the plurality of movable drum sections and configured to move a corresponding movable drum section, a plurality of weight sensors each of which is connected to each of the plurality of movable drum sections and configured to measure weight of content placed in the corresponding movable drum section, and a controller configured to instruct at least one of the plurality of driving units to move radially the corresponding movable drum section based on the measured weight of content of each of the plurality of movable drum sections.
The drum of the washing machine is comprised of the plurality of movable drum sections. By way of example, but not limitation, the number of the movable drum sections may be varied depending on the specifications of the washing machine, such as various functions to be performed, a volume of the drum to contain a laundry and the like. Also, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the number or positions of the plurality of driving units and the plurality of the weight sensors may be varied according to various embodiments.
By moving at least one of the plurality of movable drum sections radially, the generated vibration can be alleviated to negligible levels or even removed completely. During a washing process of the washing machine, unbalanced weight distribution of the laundry inside of the drum may be caused. Since the washing machine may start with highly fast rotation ratio of the drum during a spin-drying process, if there is the unbalanced weight distribution inside of the drum, it causes directional force on a center axis. In order to resolve the directional force on the center axis, the distance between the center axis and the content, i.e., a portion of the laundry placed in at least one of the plurality of movable drum sections may be adjusted to compensate the unbalanced weight distribution of the laundry inside of the drum. In this regard, by moving the at least one of the plurality of movable drum sections radially based on the measured weight of content of each of the plurality of movable drum sections, the corresponding content, i.e., the corresponding portion of the laundry may be moved accordingly. Then, the centrifugal force on the center axis of the drum can become no longer directional. Thus, the vibration of the washing machine can be easily and effectively controlled.
The controller may further calculate a center of gravity of the drum based on the measured weight of content of each of the plurality of movable drum sections. For example, a size of the drum, a position of each of the plurality of the movable drum sections and a distance to each other may be standardized and stored in a memory of the controller in advance when manufacturing the washing machine. Thus, for example, when each of the plurality of weight sensors measures the weight of the content in the corresponding movable drum section and transmit the measured weights to the controller, the controller may easily obtain further information regarding the content, i.e., the laundry in the drum. By way of example, but not limitation, the obtained information may comprise which movable drum section contains the content, how heavy each of the content is, how far each of the content is positioned from the center axis of the drum or how far the content is positioned from each other. Methods for calculating a center of gravity based on the above exemplified information are well known in the art and therefore will not be described here in detail except one example as follows. However, the foregoing example is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Any such method now known or known in the future can be used for this purpose.
For example, when two portions of the laundry are respectively positioned at two of the plurality of movable drum sections each of which is on either side of the drum and thus faces each other, and the measured weight of each of the content, i.e., each of the two portions of the laundry is different from each other, it may cause unbalanced weight distribution. In this case, by way of example, but not limitation, the center of gravity of the drum may be calculated by using formulas as follows: $D 1 + D 2 = D$
$M$ $1 \times D 1 = M 2 \times D 2$
Where

M1 and M2 are respectively the measured weight of each of the two portions of the laundry, i.e., the contents positioned at the two of the plurality of movable drum sections,
D1 and D2 are respectively a distance of each of the two portions of the laundry to the center of gravity, and
D is a distance between the two portions of the laundry.

In this regard, with D1 and D2, the center of gravity may be easily calculated.
With an initial condition where the two of the plurality of movable drum sections are positioned farthest away from the center axis of the drum, D corresponds to 2r, where r is a radius of the drum.
The controller may further measure a difference in distance between the calculated center of gravity of the drum and the center axis of the drum. The center axis may be vertically extended lines from a point where a rotor and the drum connect and the drum may rotate on the center axis. For instance, turning to the above example, with the initial condition where D corresponds to 2r, the difference d in distance between the calculated center of gravity of the drum and the center axis of the drum may be calculated as follows: $|r - D 1| = |r - D 2| = d$
When D does not correspond to 2r, which means the position of at least one of the contents is already changed, d can be also easily calculated instead based on the actual positions of the two movable drum sections.
Then, the controller may determine whether the difference is in a threshold range. The threshold range may be determined appropriately depending on the various embodiments. For example, the threshold range may be determined to the extent that the generated vibration is negligible.
The controller may further select at least one of the plurality of movable drum sections to move to adjust the difference to be in the threshold range when it is determined that the difference is out of the threshold range, and instruct the at least one of the plurality of driving units to move the selected at least one of the plurality of movable drum sections parallel to the center axis of the drum in a direction radially either towards or away from the center axis of the drum. As mentioned above, in order to alleviate the vibration to negligible levels, the distance of the content to each other placed in the at least one of the plurality of movable drum sections may be adjusted to compensate the unbalanced weight distribution of the laundry inside of the drum. Thus, by moving the selected at least one of the plurality of movable drum sections parallel to the center axis of the drum in a direction radially either towards or away from the center axis of the drum, the corresponding contents, i.e., the corresponding portion of the laundry may be moved accordingly. Then, the centrifugal force on the center axis of the drum can become no longer directional and the vibration of the washing making can be effectively controlled.
Regarding the above example, for instance, which movable drum section to move to what extent may be determined depending on the various embodiments based on the measured difference in distance between the center of gravity and the center axis of the drum in view of the formulas (1) and (2).
Also, performance of the washing machine may be further considered when determination is made. For example, it may not be proper to move radially a movable drum section too close to the center axis of the drum as it may negatively impact on the performance of the washing machine. In this regard, an additional threshold range may be set regarding what to extent the movable drum section to be moved parallel to the center axis in a direction radially towards the center axis of the drum.
For instance, turning to the above example, if M1 is greater than M2, D1 is to be shorter than D2 in terms of the formula (2). Since, with the initial condition, the two movable drum sections are regarded as positioned in a distance of r from the center axis of the drum, it may not be possible to move the two movable drum sections parallel to the center axis in a direction radially further away from the center axis of the drum. Also, since D1 is to be shorter than D2, it may not be appropriate to move the movable drum section containing the content with M2 parallel to the center axis in a direction radially towards the center axis of the drum. This is because in that case the movable drum section containing the content with M1 should be much more moved parallel to the center axis in a direction radially towards the center axis of the drum, which may cause the movable drum section containing the content with M1 to be positioned too close to the center axis of the drum. Thus, it may be more efficient to move only the movable drum section containing the content with M1 parallel to the center axis in a direction radially towards the center axis of the drum in order to adjust the difference between the calculated center of gravity and the center axis of the drum to be in the threshold range.
The controller may further select at least one of the plurality of movable drum sections to move to adjust preferably the difference to be zero such that the center of gravity of the drum is positioned on the center axis of the drum. In this regard, regarding the above example, for instance, in order to adjust D2 to correspond to r, a distance D1 to be adjusted may be calculated as follows: $D 1 = (M 2 / M 1) \times r$
In this regard, the distance D1 and D2 can be newly adjusted and the corresponding content can be moved radially accordingly. Thus, the vibration can be removed completely.
By way of example, but not limitation, in case of the above example where the two portions of the laundry are respectively positioned at the two of the plurality of movable drum sections each of which is on either side of the drum and thus faces each other, it may be determined whether a difference between the weights M1 and M2 is above a threshold value instead of determining whether the difference in distance between the calculated center of gravity and the center axis of the drum is in a threshold range. Then, when it is determined that the difference is above the threshold value, the controller may further select one of the two movable drum sections to move mainly based on the formula (2), and instruct the corresponding driving unit to move the selected movable drum section parallel to the center axis of the drum in a direction radially either towards or away from the center axis of the drum.
The above mentioned steps may be periodically performed by the plurality of driving units, the plurality of weight sensors and the controller to effectively control the vibration of the washing machine while executing any performance of the washing machine. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that above calculation methods and details thereof may be varied depending on various embodiments.
Each of the plurality of driving units may further comprise an actuator configured to move the corresponding movable drum section, wherein the actuator may be at least one of a hydraulic actuator, a pneumatic actuator, an electric actuator, a mechanical actuator, a magnetic actuator and a thermal actuator. Also, each of the plurality of driving units may further comprise a shaft and a gear. The gear may be connected to the actuator and the shaft, and the shaft may be connected to the actuator and configured to support the corresponding movable drum section. The actuator may be driven by the controller to move the gear and thereby the shaft to move the corresponding movable drum section supported by the shaft parallel to the center axis of the drum in a direction radially either towards or away from the center axis of the drum.
The system may further comprise at least one flexible connector configured to connect the plurality of movable drum sections to each other. For example, the at least one flexible connector may be made from any material with flexibility or elasticity such as a synthetic rubber. The at least one flexible connector may be lengthened to connect the corresponding movable drum section to the other movable drum sections when the corresponding movable drum section is moved radially by the at least one of the plurality of the driving units.
According to a second aspect, a method controlling vibration of a washing machine and tis provided. The method may be performed by the system according to the first aspect. All apparatus features described herein with reference to the first aspect may thus also be embodied as functions, services or steps in the method of the second aspect.

Brief Description of the Drawings

In the following, the present disclosure will further be described with reference to exemplary implementations illustrated in the figures, in which:

Figure 1: schematically illustrates a system for controlling vibration of a washing machine according to the present disclosure;
Figure 2: schematically illustrates an example of a driving unit of the system of Figure 1; and
Figure 3: schematically illustrates a flowchart of a method which may be performed by the system of Figure 1.

Detailed Description

In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not limitation, specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present disclosure may be practiced in other implementations that depart from these specific details.
Figure 1 schematically illustrates an exemplary composition of a system 100 for controlling vibration of a washing machine. The system 100 incorporates a drum 110 having a plurality of movable drum sections 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, a plurality of driving units 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, a plurality of weight sensors 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308 and a controller 500. In Figure 1, although illustrated as the drum 110 has the eight movable drum sections and also the corresponding number of the driving units and weight sensors, the number and also positions of the above components may be varied according to various embodiments.
In Figure 1, content 403, i.e., a portion of the laundry is positioned in the movable drum section 113 and content 407, i.e., another portion of the laundry is positioned in the movable drum section 117. The plurality driving units 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208 may be connected to each of the plurality of movable drum sections 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118. The plurality weight sensors 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308 may also be connected to each of the plurality of movable drum sections 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118 and measure weight of content placed in the corresponding movable drum section. Thus, the weight sensor 303 may measure the weight of the content 403 of the movable drum section 113 and the weight sensor 307 may measure the weight of the content 407 of the movable drum section 117. Other weights measured by the other weight sensors 301, 302, 304, 305, 306, 308 may correspond to zero or nearly zero. Then, the controller 500 may instruct at least one of the driving units 203, 207 to move radially the corresponding movable drum section 113, 117 based on the measured weights of the contents 403, 407. For example, when there is a difference between the weights of the contents 403, 407, the movable drum section 117 may be moved radially to compensate the unbalanced weight distribution of the laundry inside of the drum 110 as seen from Figure 1(a) to Figure 1(b). Then, the centrifugal force on a center axis O of the drum 110 can become no longer directional. Thus, the vibration of the washing machine can be easily and effectively controlled.
In order for the controller 500 to determine which one of the driving units 203, 207 to instruct to move radially the corresponding movable drum section 113, 117 based on the measured weights of the contents 403, 407, the controller 500 may further calculate a center of gravity X of the drum 110 based on the measured weight of contents 403, 407. Then, the controller 500 may further measure a difference in distance between the calculated center of gravity X of the drum 110 and the center axis Oof the drum 110, and determine whether the difference is in a threshold range. When it is determined that the difference is out of the threshold range, the controller 500 may further select at least one of the movable drum sections 113, 117 to move to adjust the difference to be in the threshold range, and instruct the at least one of the driving units 203, 207 to move the selected at least one of the movable drum sections 113, 117 parallel to the center axis O of the drum 110 in a direction radially either towards or away from the center axis O of the drum 110. Preferably, if possible, the controller may further select at least one of the movable drum sections 113, 117 to move to adjust the difference to be zero such that the center of gravity X of the drum 110 is positioned on the center axis O of the drum 110.
By way of example, but not limitation, in Figure 1, the contents, 403, 407 of the laundry are respectively positioned at the movable drum sections 113, 117, each of which is on either side of the drum 110 and thus faces each other. The two movable drum sections 113, 117 may be positioned in a distance of r from the center axis of the drum, where r is a radius of the drum 110. In this example, it may be assumed the radius r is 30cm.
When the weight of the content 403 measured by the weight sensor 303 is 3kg and the weight of the content 407 measured by the weight sensor 307 is 2kg, the measured weights of the contents 403, 407 are different from each other. Then, it may cause unbalanced weight distribution. In this case, by way of example, but not limitation, the center of gravity X of the drum may be calculated by using the above mentioned formulas (1) and (2) and also the difference in distance between the calculated center of gravity of the drum and the center axis of the drum may be calculated by using the above mentioned formula (3) as follows: $D 1 + D 2 = D$
$M$ $1 \times D 1 = M 2 \times D 2$
$|r - D 1| = |r - D 2| = d$
Where

M1 and M2 are respectively 3kg and 2kg, and
D, i.e., in this case which is 2r, is 60cm.

Thus, D1 is computed at 24cm, and D2 is computed at 36cm. In this regard, d is figured out at 6cm. By way of example, but not limitation, assuming the threshold range is 1cm, which may be determined to the extent that the generated vibration is negligible. Then, the difference is out of the threshold range and at least one of the movable drum sections 113, 117 may thus be moved radially to preferably adjust the difference to be zero such that the center of gravity X of the drum 110 is positioned on the center axis O of the drum 110. In order to efficiently adjust the distance of the content to each other placed in the movable drum sections 113, 117 to compensate the unbalanced weight distribution of the laundry inside of the drum, the controller may select to move only the movable drum section 113 containing the content 403 with 3kg parallel to the center axis in a direction radially towards the center axis of the drum 110. In this regard, in order to adjust D2 to correspond to r to set the center of gravity X on the center axis O of the drum 110, a distance D1 to be adjusted may be calculated as follows: $D 1 = (M 2 / M 1) \times r$
In this regard, D2 is newly adjusted to 30cm, and D1 is newly computed at 20cm. The movable drum section 113 containing the content 403 with 3kg can be moved parallel to the center axis O of the drum 110 in a direction radially towards the center axis O of the drum 110 by 10cm as shown in Figure 1(b). Thus, the vibration can be removed completely.
Each of the plurality of driving units 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208 may further comprise an actuator, a shaft and a gear. More detailed descriptions relating to the plurality of driving units 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208 will be provided with regard to Figure 2 below.
The system 100 may further comprise at least one flexible connector 601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608 configured to connect the plurality of movable drum sections to each other. For example, the at least one flexible connector 601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608 may be made from any material with flexibility or elasticity such as a synthetic rubber.
As illustrated in Figure 1(b), the at least one flexible connector 603, 604 may be stretched to connect the corresponding movable drum section 113 to the other movable drum sections 112, 114 when the corresponding movable drum section 113 is moved radially by the driving unit 203. Alternatively, even though the at least one flexible connecter is illustrated as a separated component, the at least one flexible connector may be implemented as an integrated form to connect the plurality of movable drum sections as whole.
Figure 2 schematically illustrates an example of a driving unit 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208 of the system 100. Each of the plurality of driving units 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208 may further comprise an actuator 210 configured to move the corresponding movable drum section. The actuator may be at least one of a hydraulic actuator, a pneumatic actuator, an electric actuator, a mechanical actuator, a magnetic actuator and a thermal actuator.
Also, each of the plurality of driving units 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208 may further comprise a shaft 230 and a gear 220. As illustrated in Figure 2, the gear 220 may be connected to the actuator 210 and the shaft 230. Further, the shaft 230 may be connected to the actuator 210 and configured to support the corresponding movable drum section. The actuator 210 may be driven by the controller 500 to move the gear 220 and thereby the shaft 230 to move the corresponding movable drum section supported by the shaft 230 parallel to the center axis of the drum in a direction radially either towards or away from the center axis of the drum.
With regard to Figure 1, by way of example, but not limitation, when the controller 500 instructs the driving unit 203 to radially move the selected movable drum section 113 parallel to the center axis of the drum 110, the actuator 210 may receive an electrical signal from the controller 500 and turn the gear 220 either clockwise or counterclockwise. Then, the gear 220 may consequently move the shaft 230. Depending on the direction, i.e., either clockwise or counterclockwise, the shaft 230 may move in a direction radially either towards or away from the center axis of the drum 110. Thus, the corresponding movable drum section supported by the shaft 230 may be moved in an intended direction.
One skilled in the art would appreciate that the components or structure of the driving unit are non-limiting example and any other structure to implement the vibration control scheme in accordance with embodiments described here will be available.
Figure 3 schematically illustrates a flowchart of a method for controlling vibration of a washing machine having a drum, i.e., the drum 110 being comprised of a plurality of movable drum sections i.e., the plurality of movable drum sections 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118. The method begins at step S201, at which a plurality of weight sensors measure weight of content placed in each of the plurality of movable drum sections. In step S202, a controller instructs at least one of a plurality of driving units to move radially at least one of the plurality of movable drum sections based on the measured weight of content of each of the plurality of movable drum sections. The method may be further repeatedly performed with a certain period by a system for controlling vibration, i.e., the system 100.
The above-described variants as well as their design and operating aspects serve only for the better understanding of the structure, the functionality, and the features; they have no limiting effect upon the disclosure, for example to the design examples.
The figures are partially schematic, with essential features and functions being shown sometimes considerably enlarged in order to illustrate functions, effects, technical designs, and features. Here, each functionality, each principle, each technical feature, and each characteristic disclosed in the figures or the text can be combined with all claims, all features in the text, and in the other figures, other functionalities, principles, technical designs, and features included in this disclosure or resulting therefrom, in a free and arbitrary fashion such that all possible combinations of the described variants shall be included, here.
Here, combinations between all individual designs in the text are also possible; this means in every section of the description, in the claims, and also combinations between different variants in the text, in the claims and the figures. The claims shall also not be considered limited to their disclosure and thus shall not exclude any potential combinations of all features shown. All disclosed features are explicitly also disclosed individually and in combination with all other characteristics.
It is believed that the advantages of the technique presented herein will be fully understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, constructions and arrangement of the exemplary aspects thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure or without sacrificing all of its advantageous effects. Because the technique presented herein can be varied in many ways, it will be recognized that the disclosure should be limited only by the scope of the claims that follow.

Claims

A system (100) for controlling vibration of a washing machine, comprising:
a drum (110) having a plurality of movable drum sections (111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118);

a plurality of driving units (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208) each of which is connected to each of the plurality of movable drum sections and configured to move a corresponding movable drum section;

a plurality of weight sensors (301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308) each of which is connected to each of the plurality of movable drum sections and configured to measure weight of content (403, 407) placed in the corresponding movable drum section; and

a controller (500) configured to instruct at least one of the plurality of driving units to move radially the corresponding movable drum section based on the measured weight of content of each of the plurality of movable drum sections.
The system of claim 1, wherein the controller (500) is further configured to calculate a center of gravity (X) of the drum based on the measured weight of content of each of the plurality of movable drum sections.
The system of claim 2, wherein the controller (500) is further configured to:
measure a difference in distance between the calculated center of gravity of the drum and a center axis (O) of the drum, and

determine whether the difference is in a threshold range.
The system of claim 3, wherein the controller (500) is further configured to:
select at least one of the plurality of movable drum sections to move to adjust the difference to be in the threshold range when it is determined that the difference is out of the threshold range, and

instruct the at least one of the plurality of driving units to move the selected at least one of the plurality of movable drum sections parallel to the center axis of the drum in a direction radially either towards or away from the center axis of the drum.
The system of claim 4, wherein the controller (500) is further configured to select at least one of the plurality of movable drum sections to move to adjust preferably the difference to be zero such that the center of gravity of the drum is positioned on the center axis of the drum.
The system of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein each of the plurality of driving units (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208) comprises an actuator (210) configured to move the corresponding movable drum section, wherein the actuator is at least one of a hydraulic actuator, a pneumatic actuator, an electric actuator, a mechanical actuator, a magnetic actuator and a thermal actuator.
The system of claim 6, wherein each of the plurality of driving units (201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208) further comprises a shaft (230) and a gear (220),
wherein the gear is connected to the actuator and the shaft, and
wherein the shaft is connected to the actuator and configured to support the corresponding movable drum section.
The system of claim 7, wherein the actuator (210) is driven by the controller to move the gear (220) and thereby the shaft (230) to move the corresponding movable drum section supported by the shaft parallel to the center axis of the drum in a direction radially either towards or away from the center axis of the drum.
The system of any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising at least one flexible connector (601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608) configured to connect the plurality of movable drum sections to each other.
The system of claim 9, wherein the at least one flexible connector (601, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 607, 608) is configured to be lengthened to connect the corresponding movable drum section to the other movable drum sections when the corresponding movable drum section is moved radially by the at least one of the plurality of the driving units.
A method for controlling vibration of a washing machine having a drum being comprised of a plurality of movable drum sections, comprising:
measuring (S301), by a plurality of weight sensors, weight of content placed in each of the plurality of movable drum sections; and

instructing (S302), by a controller, at least one of a plurality of driving units to move radially at least one of the plurality of movable drum sections based on the measured weight of content of each of the plurality of movable drum sections.