US Patent 7581272 Dynamic load detection for a clothes washer

A method for controlling the spin cycle in an automatic clothes washer. The clothes washer comprises an imperforate tub, a perforate basket located within the tub, a bearing assembly carried by the tub, a drive shaft rotationally supported in the bearing assembly and coupled to the basket to define a rotational axis of the basket, a drive assembly rotating the drive shaft, and a controller operably to the drive assembly, with the controller controlling the drive mechanism to control the spin rate of the basket according to a spin cycle. The method comprises sensing a moment acting on the bearing, and controlling the spin rate of the basket in response to the sensed moment.