US Patent 9062407 Washing machine and control method thereof

A washing machine and a control method thereof in which a tub washing course is safely performed using a sensor to measure vibration of a tub. Since whether or not laundry is present in s drum is sensed while performing the tub washing course, consumption of separate time, water, and energy to sense whether or not laundry is present is not required, and operation of the washing machine is controlled by diagnosing malfunction of the sensor. If plural sensors are installed, a micro-computer is connected to the plural sensors in common through a Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) communication method or an Inter Integrated circuit (I2C) communication method, thereby reducing costs and volume of wire-harness.