JP4873421B2 - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a clothes dryer that interrupts execution of a drying operation when a door of a rotating drum is opened during the execution of the drying operation.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a clothes dryer that performs a clothes drying operation for drying clothes by housing clothes in a rotating drum and supplying warm air to the rotating drum while rotating the rotating drum. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

And in the clothes dryer described in patent document 1, when a user opens the door of a rotating drum in order to confirm the drying degree of clothes during execution of clothes drying operation, execution of clothes drying operation is performed. The clothes drying operation is resumed when the user closes the revolving door.
JP 2001-149698 A

  In the conventional clothes dryer described above, the clothes drying operation is interrupted when the user opens the door of the rotating drum during the execution of the clothes drying operation, and then the user closes the door of the rotating drum. Clothes drying operation is resumed unconditionally.

  In this case, the user who has opened the door of the rotating drum and confirmed the degree of drying of the clothes takes out the clothes from the rotating drum when it is determined that the clothes are sufficiently dried, but the clothes drying operation is resumed when the rotating door is closed. . Therefore, although the user has already determined that the clothes drying has been completed, unnecessary clothes drying operation is not resumed when the revolving door is closed, and wasteful energy is consumed.

  Therefore, an operation resumption switch for instructing to resume the suspended clothing drying operation is provided, and when the user opens the rotating drum door and the clothing drying operation is interrupted, the user then opens the rotating drum door. It is conceivable that the clothes drying operation is resumed only when the switch is operated with the button closed.

  However, when the operation restart switch is operated as a condition for restarting the clothes drying operation, the user who has determined that the clothes are not sufficiently dried closed the door of the rotating drum with the intention of restarting the clothes drying operation. Sometimes, if the operation resumption switch is forgotten to be operated, clothes may be left in the rotating drum.

  In this case, if the garment to which oil adheres is left in the rotating drum heated by the garment drying operation, heat is accumulated due to heat generated by the oxidation of the oil, and the temperature of the garment rises and may ignite. .

  Therefore, the present invention provides a clothes dryer that can prevent a wasteful clothes drying operation from being executed against the will of the user and can prevent ignition of clothes in a rotating drum. For the purpose.

The present invention has been made to achieve the above object, and is disposed in a rotating drum for housing clothing, an air supply / exhaust fan for supplying and exhausting air to and from the rotating drum, and an air supply passage for the rotating drum. Heating means, door opening / closing detecting means for detecting opening / closing of the door of the rotating drum, and when the door opening / closing detecting means detects that the door of the rotating drum is closed, The clothes drying operation for operating the air supply / exhaust fan is executed, and the clothes drying operation is interrupted when the door opening / closing detection means detects that the door is opened during the execution of the clothes drying operation. It is related with improvement of a clothes dryer provided with the operation control means to do.

  And an operation resumption switch for instructing resumption of the clothes drying operation, wherein the operation control means has closed the door of the rotary drum by the door open / close detection means when the clothes drying operation is interrupted. When it is detected, it is determined whether or not the operation resumption switch is operated until the first predetermined time elapses thereafter, and the operation resumption switch is activated until the first predetermined time elapses. When the operation is performed, the clothes drying operation is resumed. When the operation resumption switch is not operated until the first predetermined time has elapsed, the heating operation of the heating means is stopped and the supply / exhaust fan is turned off. The cooling operation to be operated is executed.

  According to the present invention, when the door opening / closing detection unit detects that the user has opened the door of the rotating drum during the execution of the clothing drying operation, the operation drying unit interrupts the clothing drying operation. The The operation control means, after interrupting the clothes drying operation, even if it is detected by the door opening / closing detection means that the user has closed the rotating drum, the operation restart switch is operated by the user thereafter. Until the clothes drying operation is interrupted. Therefore, when the user who opened the door of the rotating drum and took out the clothes closed the door of the rotating drum, the clothes drying operation was resumed against the will of the user who finished drying the clothes, and wasted energy. Can be prevented from being consumed.

  Further, during the execution of the clothes drying operation, when the user opens the door of the rotating drum to check the drying condition of the clothes and closes the door of the rotating drum on the assumption that the drying condition is insufficient, When the operation resumption switch is forgotten to be operated, the cooling operation is executed by the operation control means when the first predetermined time has elapsed. Therefore, when clothing with oil attached is left in the rotating drum in a state where the clothing drying operation is interrupted, heat is stored due to heat generated by oxidation of the oil, preventing the clothing temperature from rising and igniting. can do.

Also includes a notifying means, wherein the operation control means, said after interrupting the clothes drying operation, when said door is closed tinged Lena detected by said door detection means within a second predetermined time In addition, the notification by the notification means is performed.

  According to the present invention, when the user who opens the door of the rotating drum during the execution of the clothes drying operation leaves the rotating door open without taking out the clothes from the rotating drum, the second predetermined operation is performed. When the time elapses, the notification means notifies the user. This notification can prompt the user to close the door of the rotating drum and restart the clothes drying operation, or to take out the clothes from the rotating drum. Therefore, when the garment to which oil adheres is left in the rotating drum, it is possible to prevent the garment from being heated due to heat generated by the oxidation of the oil and the temperature of the garment to rise to ignite.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a clothes dryer according to the present embodiment. The clothes dryer 1 includes a controller 31 (including the function of the operation control means of the present invention) that is an electronic unit configured by a microcomputer. The overall operation is controlled.

  The clothes dryer 1 draws air from the rotary drum 2 into which the clothes M are put and the air supply port 3 with the filter 3a disposed on the bottom surface and supplies the air into the rotary drum 2, and the inside of the rotary drum 2 The air is exhausted to the exhaust duct 5 through the exhaust port 4 with the filter 4a provided on the back surface of the rotary drum 2, and the rotary drum 2 is driven to rotate through the belt 2a. And a motor 7 that rotationally drives the fan 6 via a belt 6a.

  The clothes dryer 1 introduces the burner 8 disposed in the air supply passage from the air supply port 3 to the rotary drum 2 and the combustion exhaust gas of the burner 8 into the rotary drum 2 as hot air together with air. A combustion housing 9 is provided. A first solenoid valve 10, a second solenoid valve 11, and a proportional valve 12 are interposed in the gas supply path 8 a communicating with the burner 8. The combustion housing 9 includes an ignition electrode 13 for igniting the burner 8, a first thermocouple 14 for detecting misfire, a second thermocouple 15 for detecting overheating, and a first bimetal switch. An overheat switch 16 and a blowout temperature sensor 17 that detects the temperature of the hot air supplied to the rotary drum 2 are provided.

  Furthermore, the clothes dryer 1 includes a door switch 19 (corresponding to the door opening / closing detection means of the present invention) that detects opening / closing of the door 18 of the rotating drum 2 and a clothing temperature that detects the temperature of the clothing M in the rotating drum 2. A sensor 20, an electrode sensor 21 for detecting the degree of dryness of the clothing M from a resistance change between the pair of electrodes 21a, 21b contacting the clothing M in the rotary drum 2, an exhaust temperature sensor 22 disposed in the exhaust duct 5, and A second overheat switch 23 (for example, operating temperature 85 ° C.), a drum rotation detector 24 that detects the rotation of the rotary drum 2 by detecting the magnet 24 a mounted on the rotary drum 2, and the supply / exhaust fan 6 And a fan rotation detector 25 for detecting rotation of the air supply / exhaust fan 6 by detecting the magnet 25a.

  Further, on the operation panel 40 on the front surface of the clothes dryer 1, as shown in FIG. 2, a course changeover switch 41 for switching and selecting a course for drying clothes (standard, thick material, blanket, etc.); An LED 42 that is provided for each course and lights when selected by the course switch 41, a remaining time display unit 43 that displays an approximate remaining time of the clothes drying operation, and the start, pause, and stop of the clothes drying operation. A start / pause switch 44 (including the function of the operation restart switch of the present invention) for instructing restart of operation, a power-on switch 46 for instructing power ON of the clothes dryer 1, and the clothes dryer 1 A power-off switch 45 and a buzzer 47 are provided for instructing to turn off the power after the cooling operation is completed.

  Next, referring to FIG. 2, the controller 31 is turned on from each switch (course switching switch 41, start / pause switch 44, power-off switch 45, power-on switch 46) provided on the operation panel 40. / OFF signal and each sensor (clothing temperature sensor 20, exhaust temperature sensor 22, blowing temperature sensor 17, electrode sensor 21, first thermocouple 14, second thermocouple 15, drum rotation detector 24, fan rotation detection Detector 25) and ON / OFF signals from the switches (first overheat switch 16, second overheat switch 23, door switch 19) are input.

  The operation of the motor 7 is controlled by a control signal output from the controller 31 via the motor driver 32, and the first electromagnetic valve 10, the second electromagnetic valve 11, the proportional valve 12, the ignition electrode 13, and the buzzer The operation of 47 is controlled. Further, the control signal output from the controller 31 changes the buzzer 47 ON / OFF, the LED 42 ON / OFF, and the display content of the remaining time display unit 43.

  When the power-on switch 46 is turned on by the user's operation, power supply to the controller 31 is started, the controller is activated, and the course changeover switch 41 and the start / pause switch 44 can be operated. Then, when the user operates the course changeover switch 41 to select one of the courses for the clothes drying operation and then operates the start / pause switch 44, the clothes dryer 1 is selected by the controller 31. Start clothing drying operation by the course.

  After confirming that the door 18 of the rotary drum 2 is closed by turning on the door switch 19, the controller 31 first turns on the motor 7 (this causes both the rotary drum 2 and the supply / exhaust fan 6 to start rotating). Then, a high voltage is applied to the ignition electrode 13 to cause spark discharge, and the first solenoid valve 10 and the second solenoid valve 11 are opened, and the opening degree of the proportional valve 12 is set to the intermediate position. Fuel gas is supplied to 8 and the burner 8 is ignited. Then, after the ignition of the burner 8 is detected by the first thermocouple 13, the controller 31 controls the combustion amount of the burner 8 by adjusting the opening degree of the proportional valve 12 and executes the clothing drying operation by each course. .

  In the clothes drying operation, the controller 31 controls the combustion amount of the burner 8 based on the detection signal from each sensor and the ON / OFF signal from each switch, and executes the clothes drying operation with the contents corresponding to each course. The clothes drying operation is terminated when the operation termination condition is satisfied.

  Next, according to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, when the door of the rotary drum 2 is opened during the execution of the clothes drying operation, when the start / pause switch 44 is operated, and when the power-off switch 45 is Processing performed by the controller 31 when operated is described.

  After starting the clothes drying operation, the controller 31 repeatedly executes the loop of STEP1 to STEP4 in FIG. 1 to determine whether or not the power-off switch 45 is turned on in STEP1, and the start / pause switch 44 is turned on in STEP2. It is determined whether or not the door switch 19 is turned OFF (the door 18 is in an open state) at STEP3, and it is determined whether or not the condition for terminating the clothes drying operation is satisfied at STEP4.

  Then, when the condition for ending the clothes drying operation is satisfied in STEP 4, the process proceeds to STEP 5, where the first electromagnetic valve 10 and the second electromagnetic valve 11 are closed and the motor 7 is stopped to end the clothes drying operation. Further, when the clothes drying operation is finished, the cooling operation is performed in which the burner 8 is maintained in the fire extinguishing state and the supply / exhaust fan 6 is operated to send the cooling drum 2 to the rotating drum 2 to cool the rotating drum 2. To do. Then, in the subsequent STEP 6, the buzzer 47 is turned on to notify the user of the end of the clothes drying operation.

  Further, when the power-off switch 45 is turned on in STEP 1 (when the user operates the power-off switch 45), the process branches from STEP 1 to STEP 5. Then, in STEP5, the clothes drying operation is terminated and the cooling operation is executed. In subsequent STEP6, the buzzer 47 is turned on to notify the user of the end of the clothes drying operation.

  Further, when the start / pause switch 44 is turned on in STEP 2 (when the user operates the start / pause switch 44), the process branches from STEP 2 to STEP 10 in FIG. 4 to interrupt the clothes drying operation, and STEP 11 The subsequent processing is executed.

  In addition, when the door switch 19 is turned off in STEP 3 (the door 18 is in an open state), the process branches from STEP 3 to STEP 30 in FIG. 5, and the controller 31 interrupts the clothes drying operation and executes the processes after STEP 31. To do.

  The controller 31 interrupts the clothes drying operation in STEP 10 of FIG. 4, and in STEP 11, a first timer (for example, 2 minutes is set as the timer timing time, and the timer timing time of the first timer corresponds to the first predetermined time of the present invention). Start). Then, while repeatedly executing the subsequent loop of STEP 12 to STEP 15, it is determined whether or not the power-off switch 45 is turned ON in STEP 12, and whether or not the door switch 19 is OFF (the door 18 is open) is determined in STEP 13. In STEP 14, it is determined whether or not the first timer has timed out. In STEP 15, it is determined whether or not the start / pause switch 44 has been turned ON.

  Then, when the start / pause switch 44 is turned ON in STEP 15, the process proceeds to STEP 16, and the controller 31 resumes the clothes drying operation. Then, returning to STEP 1 in FIG. 3, the controller 31 executes the loop of STEP 1 to STEP 4 described above.

  Further, when the power-off switch 45 is turned on in STEP 12 of FIG. 4, the process branches to STEP 20, and the controller 31 sends the rotary drum 2 into the rotating drum 2 by operating the supply / exhaust fan 6 while maintaining the burner 8 in the fire extinguishing state. Then, a cooling operation for cooling the inside of the rotating drum 2 is executed. And it progresses to STEP7 of FIG. 3 and complete | finishes a driving | operation.

  Further, when the door switch 19 is turned OFF (the door 18 is in the open state) in STEP 13 of FIG. 4, the process branches to STEP 31 of FIG. Further, when the first timer expires in STEP 14 in FIG. 4, the process branches to STEP 20, and the controller 31 executes a cooling operation for cooling the inside of the rotary drum 2.

  Thus, after the user operates the start / pause switch 44 in STEP 2 in FIG. 3 to interrupt the clothes drying operation, the user operates the start / pause switch 44 in STEP 2 until the first timer expires in STEP 15. Without being notified, when the clothing M having the oil adhered to the rotating drum 2 is notified, it is possible to prevent the clothing M from being heated due to the heat generated by the oxidation of the oil and the temperature of the clothing M rising to ignite.

  The cooling operation may be executed for a predetermined time, or may be executed until the temperature detected by the clothing temperature sensor 20 or the exhaust temperature sensor 22 falls below a predetermined temperature. Further, the controller 31 ends the cooling operation when the operation cut-off switch 45 is operated for a long time during execution of the cooling operation (when the operation cut-off switch 45 is continuously turned on for a predetermined time or more).

  Next, when the door switch 18 is OFF (the door 18 is in an open state) in STEP 3 in FIG. 3 and the process branches to STEP 30 in FIG. 5, the controller 31 interrupts the “clothing drying operation” in STEP 30 and continues in STEP 31. Then, a second timer (for example, 5 minutes is set as the timer time, and the timer time of the second timer corresponds to the second predetermined time of the present invention) is started. The controller 31 also branches to STEP 31 in FIG. 5 and starts the second timer even when the door switch 18 is turned OFF (the door 18 is in the open state) in STEP 13 in FIG.

  Then, the controller 31 determines whether or not the power-off switch 45 has been pressed for a long time in STEP 32 while executing the loop of STEP 32 to STEP 34 in FIG. 5, and determines whether or not the second timer has timed out in STEP 33. In STEP 34, it is determined whether or not the door switch 19 is ON (the door 18 is closed). In this case, the process branches to STEP 7 in FIG. 3 on condition that the power-off switch 45 is long-pressed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the clothes drying operation from being terminated without the cooling operation due to an erroneous operation of the power-off switch 45 by the user.

  When the door switch 19 is turned on in STEP 34, the process branches to STEP 11 in FIG. 4, and the processes after STEP 11 described above are executed. In this case, even if the user closes the door 18, if the power-off switch 45 or the start / pause switch 44 is not operated in the loop of STEP12 to STEP15 in FIG. The cooling operation is executed after branching to.

  Therefore, after the user closes the door 18 without taking out the clothes M in the rotary drum 2, the user forgets to operate the power-off switch 45 or the start / pause switch 44, and the clothes M to which the oil adheres becomes the rotary drum 2. When left inside, it is possible to prevent heat from accumulating due to heat generated by the oxidation of the oil, resulting in an increase in the temperature of the clothing and ignition.

  When the power-off switch 45 is pressed for a long time in STEP 32, the process branches to STEP 7 in FIG. 3, and the controller 31 ends the clothes drying operation. In this case, when the second timer is started in STEP 31, it may not be determined that the power-off switch 45 is pressed for a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds). Thus, when the user opens the door 18 of the rotary drum 2 and accidentally operates the power-off switch 45 instantaneously, the process branches to STEP 7 in FIG. 3, and the cooling operation is performed contrary to the user's will. It is possible to prevent the clothes drying operation from being finished without accompanying.

  Further, when the second timer expires in STEP 33 of FIG. 5, the process branches to STEP 40. Then, the controller 31 turns on the buzzer 47 in STEP40. The ringing of the buzzer 47 informs the user that the door 18 remains open after the door 18 is opened and the clothes drying operation is interrupted during the execution of the clothes drying operation. Response can be encouraged. In response to this notification, the user can take out the clothes M in the rotary drum 2 and press and hold the power-off switch 45 to end the clothes drying operation. Alternatively, the clothes drying operation can be resumed by closing the door 18 and operating the start / pause switch 44.

  Then, the controller 31 repeatedly executes the subsequent loops of STEP41 to STEP42, determines whether or not the power-off switch 45 has been pressed for a long time in STEP41, and the door switch 19 is turned ON (the door 18 is closed) in STEP42. Determine whether or not.

  When the door switch 18 is turned on in STEP 42 (the door 18 is closed), the process proceeds to STEP 43 and the controller 31 turns off the buzzer 47. Then, the process proceeds to STEP 11 in FIG. 4, and the controller 31 executes the processing from STEP 11 described above.

  Further, when the power-off switch 45 is long pressed in STEP 41, the process branches to STEP 50, and the controller 31 turns off the buzzer 47. Then, the process proceeds to STEP 7 in FIG. 3, and the controller 31 ends the clothes drying operation.

  In the present embodiment, the process of STEP 31 to STEP 34 and STEP 40 in FIG. 5 is performed for a certain period of time after the door 18 is opened during the “clothing drying operation” and the “clothing drying operation” is interrupted. When it is not detected that the door 18 is closed within the timer time of the second timer), the buzzer is notified in STEP 40, but the effect of the present invention can be achieved even when such notification is not performed. Obtainable.

  In the present embodiment, the clothes dryer using the burner 8 as a heating means is shown as the clothes dryer of the present invention. However, other types of heating means such as an electric heater and a hot water circulation heat exchanger are used. The present invention can be similarly applied to the adopted clothes dryer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The whole block diagram of the clothes dryer of this invention. The control block diagram of the clothes dryer shown in FIG. The flowchart which shows a process when a power-off switch or a start / pause switch is operated during execution of clothing drying operation, and when a door is opened. The flowchart which shows a process when a power-off switch or a start / pause switch is operated during execution of clothing drying operation, and when a door is opened. The flowchart which shows a process when the power-off switch is operated for a long time during the interruption of the clothes drying operation and when the door is opened.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Clothes dryer, 2 ... Rotary drum, 6 ... Supply / exhaust fan, 7 ... Motor, 8 ... Burner (heating means), 19 ... Door switch (door opening / closing detection means), 31 ... Controller (operation control means), 44 ... Start / Pause switch (Operation restart switch)

Claims (2)

A rotating drum for housing clothing;
An air supply / exhaust fan for supplying and exhausting air to and from the rotating drum;
Heating means disposed in an air supply passage for the rotating drum;
Door opening / closing detection means for detecting opening / closing of the door of the rotating drum;
When it is detected by the door opening / closing detection means that the door of the rotary drum is closed, the clothes drying operation for operating the heating means and the air supply / exhaust fan is executed, and the clothes drying operation is executed. In the clothes dryer comprising operation control means for interrupting the clothes drying operation when the door opening / closing detection means detects that the door has been opened,
An operation restart switch for instructing restart of the clothes drying operation;
The operation control means, when the clothes drying operation is interrupted, when the door opening / closing detection means detects that the door of the rotating drum is closed, until the first predetermined time elapses thereafter. It is determined whether or not the operation restart switch is operated, and when the operation restart switch is operated before the first predetermined time elapses, the clothes drying operation is restarted, and the first predetermined time When the operation resumption switch is not operated before the time elapses, the clothes drier is characterized in that a cooling operation for stopping the heating operation of the heating means and operating the air supply / exhaust fan is executed. Providing a notification means,
Said operation control means, after interrupting the clothes drying operation, when said door is closed tinged Lena detected by said door detection means until a second predetermined time elapses, the notification The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein notification is performed by means.

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