JPH0654996A - Clothes drier - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform the drying operation in response to the quality, quantity, and thickness of clothes to be dried by calculating the difference between the temperature of a drying chamber when the dryness factor of the clothes reaches the first dryness factor and the temperature of the drying chamber when it reaches the second dryness factor, and determining the remaining drying operation time from the calculated result. CONSTITUTION:A microcomputer 23 starts the drying operation and counts and stores the number of clothes quantity detection signals inputted from an electrode 26 via a detecting circuit 27. It judges whether the dryness factor of clothes to be dried reaches the first dryness factor X1 or not based on the dryness factor signal from the electrode 26 and stores the temperature in a drum 4 as t1 when the first dryness factor X1 is attained. It judges whether the dryness factor of the clothes reaches the second dryness factor or not based on the dryness factor signal from the electrode 26 and stores the temperature in the drum 4 as t2 when the second dryness factor is attained. It calculates the difference between the temperature t1 and the temperature t2 and determines the remaining drying operation time based on the calculated temperature difference and the count number of clothes quantity detection signals.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a clothes dryer which detects a drying rate of clothes to be dried and controls a drying operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of clothes dryer, there has been provided one in which the drying rate of clothes to be dried is detected and the drying operation is controlled. In this case, when the drying rate of the clothes to be dried reaches a predetermined value during the drying operation, the drying operation is controlled for the remaining fixed time.

[0003]

According to the above-mentioned conventional one, regardless of the quality and quantity of the clothes to be dried, when the drying rate of the clothes to be dried reaches a predetermined value, the drying operation is uniquely left for a fixed time. Therefore, when the quality of the clothes to be dried is chemical fiber that is easier to dry than natural fibers, or when the amount of clothes to be dried is small, it will be overdried, and the damage to the clothes to be dried and the power consumption There is a problem that waste of consumption and waste of time increase.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a clothes dryer capable of performing a drying operation suitable for the quality and quantity of clothes to be dried and further the thickness thereof. .

[0005]

To achieve the above object, in the clothes dryer of the present invention, hot air is supplied to the drying chamber containing the clothes to be dried to dry the clothes to be dried. In addition, the drying rate detecting means for detecting the drying rate of the clothes to be dried and the temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the drying chamber are provided, and the drying rate of the clothes to be dried is the first drying rate during the drying operation. When it is detected that the drying rate has been reached, it is detected that the first storage means stores the detected temperature of the drying chamber at that time, and that the drying rate of the clothes to be dried has reached the second drying rate. At that time, the second storage means for storing the detected temperature of the drying chamber at that time, the calculation means for calculating the difference between the stored temperatures, and the remaining drying operation time are determined from the calculation result, and the time is calculated. Run dry until reaching Characterized by comprising a control means for the control.

In this case, further, a clothing amount detecting means for detecting the amount of clothing to be dried is provided, and the control means determines the remaining drying operation time from the detection result by the clothing amount detecting means and the calculation result by the computing means. It is even better to decide.

Further, when the value of the calculation result by the calculation means is less than a predetermined value, the temperature of the drying chamber is further detected after the lapse of the remaining drying operation determined from the calculation result and executed, and the control means However, it is also possible to control to continue the drying operation until the difference between the detected temperature and the temperature stored by the second storage means reaches a predetermined value.

Further, the target temperature difference when continuing the drying operation is preferably set to 7 [° C.].

[0009]

When the present inventor conducted an experiment, the following was found out. That is, when the drying operation is performed, the drying speed of the clothes to be dried made of natural fibers is slow, and the drying rate reaches the first drying rate first and the second drying rate next. Temperature difference is small. On the other hand, the clothes to be dried made of chemical fibers have a high drying rate, and the temperature difference between when the drying rate reaches the first drying rate at the first time and when the drying rate reaches the second drying rate at the next time is large. From this, the quality of the clothes to be dried can be judged from the temperature difference.

Therefore, the temperature difference is small, that is,
By determining the remaining drying operation time to be longer as the quality of the clothes to be dried is natural fiber, and conversely, the temperature difference is larger, that is, the remaining drying operation time is set to be shorter as the quality of the clothes to be dried is chemical fiber. The remaining drying operation can be performed according to the quality of the clothes to be dried.

On the other hand, in terms of quantity, the smaller the amount of clothes to be dried, the faster it reaches a dry state. Therefore, from the result of detecting the amount of clothes, the remaining drying operation time is determined to be longer as the amount of clothes is larger, and conversely, the remaining drying operation time is determined to be shorter as the amount of clothes is smaller, The remaining drying operation can be performed according to the quantity.

In addition, if the temperature difference between when the drying rate reaches the first first drying rate and when the drying rate reaches the second drying rate is too small, the clothes to be dried, especially the bath towel In the case of such a thick material, even if the surface reaches a sufficient drying rate, the inside does not reach a sufficient drying rate.In such a case, after the remaining drying operation time has elapsed, the drying chamber is further dried. Is detected and the drying operation is controlled to continue until the difference between the detected temperature and the temperature stored by the second storage means reaches a predetermined value. Can be fully dried.

In this case, by setting the target temperature difference when the drying operation is continued to 7 [° C.], it is possible to perform the drying which is more sufficient and does not become excessive.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First of all, FIG. 2 shows an outer box 1 of the entire clothes dryer, in which a dried clothes entrance / exit 2 is formed in the center of the front part thereof, and a door 3 for opening / closing the entrance / exit 2 is pivotally installed. ing.

A drum 4 which constitutes a drying chamber is housed inside the outer box 1, and the housed drum 4 has a large-diameter opening 5 formed on the front surface thereof at the front part of the outer box 1. A drum support 6 provided is rotatably supported, and a shaft 7 provided at the center of the rear surface part is also rotatably supported on a support plate 8 provided at the rear part of the outer box 1. A motor 9 is arranged on the upper portion inside the outer box 1 outside the drum 4, and the drum 4 is rotated by the motor 9 via a belt 10.

Further, a large number of small holes are formed in the rear portion of the drum 4 to form an air outlet 11, and a fan casing 12 is communicated with the air outlet 11 at the rear outside the drum 4 to form a fan. The duct 12 is made to communicate with the casing 12 below,
The tip of the duct 13 is communicated with an air inlet 14 formed by forming a number of small holes in the lower portion of the drum support 6. In the fan casing 12, a fan 15 which also functions as a double-bladed heat exchanger is arranged so as to partition the fan casing 12 in the front and rear.
The belt 16 is rotated.

Here, when the fan 15 is rotated, as shown by the arrow, the air in the drum 4 is sucked from the air outlet 11 to the front part in the fan casing 12 and discharged into the duct 13. On the other hand, the air outside the machine is passed from the outside air intake 18 formed in the central portion of the outer case back plate 17 to the fan casing 12
The air is sucked into the rear part of the inside and is discharged to the outside of the machine from the outside air return port 19 formed in the lower part of the outer case back plate 17, whereby the air inside the drum 4 and the outside of the machine are discharged inside the fan casing 12. The air inside the drum 4 is dehumidified by exchanging heat with the air in contact with the fan 15 as a boundary. Therefore, the dehumidified air inside the drum 4 passes through the duct 13 and is supplied into the drum 4 through the air inlet 14.

The air inlet 14 at the tip of the duct 13
A heater 20 is provided on the back side portion, and when the heater 20 generates heat, the air inside the drum 4 passing through the duct 13 is heated and hot air is supplied into the drum 4, and when the heater 20 does not generate heat, the duct 20 is generated. The air in the drum 4 passing through the inside 13 is not heated, and cold air is supplied into the drum 4.

A filter 21 is attached to the inside of the drum 4 of the air outlet 11 in the flow path of the air in the drum 4.

On the other hand, a circuit board 22 on which the main components of the control circuit shown in FIG. 3 are mounted is arranged in the upper part of the outer box 1. The control circuit includes a first memory means, a second memory means, an arithmetic means, and a microcomputer 23 functioning as a control means, as will be described later.
DC power is supplied to the microcomputer 23 from a power supply 24 via a rectifier circuit 25.

Further, the microcomputer 23 receives a drying rate detection signal of the clothes to be dried and a clothes amount detection signal from an electrode 26, which faces the inside of the drum 4 and is attached to a lower portion of the drum support 6, through a detection circuit 27. It is input as described below.

That is, when the clothes to be dried come into contact with the electrode 26, a corresponding voltage is generated. The voltage is high when the degree of wetness of the clothes to be dried is high, and becomes smaller as the drying progresses. Therefore, by detecting this voltage by the detection circuit 27, the drying rate of the clothes to be dried is detected, and the detection circuit 27 outputs the drying rate detection signal to the microcomputer 23. .

The amount of the clothes to be dried is detected by detecting the large voltage generated by the contact of the clothes to be dried with the electrode 26 by the detection circuit 27. The detection circuit 27 also outputs the drying rate detection signal to the microcomputer 23.

Thus, the electrode 26 and the detection circuit 27 are
It functions as a drying rate detecting means and a clothing amount detecting means.

In addition, the microcomputer 2
3 is a temperature sensor 2 which is a temperature detecting means provided so as to detect a start signal from a start switch 28 for starting the operation and the temperature inside the drum 4 (drying chamber).
9 (see FIG. 2), and the clock pulse is further input from the clock pulse generation circuit 30. Based on these inputs and the control program stored in advance, the microcomputer 23 Is adapted to give a drive control signal to the drive circuit 32 for driving the buzzer 31 in this case, which is the motor 9, the heater 20 and the abnormality alarm. A power switch 33 is inserted and connected to a circuit from the power source 24 to the motor 9, the heater 20, and the buzzer 31.

Therefore, the operation based on the control of the microcomputer 23 will be described below.

First, when the power switch 33 is operated and the start switch 28 is operated, the microcomputer 23 starts (starts) the drying operation, as shown in FIG. To energize
The heater 20 is energized (step S1). As a result, the drum 4 is rotated, the fan 15 is rotated, and hot air is supplied into the drum 4, so that the temperature t in the drum 4 gradually increases as shown in FIG.

In this situation, next, the microcomputer 23 counts the number N of clothing amount detection signals input from the electrode 26 through the detection circuit 27 (step S2),
This is repeated until it is determined that 2 minutes have elapsed (step S3), and then the count number N is stored (step S4).

Then, the microcomputer 23
Indicates that the drying rate X of the clothes to be dried is the first drying rate X1 from the drying rate signal input from the electrode 26 through the detection circuit 27.
(For example, 90-95 [%] suitable for ironing)
It is determined whether or not the temperature has reached (step S5), and when it is determined that the temperature has reached (time T1 in FIG. 4), the temperature t in the drum 4 at that time is stored as t1 (step S1).
6).

After that, the microcomputer 23
Similarly, from the drying rate signal input from the electrode 26 through the detection circuit 27, the drying rate X of the clothes to be dried becomes the second drying rate X2 (for example, 97 to 99 [%], which is close to complete drying). It is judged whether or not it has been reached (step S7), and when it is judged that it has been reached (time T2 in FIG. 4), the temperature t in the drum 4 at that time is stored as t2 (step S2).
8).

Then, the stored temperatures t1 and t2
The calculation (t '= t2-t1) for calculating the difference t'of the above is performed (step S9), and the remaining drying operation time T'is determined from the calculated temperature difference t'and the count number N of the preceding clothes amount detection signal. (Step S10).

Here, FIG. 5 shows changes with time in the temperature inside the drum 4 during the drying operation, showing the quality of the clothes to be dried (100% cotton undershirt, 35% cotton / 65% synthetic fiber). Cutter shirt) and amount (1 [kg], 2.3 [kg],
4.5 [kg]) Expressed separately, 100% cotton
The undershirt of 1) has a slow drying speed and a small temperature difference t '. On the other hand, the cutter shirt of 35% cotton and 65% synthetic fiber has a high drying speed and a large temperature difference t '. In terms of quantity, the smaller the amount, the faster the dry state is reached.

FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 show the time-dependent changes in the drying rate for different amounts of the same cloth quality, and the cotton is 100%.
The undershirt from (Fig. 6), or cotton 35
Even with a cutter shirt made of [%] / 65% synthetic fiber (Fig. 7), the smaller the amount, the faster the dry state is reached.

From these facts, however, after the second drying rate X2 is reached, the one containing the chemical fiber is faster,
Also, it can be seen that the smaller the amount, the faster the dry state is reached.

Therefore, the remaining drying operation time T'is determined from the temperature difference t'and the count number N of the clothes amount detection signal. Specifically, it is carried out as shown in FIG. The smaller the temperature difference t '(the quality of the clothes to be dried is closer to the natural fibers), the longer the remaining drying operation time T'is determined, and conversely, the larger the temperature difference t' (The quality of the clothes to be dried is closer to the chemical fibers). The remaining drying operation time T'is determined to be short.

Regarding the count number N of the clothing amount detection signal, the remaining drying operation time T'is determined to be longer as the count number N is larger (the amount of clothing to be dried is larger), and conversely the count number N is smaller (to be dried). The smaller the amount of clothes), the shorter the remaining drying operation time T'is determined.

The counting of the clothing amount detection signal is performed every 8 [msec] during the above-mentioned 2 minutes, and during that 2 minutes, 2 (minutes) × 60 (seconds) × 10 ³ (Msec) = 120,000 [msec], and the maximum count number Nmax of clothing amount detection signals during that period
Is 120,000 / 8 = 15000, and based on this, the count number N of FIG. 8 is divided (the amount of clothes to be dried is divided).

After determining the remaining drying operation time T'in this manner, the microcomputer 23 determines whether or not the remaining drying operation time T'has elapsed (step S).
11) When it is determined that the time has elapsed, the heater 20 is de-energized to terminate the drying operation (step S12), and then only the motor 9 is continuously energized to rotate the drum 4 and blow air into the drum 4 (cold air). ) And then 10
It is judged whether the minutes have passed (step S13),
When it is determined that the time has elapsed, the motor 9 is also de-energized (step S14), and the entire operation is ended (end).

As described above, in this structure, the drying rate X of the clothes to be dried when the drying operation is performed is the first drying rate X.
The difference t'between the temperature t1 in the drum 4 when reaching 1 and the temperature t2 in the drum 4 when reaching the second drying rate X2.
However, based on the fact that the clothes to be dried are small when they are made of natural fibers and are large when they are made of chemical fibers, the temperature difference t'is calculated, and the smaller the value is, the remaining drying operation time T'is. Is set to be longer, and conversely, the larger the value is, the shorter the remaining drying operation time T'is determined. By doing so, the remaining drying operation that matches the quality of the clothes to be dried can be performed. Even clothes can be dried to a sufficient degree without being over-dried unlike conventional clothes, and it is possible to eliminate damage to clothes to be dried, waste of power consumption, and waste of time.

Quantitatively, the fact that the smaller the amount of clothes to be dried reaches the dry state is that the amount of clothes to be dried is detected, and from the detection result, when the amount of clothes is large, The remaining drying operation time T ′ is determined to be longer, and conversely, the remaining drying operation time T ′ is determined to be shorter as the amount of clothes is smaller, so that the remaining drying operation that matches the amount of clothes to be dried can be performed. Even if there is a small amount of clothes to be dried, it does not overdry unlike conventional ones and can be dried to a good degree.In this case as well, damage to the clothes to be dried and waste of power consumption, In addition, it is possible to eliminate waste of time.

In contrast to the above, FIG. 9 shows a different embodiment of the present invention. In the following, only the differences from the above embodiment will be described. In this case, the microcomputer 23 determines the temperature inside the drum 4 when the drying rate of the clothes to be dried reaches the first drying rate X1 after it is determined in step S11 that the remaining drying operation time T'has elapsed. It is judged whether or not the difference t'between t1 and the temperature t2 in the drum 4 when the second drying rate X2 is reached is 1 or less (t'≤1) (step S15), not 1 or less. If it is determined that the temperature is 1 or less, the temperature t in the drum 4 is further detected and stored as t3 (step S16). Then, thereafter, an operation (ta '= t3) for calculating a difference ta' between the stored temperature t3 and the temperature t2 in the drum 4 when the drying rate of the clothes to be dried reaches the second drying rate X2.
-T2) is performed (step S17), and then it is judged whether or not the calculated temperature difference ta 'has reached a predetermined value, in this case, 7 [° C] (step S18), and it becomes 7 [° C]. Steps S16 to S18 are repeated until it is determined that the drying operation is continued. If it is determined in step S18 that the calculated temperature difference ta 'has reached 7 [° C.], the process proceeds to step S12, and the entire operation is completed.

By carrying out such control, it is possible to sufficiently dry even the clothes to be dried which are thick. That is, the drying rate is first set to 9 as the first drying rate X1.
When it reaches 0 to 95 [%], it means that the surface of the clothes to be dried has no water, and after that, the water remaining inside is evaporated. In this case, since the normal clothes to be dried have a small thickness, there is little moisture remaining inside and it is easy to come out. For this reason, the drying rate is 97 to 2 as the second drying rate X2. When it reaches 99 [%], most of the water inside is completely evaporated, so that when it is taken out by performing cold air operation or the like as described above, it is sufficiently dried.

On the other hand, thick clothes to be dried such as bath towels have a large thickness, so that a large amount of water remains inside and it is difficult for the clothes to come out. Even when the drying rate X2 reaches 97 to 99 [%],
The moisture in the inside is not completely evaporated, and therefore, when it is taken out by performing cold air operation or the like as described above, it is not sufficiently dried.

However, since the normal clothes to be dried quickly drain the moisture inside, as described above, after the drying rate reaches the first drying rate X1, the temperature in the drum 4 rises properly. Therefore, the drying rate is the second drying rate X2.
The temperature difference t'when the temperature reaches the temperature reaches a certain value. On the other hand, in the case of thick clothes to be dried, the moisture in the inside cannot be exhausted promptly, so that the temperature inside the drum 4 does not rise even after the drying rate reaches the first drying rate X1.
Therefore, the temperature difference t'when the drying rate reaches the second drying rate X2 shows a small value.

Therefore, if the temperature difference t'is checked and if it is a small value, in the above case, 1 or less, it is determined by the temperature difference t ', and after the drying operation for the remaining time which is executed, the inside of the drum 4 is determined. Temperature is detected and the drying operation is continued until the temperature difference ta 'from the time when the drying rate reaches the second drying rate X2 reaches a predetermined value (7 [° C]). The dry clothes can be sufficiently dried to the inside.

In this case, by setting the target temperature difference when the drying operation is continued to 7 [° C.], it is possible to perform the drying which is more sufficient and does not become excessive.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0048]

The clothes dryer of the present invention is as described above, and has the following effects. In the clothes dryer according to claim 1, the temperature of the drying chamber when the drying rate of the clothes to be dried reaches the first drying rate during the drying operation,
By calculating the difference from the temperature of the drying chamber when the second drying rate is reached and determining the remaining drying operation time from the calculation result, the drying operation that matches the quality of the clothes to be dried can be performed. Even if the clothes to be dried are made of chemical fibers, they can be dried to a sufficient degree without being overdried, and damage to the clothes to be dried, waste of power consumption, and waste of time can be eliminated. it can.

In the clothes dryer of claim 2, further,
By detecting the amount of clothes to be dried and determining the remaining drying operation time from the detection result and the calculation result of the above temperature difference, not only the quality of clothes to be dried but also the amount of clothes to be dried It is possible to operate, and it is possible to more reliably eliminate damage to the clothes to be dried, waste of power consumption, and waste of time.

In the clothes dryer of claim 3, when the value of the calculation result by the calculation means is less than or equal to the predetermined value, the drying chamber is further dried after the remaining drying operation time determined and executed from the calculation result. Of the thick material, and the control means controls the drying operation to continue until the difference between the detected temperature and the temperature stored by the second storage means reaches a predetermined value. The dry clothes can be sufficiently dried to the inside.

In the clothes dryer of claim 4, the target temperature difference when continuing the above-mentioned drying operation is set to 7 [° C.]. It can be dried without dripping.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart for explaining an operation showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the entire vertical section with a part broken away.

FIG. 3 is a schematic electrical configuration diagram.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a general time-dependent change in temperature inside the drum during a drying operation.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing changes over time in the drum temperature during a drying operation by quality and quantity of clothes to be dried.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing the amount of change over time in the drying rate of the clothes to be dried during the drying operation when the clothes to be dried are natural fibers.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the amount of change over time in the drying rate of the clothes to be dried during the drying operation when the clothes to be dried contain chemical fibers.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the contents of determination of the remaining drying operation time.

FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a different embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 is a drum (drying room), 9 is a motor, 15 is a fan, 2
0 is a heater, 23 is a microcomputer (first storage means, second storage means, calculation means, control means), 26 is an electrode (drying rate detecting means, clothing amount detecting means), and 27 is a detection circuit (drying rate). Detecting means, clothing amount detecting means) and 29 are temperature sensors (temperature detecting means).

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A drying chamber for accommodating clothes to be dried so as to dry the clothes to be dried, wherein a drying ratio detecting means for detecting a drying ratio of the clothes to be dried and the drying chamber. And a temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the clothes, and when the drying rate of the clothes to be dried reaches the first drying rate during the drying operation, the detected temperature of the drying chamber at that time is detected. A first storage means for storing the data; and a second storage means for storing the detected temperature of the drying chamber at that time when it is detected that the drying rate of the clothes to be dried reaches the second drying rate. And a control means for calculating a difference between the stored temperatures and a control means for determining a remaining drying operation time from the calculation result and executing the drying operation until the time is reached. Clothes dryer to do. 2. A clothes amount detecting means for detecting the amount of clothes to be dried is provided, and the control means determines the remaining drying operation time from the detection result by the clothes amount detecting means and the calculation result by the calculating means. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein: 3. When the value of the calculation result by the calculation means is less than or equal to a predetermined value, the temperature of the drying chamber is further detected after a lapse of the remaining drying operation determined from the calculation result and executed, and the control means. 2. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the drying operation is controlled until the difference between the detected temperature and the temperature stored by the second storage means reaches a predetermined value. 4. The clothes dryer according to claim 3, wherein the target temperature difference when the drying operation is continued is set to 7 [° C.].