CN116368273A

CN116368273A - Clothes dryer and control method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN116368273A
Application number: CN202180072596.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 车惠旼; 廉昌倍; 李妍珠; 朴在笼; 李基洙; 田明源; 崔汉圭
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-11-20
Filing date: 2021-09-29
Publication date: 2023-06-30
Also published as: EP4206393A4; US20230265601A1; EP4206393A1; WO2022108100A1

Abstract

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a clothes dryer includes: a main body; a drum disposed in the main body for accommodating objects to be dried; a driving motor configured to rotate the drum; an input module configured to receive an input of a drying mode or a dehumidifying mode from a user; a heat exchanger disposed in the main body; and a controller configured to control the driving motor to rotate the drum at a first rotational speed in response to the input drying mode, and to control the driving motor to rotate the drum at a second rotational speed different from the first rotational speed in response to the input dehumidifying mode.

Description

Clothes dryer and control method thereof

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a dryer, and more particularly, to a dryer for dehumidifying air outside the dryer in addition to drying an object to be dried.

Background

A clothes dryer is an apparatus for drying laundry (hereinafter, referred to as an object to be dried) by rotating a drum accommodating the object to be dried and supplying hot air into the drum.

Existing clothes dryers are installed and used in separate washrooms or utility rooms in houses, but the washrooms or utility rooms have no windows and are narrow and small, thus not well ventilated. When the washroom or the glove compartment has high humidity, the dryer installed therein is more likely to be corroded, giving an unpleasant feeling to a user who enters and exits the space. An additional dehumidifier may be installed in the space where the dryer is installed, but this is inefficient in terms of cost and space use.

Meanwhile, the heat pump clothes dryer may dry an object to be dried using a refrigerant cycle. Although the basic function of the dryer is to dry the objects to be dried, the above-described problems can be solved at one time by properly utilizing the characteristics of the refrigerant cycle.

Disclosure of Invention

[ problem ]

The present disclosure provides a clothes dryer that uses functions already equipped in the clothes dryer to have better dehumidifying efficiency.

[ technical solution ]

The controller may control the driving motor to rotate the drum at a second rotation speed lower than the first rotation speed in the dehumidifying mode.

The controller may control the driving motor to rotate the drum at a second rotation speed higher than the first rotation speed in the dehumidifying mode.

The controller may rotate the drum to allow air introduced from the outside to reach the inner surface of the drum in response to receiving a command to select the dehumidification mode through the input module.

The dryer may further include a compressor configured to generate hot air, and the controller may control the compressor to make a temperature in the drum a first temperature in the drying mode and to make a temperature in the drum a second temperature different from the first temperature in the dehumidifying mode.

The controller may control the compressor in the dehumidification mode to make the temperature in the drum a second temperature lower than the first temperature.

The dryer may further include a fan configured to form a flow path through which air flows in from the outside, and through which air having passed through the heat exchanger and the drum flows out.

The controller may generate a control signal to drive the fan in response to receiving a command to select the dehumidification mode through the input module.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a method of controlling a clothes dryer includes receiving a command to select a dehumidifying mode; controlling the fan to form a flow path so as to force air introduced from the outside to pass through the drum and flow out; and controlling the driving motor to rotate the drum at a second rotation speed in the dehumidifying mode, wherein the second rotation speed is different from the first rotation speed at which the drum rotates in the drying mode.

Controlling the driving motor may include controlling the driving motor to rotate the drum at a second rotation speed lower than the first rotation speed in the dehumidifying mode.

Controlling the driving motor may include controlling the driving motor to rotate the drum at a second rotation speed higher than the first rotation speed in the dehumidifying mode.

Controlling the driving motor may include rotating the drum such that air introduced from the outside reaches an inner surface of the drum.

The method of controlling the clothes dryer may further include controlling the compressor to make the temperature in the drum a first temperature in the drying mode, and controlling the compressor to make the temperature in the drum a second temperature different from the first temperature in the dehumidifying mode.

The controlling of the compressor may include controlling the compressor in the dehumidifying mode such that the temperature in the drum is a second temperature lower than the first temperature.

The controlling of the driving motor may include generating a control signal to drive the fan in response to receiving a command to select the dehumidification mode through the input module.

[ beneficial effects ]

According to the present disclosure, the dehumidifying efficiency of the dryer may be improved by rotating the drum for dehumidifying to prevent condensation of steam in the dryer.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is an external view of a dryer according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a side sectional view of a dryer in a drying mode according to an embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a side sectional view of a dryer in a dehumidifying mode according to an embodiment.

Fig. 4 illustrates rotation of the drum when the dryer is in a dehumidifying mode according to an embodiment.

Fig. 5 illustrates a base of a dryer according to an embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a control block diagram of a dryer according to an embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a flowchart of a method of controlling a dryer according to an embodiment.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart of a method of controlling a dryer according to another embodiment.

Detailed Description

Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Not all elements of the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described, and descriptions of what are known in the art or what overlap each other in the embodiments will be omitted. The term "unit, module, component, or block" may refer to content implemented in software or hardware, and a plurality of units, modules, components, or blocks may be integrated in one component, or the unit, module, component, or block may include a plurality of components, depending on the embodiments of the present disclosure.

It should also be appreciated that the term "connect" or its derivatives refer to both direct and indirect connections, and that indirect connections include connections via a wireless communication network.

The terms "comprising" or "including" are inclusive or open-ended and do not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps, unless otherwise indicated.

Throughout the specification, when it is said that one element is "on" another element, it means that the element is not only located adjacent to the other element, but also that a third element is present between the two elements.

It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another.

It should be understood that the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

The reference numerals used for method steps are only used for convenience of explanation, but do not limit the order of the steps. Thus, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the written commands may be implemented in other ways.

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present disclosure that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The dryer 1 according to the present invention may be used for drying and/or treating clothes, shoes, miscellaneous items, etc.

Referring to fig. 1, a direction along the X-axis may be defined as a front-rear direction, a direction along the Y-axis may be defined as a left-right direction, and a direction along the Z-axis may be defined as an up-down direction. As used herein, the terms "front-back direction", "left-right direction", "up-down (vertical) direction", and the like are defined with respect to the drawings, but these terms may not limit the shape and position of the respective components.

Fig. 1 is an external view of a dryer according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 is a side sectional view of a dryer in a drying mode according to an embodiment, fig. 3 is a side sectional view of a dryer in a dehumidifying mode according to an embodiment, fig. 4 illustrates rotation of a drum when the dryer is in the dehumidifying mode according to an embodiment, and fig. 5 illustrates a base of the dryer according to an embodiment.

Referring to fig. 1, a clothes dryer 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a main body 10. The main body 10 may include a front plate 11, a top plate 12, side plates 13, a rear plate 14, and a bottom plate 15, which may be formed in an almost rectangular shape. The main body 10 may constitute a main frame of the dryer 1.

A recyclable bottle 16 may be disposed in the body 10. Specifically, the recyclable bottle 16 may be disposed at an upper portion of the front plate 11 of the body 10. The recyclable bottle 16 may store condensed water generated by a refrigerant cycle operation, which will be described later.

There may be an input module 17 provided on the main body 10 to operate the dryer. Specifically, the input module 17 may be disposed at an upper portion of the front plate 11 of the main body 10. The input module 17 may include at least one of a rotatable switch 17a, a display 17b, and a button 17 c. The rotatable switch 17a may be arranged for a user to select a mode of the dryer 1 by grasping and rotating the rotatable switch 17 a. The display 17b may be arranged to display an operation state and/or a user manipulation state of the dryer 1. A display 17b may be provided to enable touch input. The button 17c may be arranged for a user to select a mode of the dryer 1 by pressing the button. However, it is not limited thereto, and various operation methods are possible.

The body 10 may include a base 60. The base 60 may be disposed at the bottom of the body 10, forming the bottom plate 15. At the bottom plate 15 there may be legs 19 (see fig. 2) supporting the body 10.

The dryer 1 may include a drum 20 arranged to receive objects (also simply referred to as objects) to be dried. The drum 20 may include an inlet of the drum through which objects are input. The drum 20 may be rotatably disposed in the main body 10.

The dryer 1 may include a driver to rotate the drum 20. Referring to fig. 5, the driver may include a driving motor 31 mounted on the base 60, a pulley 32 rotated by the driving motor 31, and a belt (not shown) connecting the pulley 32 to the drum 20 to transmit power of the driving motor 31 to the drum 20.

Meanwhile, in an embodiment, the dryer 1 may suck in moist external air when the door 30 is opened and dehumidify the outdoor space by discharging the air dried by the refrigerant circulation of the heat exchanger 70. In this case, when the door 30 of the dryer 1 is opened, an open flow path may be formed. Further, in an embodiment, the dryer 1 may further include a dehumidifying unit 100 which may form an open flow path even when the door 30 is closed.

Referring to fig. 2, the drum 20 may include an inflow port 21 through which air flows into the drum interior 23, and an outflow port 22 through which air flows out of the drum interior 23. The inflow port 21 may be formed at one side of the drum 20, and the outflow port 22 may be formed at the other side of the drum 20. Specifically, the inflow port 21 may be a rear opening of the drum 20, and the outflow port 22 may be a front opening of the drum 20. For example, the front opening of the drum 20 may be an inlet of the drum 20.

The dry and hot air may flow into the drum 20 through the inflow port 21 and dry the objects contained in the drum 20. In addition, air that already contains a large amount of water after the object is dried may leave the drum 20 through the outflow port 22.

A plurality of lifters 24 may be disposed inside the drum 20. The lifter 24 may lift and lower the object so that the object contacts the hot air while drifting in the space in the drum 20.

In order to throw an object into the drum 20, a first opening (or entrance) 25 may be formed at the front of the main body 10, and a door 30 may be installed to open or close the first opening 25. The door 30 may be hinged to one side of the first opening 25 to pivot from the one side.

A base 60 (see fig. 5) may be disposed at the bottom of the drum 20. Referring to fig. 5, a heat exchanger 70, a compressor 73, an expansion device 74, etc. constituting a refrigerant cycle may be disposed on the base 60. A fan 80, a driving motor 31, a pulley 32, etc. may also be disposed on the base 60. A base cover 75 may be disposed over the base 60 to cover the heat exchanger 70, etc. For example, the base cover 75 and the base 60 may form a duct structure.

The fan 80 may be disposed on the base 60. The fan 80 may form an air flow path by generating wind power. For example, the fan 80 may discharge air in a radial direction. For this, the fan 80 may include a rotation shaft 83 formed at the center, and a plurality of blades 84 formed in the circumferential direction centering on the rotation shaft 83.

Referring to fig. 2, in the drying mode, a closed flow path may be formed in the main body 10 of the dryer 1. Here, the closed flow path may be an air movement path (see arrow in fig. 2) arranged to circulate air in the cabinet through the heat exchanger 70 and the drum 20. The closed flow path may not be connected to the outside of the body 10 to prevent inflow or outflow of outside air. That is, the air flow may form a closed loop.

Referring to fig. 2, the filter unit 50 may be detachably installed in the dryer 1. Specifically, the filter unit 50 may be detachably mounted in the main body 10 through the second opening 65. The filter unit 50 may be attached to or detached from the unit receiver 61. The filter unit 50 may prevent air from leaking out of the closed flow path. In other words, the filter unit 50 can prevent the drying efficiency of the dryer 1 from being lowered. The filter unit 50 may be placed on the base 60.

Referring to fig. 2 and 3, when the filter unit 50 is removed and the dehumidifying unit 100 is installed in the dryer 1, the closed flow path may be changed to an open flow path. Accordingly, the dryer 1 can perform a dehumidifying operation (dehumidifying mode). That is, the dryer may be switched from the drying mode to the dehumidifying mode.

Referring to fig. 3 and 4, the dehumidifying mode creates an open flow path for air introduced from the outside to pass through the heat exchanger 70 and the drum 20 and back to the outside. The air flow in the dehumidifying mode and the air flow controlled according to the drum in the dehumidifying mode will now be described with reference to fig. 3 and 4.

Referring to fig. 3, the dehumidifying unit 100 may be disposed on the base 60. Specifically, the dehumidifying unit 100 may be detachably mounted on the base 60.

In particular, when the dehumidifying unit 100 is installed in the dryer 1, the dryer 1 may have an open flow path. The open flow path may be an air moving path (see arrows of fig. 3) formed to draw outside air into the dryer 1, pass through the heat exchanger 70 and the drum 20, and be discharged out of the dryer 1. Alternatively, the open flow path may be an air movement path formed for the outside air to be sucked into the dryer 1, pass through the heat exchanger 70, and be discharged out of the dryer 1. Inlet ports (not shown) and outlet ports (not shown) at both ends of the dehumidifying unit 100 are connected to the outside of the main body 10, forming an open loop of air flow.

The moist external air, i.e., the air before dehumidification, may flow to the inside of the main body 110 of the dehumidification unit 100 through the inlet port of the dehumidification unit 100. The introduced air may pass through an outlet (not shown) along an inflow path formed in the body 110. Air that has passed through the outlet may pass through the heat exchanger 70. Specifically, the air having passed through the outlet may exchange heat with the evaporator 71 and the condenser 72 while passing through the evaporator 71 and the condenser 72. Thus, the air having passed through the heat exchanger 70 may become dry and hot air. Here, "heat" means having a relatively higher temperature than air before passing through the heat exchanger 70, and does not mean absolute heat. The air from which moisture is removed while passing through the heat exchanger 70 may pass through the inflow port 21 of the drum 20, the interior 23 of the drum, and the outflow port 22, and flow into the main body 110 of the dehumidifying unit 100 through the inflow port 112 of the dehumidifying unit 100. In this case, the fan 80 may be disposed in a flow path connecting between the outflow port 22 of the drum 20 and the inflow port of the dehumidifying unit 110. The fan 80 can promote smooth flow of the dehumidified air. The air flowing into the main body 110 may pass through the outlet port along a discharge flow path (not shown) of the dehumidifying unit 100, and may be discharged out of the main body 10. As a result, the air before dehumidification flows into the dryer 1 from the outside, and can be dehumidified by heat exchange with the heat exchanger 70, and the dehumidified air can be discharged out of the dryer 1. With the flow of air, a humidification operation (humidification mode) can be performed.

Referring to fig. 4, the dryer 1 according to the present disclosure controls the driving motor 31 to rotate the drum 20 in the dehumidifying mode. In general, the dryer 1 rotates the drum 20 to lift and lower objects using a plurality of lifters 24 such that the objects contact hot air while drifting in a space of the drum 20 in a drying mode.

Assuming that the drum 20 rotates at a first rotational speed in the drying mode, the dryer 1 controls the driving motor 31 to rotate the drum 20 at a second rotational speed in the dehumidifying mode. For example, in the dehumidifying mode, the rotational speed of the drum 20 may be 30 revolutions per minute (rpm) to 60rpm. It should be noted, however, that the rotational speed in the dehumidification mode is not always different from the rotational speed in the dry mode, or is not limited to the above numerical example, but may be various rotational speeds depending on the temperature in the drum 20 and the external environment (indoor temperature, indoor humidity).

As shown in fig. 4, the drum 20 may be rotated in the dehumidifying mode 20. Assuming that the drum 20 is in a stopped state in the dehumidifying mode, the air flowing out through the inflow port 21 is concentrated at a specific position on the surface of the drum 20. However, when the drum 20 rotates, the air flowing in through the inflow port 21 is uniformly distributed on the surface of the drum 20 due to the rotation of the drum 20.

Fig. 6 is a control block diagram of a dryer according to an embodiment.

The input module 17 allows the user to select a mode by rotation of the dial, button input, or display touch input. In this embodiment, the input module 17 may provide an interface to select a drying mode or a dehumidifying mode. When a selection of the drying mode or the dehumidifying mode is received from the user, the input module 17 transmits a corresponding control signal to the controller 400.

The display 17b displays an operation state and/or a user manipulation state of the dryer 1.

The controller 400 may include a memory (not shown) for storing a program and data for controlling the operation of the dryer 1, and a processor (not shown) for generating a control signal to control the operation of the dryer 1 according to the program and data stored in the memory.

When a command of the dehumidification mode is received through the input module 17, the controller 400 determines whether to allow the inflow of the external air through the flow path formed by the fan 80. For example, the controller 400 may determine that the door 30 is in an open state through the door sensor 410, and may generate a control signal to form an open flow path to perform the dehumidification mode. Further, when the dehumidifying unit 100 is installed in the dryer 1 and the door 30 is closed, the controller 400 may determine whether the dehumidifying unit 100 has formed an open flow path through the guide sensor 430. In this case, the controller 400 may generate a control signal to perform the dehumidification mode.

When the controller 400 determines that an open flow path is formed in the dryer 1 to allow the dehumidification mode to be performed, the controller 400 may control the drum 20, the heat exchanger 70, and/or the fan 80 to operate.

When the dehumidifying mode is performed, the controller 400 controls the drum 20 to rotate by supplying current to the driving motor 31 (see fig. 5). As the drum 20 rotates, the temperature in the drum 20 rises, thereby increasing the dehumidifying effect.

The controller 400 applies current to the driving motor 31 for a preset period of time to rotate the drum 20 until the dehumidifying mode is ended.

The fan 80 may share the driving force of the driving motor 31 supplied to the drum 20, and may rotate as the drum 20 rotates. Alternatively, the fan 80 may be arranged to rotate separately from the drum 20 by adding a device such as an additional clutch (not shown) to the base 60 or arranging a plurality of driving motors 31.

The heat exchanger 70 may exchange heat with air, and may include an evaporator 71 (see fig. 5) and a condenser 72 (see fig. 5).

When the dehumidification mode is performed, the controller 400 may dehumidify the humid outside air through the refrigerant cycle of the heat exchanger 70. In this case, the controller 400 may control the speed of the compressor 73 (see fig. 5) to control the temperature in the drum 20.

When the dehumidifying mode is performed, the controller 400 may control the compressor 73 such that the temperature in the drum 20 has a lower value than in the drying mode. For example, the compressor 73 may be controlled such that the temperature in the drum 20 is 60 degrees when the dryer 1 is in the drying mode and 40 degrees when it is in the dehumidifying mode. The controller 400 may control the temperature in the drum 20 to be maintained at a relatively low value so that the temperature outside the dryer 1 does not deviate from the room temperature as much as possible. Such temperature is only an example, and may be set to various values according to the external environment (temperature or humidity) of the dryer 1.

Further, when the dehumidification mode is performed, the controller 400 may control the driving motor 31 such that the rotation speed of the fan 80 has a lower value than in the dry mode. For example, the magnitude of the current applied to the drive motor 31 may be controlled so that the rotation speed of the drive motor 31 is XXX in the dry mode and YYY in the dehumidification mode. As described above, since the drum 20 shares the driving force from the driving motor 31 (driving source of the fan 80) with the fan 80, the rotation speed of the drum 20 may depend on the rotation speed of the fan 80.

The controller 400 may control the rotational speed of each of the drum 20 and the fan 80 to have a lower value than in the drying mode, thereby preventing the external temperature from deviating from the room temperature. Specifically, as the rotation speed of the drum 20 increases, the temperature in the drum 20 increases, and the air discharged from the dryer 1 may have a higher temperature value than the room temperature. Further, as the rotation speed of the fan 80 increases, the amount of air discharged through the flow path increases, resulting in an increase in the temperature outside the dryer 1.

Therefore, when the dehumidifying mode is performed, the controller 400 controls the driving motor 31 such that the rotational speed of the driving motor 31 has a lower value than that in the drying mode. Such a condition is merely an example, and may be set to have various values according to the external environment (temperature or humidity) of the dryer 1.

The compressor 73 compresses a refrigerant and delivers the compressed refrigerant to the condenser 72. The compressor 73 may be implemented as a variable frequency compressor having a variable dry volume, but is not limited thereto. For example, the compressor 73 is operated by rotating a motor fitted in the compressor 73 based on an operation frequency supplied from the controller 400.

Increasing the number of revolutions of the compressor 73 may generate hot air more quickly. The controller 400 may control the operating frequency of the compressor 73 based on at least one of the setting of the drying process, the drying period, the air temperature in the drum 20, and the temperature of the compressor.

Up to now, the configuration and related operation of the dryer 1 have been described with reference to fig. 1 to 6. Based on the foregoing configuration, a control program for executing the dehumidifying mode of the dryer 1 will now be described in detail.

In 701, the controller 400 receives a dehumidification mode. The input module 17 receives an input from a user to perform a dehumidification mode and transmits a control signal of the dehumidification mode to the controller 400.

At 702, when a command to select a dehumidifying mode is received from a user, the controller 400 controls the fan 80 to force air introduced from the outside to pass through the drum 20 and flow out. The air flows in such a manner that the moist outside air flows through an open flow path back to the outside through the dehumidifying process of the dryer. The air may flow in different paths. In this case, the common point of these paths is that the moist external air passes through the drum 20 via the heat exchanger 70, but these paths may be slightly different according to whether the dehumidifying unit 100 is installed or not. Specifically, when the dehumidifying unit 100 is not installed, air moves and discharges in a direction from the front opening of the drum 20 to the heat exchanger 70 to the inflow port 21 to the drum 20 to the front opening. When the dehumidifying unit 100 is installed, air moves from the inlet port 121 of the dehumidifying unit 100 and is discharged to the heat exchanger 70 to the inflow port 21 to the drum 20 to the outlet port 122.

When the dehumidifying mode of the dryer 1 is started, the controller 400 controls the driving motor 31 to rotate the drum 20. Due to the rotation of the drum 20, the humid air introduced from the outside is subjected to a stirring action mixed with the inside dry air. Accordingly, the remaining moisture in the drum 20 may evaporate faster than when the drum 20 is not rotating. Further, when the drum 20 rotates, the temperature in the drum 20 rises, and thus, the humidity in the drum 20 may evaporate at a relatively high speed.

When the drum 20 is not rotated, the air having passed through the heat exchanger 70 is concentrated at a specific region on the surface of the drum 20 through the inflow port 21, but when the drum 20 is rotated, the air may be uniformly distributed over the entire surface of the drum 20.

The controller 400 controls the driving motor 31 to rotate the drum 20 at a preset speed. In this case, the preset speed may be set based on the rotational speed of the drum 20 in the drying mode.

In one embodiment, the controller 400 may control the driving motor 31 to rotate the drum 20 at a second rotation speed in the dehumidifying mode, which is lower than the first rotation speed in the drying mode. As the drum 20 rotates faster, the temperature in the drum 20 increases. In view of this, the controller 400 may control the temperature in the drum 20 to be maintained at a relatively low value so that the temperature outside the dryer 1 is not deviated from the room temperature as much as possible. Further, the dryer 1 may have lower noise from the drum rotation in the dehumidification mode than in the drying mode.

Further, in an embodiment, the controller 400 may control the driving motor 31 to rotate the drum 20 at a second rotation speed in the dehumidifying mode, which is higher than the first rotation speed in the drying mode. In this case, the dryer 1 may allow air in the drum 20 to be discharged relatively quickly.

The drum 20 continues to rotate until the dehumidifying mode is ended for a preset period of time from when the user selects to start dehumidifying. When the preset time period has elapsed in 704, the dehumidifying mode is terminated with the stopping of the drum 20.

Meanwhile, in the present disclosure, in addition to controlling the rotation of the drum 20 to increase the dehumidifying efficiency, the compressor may be controlled to increase the temperature in the drum 20. This will be further described with reference to fig. 8.

In 701, the controller 400 receives a dehumidification mode. The input module 17 receives an input from a user to perform a dehumidification mode and transmits a control signal of the dehumidification mode to the controller 400. The operation of the fan 80 in relation to the air flow in the dehumidification mode is the same as described above in connection with fig. 4 and 7.

In 802, when a command to select the dehumidifying mode is received from the user, the controller 400 controls the driving motor 31 at a second rotational speed lower than the first rotational speed, which is the rotational speed of the drum in the drying mode. As the drum 20 rotates faster, the temperature in the drum 20 increases. In view of this, the controller 400 may control the temperature in the drum 20 to be maintained at a relatively low value so that the temperature outside the dryer 1 is not deviated from the room temperature as much as possible. Further, the dryer 1 may have lower noise from the drum rotation in the dehumidification mode than in the drying mode.

When the dehumidifying mode is performed by the rotation of the drum 20, the controller 400 controls the compressor 73 to control the temperature in the drum 20.

Specifically, in 803, the controller 400 may control the compressor to control the temperature in the drum 20 to a second temperature lower than a first temperature, which is the temperature in the drum 20 in the drying mode. The temperature in the dryer 1 is typically higher than room temperature and this temperature difference may cause the air in the dryer 1 to condense into steam. Thus, in this embodiment, the dryer 1 may perform additional compressor control to reduce the temperature in the drum 20 during the dehumidifying mode.

Further, the controller 400 may control the temperature in the drum 20 by controlling the compressor 73 based on a difference between the temperature in the drum 20 and the room temperature. When the difference between the temperature in the drum 20 and the room temperature is large, the controller 400 may control the compressor 73 to reduce the difference. Specifically, the controller 400 may control the heat generated by the compressor 73 by controlling the operating frequency of the compressor motor driving the compressor 73.

In addition, the controller 400 may control the compressor 73 to control the temperature in the drum 20 to a second temperature higher than a first temperature, which is the temperature in the drum 20 in the drying mode. Unlike 803, the operating frequency of the compressor 73 is controlled to be higher than that of the drying mode to control the temperature in the drum 20 to be relatively high. For example, when the external humidity is higher than usual, the dryer 1 may increase the dehumidifying efficiency of the drum 20 by increasing the temperature in the drum 20.

The drum 20 continues to rotate until the dehumidifying mode is ended for a preset period of time from when the user selects to start dehumidifying. When the preset time period has elapsed in 704, the dehumidification mode is terminated with the stop of the drum 20 and the compressor 73.

Although not shown in fig. 7 and 8, the controller 400 may control the dryer 1 not to perform the dehumidifying mode when an object to be dried is present in the drum 20. When the drum 20 contains an object, the controller 400 does not generate a control signal to drive the fan 80. When there is an object in the drum 20, moisture contained in the outside air may infiltrate into the object. Further, when moisture evaporated from the object is supplied back to the outside, this makes dehumidification efficiency low. Accordingly, the controller 400 may stop the dehumidifying mode when the current flowing to the driving motor 31 exceeds a predetermined current magnitude (current applied when there is nothing in the drum).

Meanwhile, embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in the form of a recording medium storing instructions to be executed by a computer. The instructions may be stored in the form of program code and when executed by a processor, program modules may be generated to perform the operations in the embodiments of the present disclosure. The recording medium may correspond to a computer-readable recording medium.

The computer-readable recording medium includes any type of recording medium on which data is stored, which can be thereafter read by a computer. For example, it may be read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic tape, magnetic disk, flash memory, an optical data storage device, etc.

Thus far, embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that the present disclosure may be embodied in other forms other than the embodiments of the present disclosure described above without changing the technical spirit or essential features of the present disclosure. The above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely exemplary and should not be construed as limiting.

Claims

1. A clothes dryer, comprising:

a main body;

a drum disposed in the main body for accommodating objects to be dried;

a driving motor configured to rotate the drum;

an input module configured to receive an input of a drying mode or a dehumidifying mode from a user;

a heat exchanger disposed in the main body; and

and a controller configured to control the driving motor to rotate the drum at a first rotational speed in response to the input drying mode, and to control the driving motor to rotate the drum at a second rotational speed different from the first rotational speed in response to the input dehumidifying mode.

2. The clothes dryer of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the driving motor to rotate the drum at a second rotational speed lower than the first rotational speed in the dehumidifying mode.

3. The clothes dryer of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the driving motor to rotate the drum at a second rotational speed higher than the first rotational speed in the dehumidifying mode.

4. The clothes dryer of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to rotate the drum to allow air introduced from the outside to reach an inner surface of the drum in response to receiving a command to select the dehumidification mode through the input module.

5. The clothes dryer of claim 1, further comprising:

a compressor configured to generate hot air,

wherein the controller is configured to control the compressor in the drying mode to bring the temperature in the drum to a first temperature and to control the compressor in the dehumidifying mode to bring the temperature in the drum to a second temperature different from the first temperature.

6. The clothes dryer of claim 5, wherein the controller is configured to control the compressor in the dehumidification mode to bring the temperature in the drum to a second temperature lower than the first temperature.

7. The clothes dryer of claim 1, further comprising:

a fan configured to form a flow path through which air flows in from the outside and through which air having passed through the heat exchanger and the drum flows out.

8. The clothes dryer of claim 8, wherein the controller is configured to generate a control signal to drive the fan in response to receiving a command to select the dehumidification mode through the input module.

9. A method of controlling a dryer, the method comprising:

receiving a command for selecting a dehumidification mode;

controlling the fan to form a flow path so as to force air introduced from the outside to pass through the drum and flow out; and

the driving motor is controlled to rotate the drum at a second rotation speed in the dehumidifying mode,

wherein the second rotational speed is different from the first rotational speed at which the drum rotates in the drying mode.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein controlling the drive motor comprises controlling the drive motor to rotate the drum at a second rotational speed lower than the first rotational speed in the dehumidification mode.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein controlling the drive motor comprises controlling the drive motor to rotate the drum at a second rotational speed that is higher than the first rotational speed in the dehumidification mode.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein controlling the drive motor comprises rotating the drum such that air introduced from the outside reaches an inner surface of the drum.

13. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

the compressor is controlled in the drying mode so that the temperature in the drum is a first temperature, and the compressor is controlled in the dehumidifying mode so that the temperature in the drum is a second temperature different from the first temperature.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein controlling the compressor comprises controlling a compressor in the dehumidification mode to bring the temperature in the drum to a second temperature lower than the first temperature.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein controlling the drive motor comprises generating a control signal to drive a fan in response to receiving a command to select the dehumidification mode through the input module.