EP1699971B1 - Method and device for drying clothes - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for drying clothes in a device comprising a rotatable drum for agitating the clothes. Following a drying program, an anti-crease cycle is provided during which the clothes are intermittently agitated. Said anti-crease cycle protects the clothes from permanent creases by regularly agitating them. In order to save energy and to save the clothes and the device, the clothes are only agitated to such a degree during the anti-crease cycle that crease-formation is avoided.

Description

The present invention relates to a method and a device for drying laundry in a device with a rotatable drum for moving the laundry, with an adjoining a drying program crease-resistant phase in which the laundry is temporarily moved and temporarily not moved.

Such a method and apparatus will be apparent from the GB 2 079 911 A ,

When drying laundry with a clothes dryer having a rotatable drum for receiving the laundry, a crease-resistant phase is added at the end of a drying program or a drying phase. A drying program usually initially has a so-called heating phase, a subsequent actual drying phase and an adjoining cooling phase. During all these phases belonging to a drying program, the drum is usually rotated continuously. This also applies during the cooling phase, in which only the heating is switched off. If at the end of a drying program, the dried laundry is not immediately taken out of the drum, then creases can be fixed in the laundry. To prevent this, during a subsequent anti-crease phase, either the drum is continuously rotated or the drum is rotated intermittently.

By constantly rotating the drum or by intermittently rotating the drum during the anti-crease phase, the laundry in the drum is repeatedly loosened, so that no creases can fix in the laundry. The intermittent rotation of the drum is usually done according to a fixed pattern, such as, for example, two minutes of drum standstill, followed by fifteen seconds of drum rotation. This intermittent lasts either to the end of the anti-crease phase, which can last up to three or five hours, or until the time the laundry is removed from the drum. A disadvantage of this anti-crease phase is the fact that the laundry is subjected to further loading by the drum movement. By the constant switching on and off Furthermore, the drive motor and the switching elements for switching on and off of the drive motor loaded.

From the GB 2 079 911 A is a method for drying laundry in a device with a rotatable drum for moving the laundry, with an adjoining a drying program crease-resistant phase in which the laundry is temporarily moved and temporarily not moved. The anti-crease phase begins after the laundry has been dried and cooled as desired. It lasts up to one hour, and during its duration, the motor that drives the drum is turned on once a minute to move the laundry and prevent wrinkling.

From the U.S. Patent 5,454,171 discloses a method of drying and then cooling laundry in a clothes dryer having a rotatable drum which receives the laundry. On cooling, the drum is rotated discontinuously, followed by a rest period of 5 minutes, a rotation phase of 10 seconds. At the same time, a temperature of the laundry is measured, and cooling is terminated when the temperature falls below a limit temperature considered necessary for the formation of wrinkles.

From the EP 1 321 562 A2 a method and an apparatus for drying textiles emerge. During drying of the textiles, with reduced moisture content, the temperature of the drying air and / or the intensity of the textile movement are reduced in order to prevent shrinkage of the textiles. A reduction in the intensity of the textile movement is preferably carried out only up to a lower minimum value.

The object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for drying laundry, which has a crease-resistant phase, in which the laundry and also the components of the device is protected, and in which the creasing is optimally avoided and the Energy consumption is lowered.

This object is achieved with respect to the method respectively by the features of claim 1, 2, 3 or 4. This object is with respect to the device by the Characteristics of claim 13 solved. Advantageous embodiments and modifications of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims.

In a method for drying laundry in a device with a rotatable drum for moving the laundry, a drying program is followed by a crease-resistant phase in which the laundry is temporarily moved and temporarily not moved.

By decreasing the movement of the laundry as time progresses during the anti-crease phase, or by decreasing the movement of the laundry during the anti-crease phase with decreasing the temperature of the laundry and / or decreasing the residual moisture of the laundry, or by the movement of the laundry during the anti-crease phase from the preselected drying program and / or from the preselected degree of drying and / or the preselected type of washing, or by the movement of the laundry during the anti-crease phase being dependent on the amount of laundry pre-set by a user and / or the amount of laundry determined by the device, it is achieved that the During the anti-crease phase, only so much laundry is moved to prevent creasing. As a result, the laundry is only minimally moved or loosened during the anti-crease phase and thus treated very gently, wherein creasing can be optimally avoided. Furthermore, the motor for turning the drum is turned on and off less frequently, especially towards the end of the crease protection phase, the turn-on time of the drum movement is greatly reduced, so that the components for drum movement, such as motor, relays for switching on and off the engine and drum storage less stressed and thus the life and reliability of the device is increased. Furthermore, energy is saved because the duty cycle of the drum movement during and during the crease protection phase is greatly shortened overall.

Since at the beginning of the anti-crease phase, the laundry temperature and the residual moisture is still increased, the risk of creasing in the laundry is higher at the beginning of the anti-crease phase than towards the end of the anti-crease phase, so that at the beginning of the anti-crease phase for optimal prevention of creasing in the laundry a higher proportion of movement of the laundry is required as towards the end of Anti-crease phase. Furthermore, the proportion of movement can be optimally adapted to the preselected drying program or to the preselected degree of drying or the preselected type of washing. For example, a "ironing dampening" drying program generally requires an approximately higher proportion of movement than a drying program "cupboard dry" or "very dry". Furthermore, the proportion of movement can be optimally adapted to the laundry contained in the drum. For each operating state, therefore, the proportion of movement of the laundry can be minimized so that the laundry and the components of the device are conserved and the energy consumption is reduced.

In an advantageous embodiment, to achieve these goals, the movement of the laundry during the anti-crease phase is carried out as a function of measured variables and parameters which are recorded in preceding phases of a drying program and / or during the anti-crease phase.

In this case, it is also possible to take into account measured variables and parameters which are recorded during a heating phase at the beginning of a drying program and / or during a cooling phase at the end of a drying program.

In an advantageous embodiment can therefore to achieve the above objectives as measures and as parameters the amount of laundry, the heating time, the laundry moisture, the Wäschefeuchtigkeitsverlauf, the Wäscheleitwert, the course of Wäscheleitwerts, the moisture content, the moisture profile, the temperature of the laundry, the temperature profile Laundry, the temperature of the drying air, the temperature profile of the drying air in the drum of the tumble dryer, the comparison of moisture content, moisture history, temperature of the drying air or temperature profile of the drying air in the drum of the tumble dryer between the entrance to the drum and exit from the drum, or the duration be used until reaching a drying target.

For this purpose, the rotatable drum during the anti-crease phase rotational movement periods and downtime periods. During the rotational movement periods of the drum, the drum can rotate in one direction be rotated and / or rotated reversely in different directions of rotation. The duration of a crease-resistant phase is preferably one to five hours.

In a preferred embodiment, the duration of the anti-crease phase is subdivided into four time segments, wherein in a first time segment the motion components are between 20% and 90% and in a second time segment the motion components are between 10% and 70% and in a third movement segment the motion components between 1 % and 60% lie in a fourth period of time, the movement shares between 1% and 30%.

An apparatus for drying laundry has a rotatable drum for moving the laundry and a controller capable of performing the above-described process steps and procedures. For this purpose, the device has a control device with an input device and a timer. Furthermore, the device has sensor devices for detecting measured variables and parameters, which are supplied to the control device and are processed in the control device according to the above method sequences.

Furthermore, the device for drying laundry has a heater for Heating the drying air, a motor for driving the drum and a fan for conveying the drying air.

Further details, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of an embodiment of an inventive apparatus for drying laundry, which is able to carry out the above method steps and procedures, with reference to the drawings.

Show:

FIG. 1 a device for drying laundry.

According to FIG. 1 an apparatus for drying laundry has a housing 1 in which a drum 2 is rotatably supported, a loading door 3, a front end shield 4, a drying air supply passage 5 in which a heater 6 is disposed, an exhaust passage 7 for drying air a fan 8 is arranged and a motor 9, which drives the drum 2 via a belt 10. Furthermore, a control device 11 is provided, which comprises an input device 12 and a timer 13. A first temperature sensor 14 is arranged in the supply air channel 5 adjacent to the entrance to the drum 2, a second temperature sensor 15 is disposed in the outlet channel 7 adjacent to the drum 2. At the front end shield 4, two electrodes 16 for detecting the conductance of the laundry and or the drying air are arranged. The first temperature sensor 14, the second temperature sensor 15 and the electrodes are connected to the controller 11 capable of processing the signals from the sensors and the input device 12. The apparatus shown above for drying laundry can be designed as a vented dryer or as a condensation dryer.

The according to FIG. 1 shown apparatus for drying laundry can with Further sensors, such as a laundry temperature sensor or the like may be provided, which are required to perform the procedures and method steps set out below.

With the above-described apparatus for drying laundry, the following explained procedures and method steps can be performed.

By decreasing the movement of the laundry as time progresses during the anti-crease phase, or by decreasing the movement of the laundry during the anti-crease phase with decreasing the temperature of the laundry and / or decreasing the residual moisture of the laundry, or by the movement of the laundry during the anti-crease phase from the preselected drying program and / or the preselected degree of drying and / or the preselected type of washing, or by the movement of the laundry during the Knittersdutzphase depending on the set by a user amount of laundry and / or the amount of laundry determined by the device, it is achieved that the During the anti-crease phase, the laundry moves only so much to avoid creasing. As a result, the laundry is only minimally moved or loosened during the anti-crease phase and thus treated very gently, wherein creasing can be optimally avoided. Furthermore, the motor for turning the drum is switched on and off less frequently, especially towards the end of the anti-crease phase, the on-time of the drum movement is greatly reduced, so that the components for drum movement, such as motor, relays for switching on and off the engine and drum bearing less stressed and thus the life and reliability of the device is increased. Furthermore, energy is saved because the duty cycle of the drum movement during and during the crease protection phase is greatly shortened overall.

Since at the beginning of the anti-crease phase, the washing temperature and the residual moisture content is still higher, the risk of creasing in the laundry is higher at the beginning of the creasing phase than at the end of the anti-crease phase, so that at the beginning of the anti-crease phase for optimal prevention of creasing in the laundry a higher proportion of movement of the laundry is required as towards the end of Knittersdutz phase. Furthermore, the proportion of movement can be optimally adapted to the preselected drying program or to the preselected degree of drying or the preselected type of washing. For example, a "ironing dampening" drying program generally requires an approximately higher proportion of movement than a drying program "cupboard dry" or "very dry". Furthermore, the movement share optimally adapted to the amount of laundry in the drum. For each operating state, therefore, the proportion of movement of the laundry can be minimized so that the laundry and the components of the device are conserved and the energy consumption is reduced.

Therefore, to accomplish these goals, the movement of the laundry during the anti-crease phase may be performed in response to metrics and parameters sensed in previous phases of a drying program and / or during the wrinkle phase.

In this case, it is also possible to take into account measured variables and parameters which are recorded during a heating phase at the beginning of a drying program and / or during a cooling phase at the end of a drying program.

In order to achieve the above objects, the measured quantities and parameters may be, in particular, the laundry mass and / or the heating duration and / or the laundry moisture and / or the laundry moisture course and / or laundry conductivity value and / or the course of the laundry conductivity value and / or the moisture content and / or the moisture profile and / or the temperature of the laundry and / or the temperature profile of the laundry and / or the temperature of the drying air and / or the temperature profile of the drying air in the drum of the tumble dryer and / or the comparison of moisture content and / or moisture and / or the temperature of Drying air and / or the temperature profile of the drying air in the drum of the tumble dryer between entry into the drum and exit from the drum and / or the time taken to reach a dry target.

For this purpose, the rotatable drum during the anti-crease phase rotational movement periods and downtime periods. During the rotational movement periods of the drum, the drum can be rotated in one direction of rotation and / or reversely rotated in different directions of rotation. The duration of a Knittersdutzphase is preferably one to five hours.

In a preferred embodiment, the duration of the anti-crease phase is subdivided into four time segments, wherein in a first time segment the motion components are between 20% and 90% and in a second time segment the motion components are between 10% and 70% and in a third movement segment the motion components between 1 % and 60% lie in a fourth period of time, the movement shares between 1% and 30%. In particular, in a first period of time the drum movement can be switched off for 104 s and switched on for 16 s and in a second time period the drum motion is off for 284 s and on for 16 s and in a third time period the drum motion is turned off for 584 s and turned on for 16 s and a fourth time period the drum motion off for 584 s and for 16 s to be on.

In a method for drying laundry in a device with a rotatable drum (2) for moving the laundry, a knitting phase is provided following a drying program in which the laundry is temporarily moved and temporarily not moved. This anti-crease phase serves to prevent the fixing of wrinkles in the laundry by regular loosening of the laundry. In order to save energy and to protect the laundry and the device, the laundry is minimally moved in the course of the anti-crease phase, so that creasing is just avoided.

Claims (15)

1. Method of drying laundry in a device with a rotatable drum (2) for moving the laundry, with an anti-crease phase which follows a drying program and in which the laundry is periodically moved and periodically not moved, characterised in that in the course of the anti-crease phase the movement of the laundry decreases with progressing time.
2. Method of drying laundry in a device with a rotatable drum (2) for moving the laundry, with an anti-crease phase which follows a drying program and in which the laundry is periodically moved and periodically not moved, characterised in that the movement of the laundry during the anti-crease phase decreases with decrease in the temperature of the laundry and/or decrease in the residual moisture of the laundry.
3. Method of drying laundry in a device with a rotatable drum (2) for moving the laundry, with an anti-crease phase which follows a drying program and in which the laundry is periodically moved and periodically not moved, characterised in that the movement of the laundry during the anti-crease phase is carried out in dependence on the preselected drying program and/or on the preselected degree of drying and/or on the preselected type of laundry.
4. Method of drying laundry in a device with a rotatable drum (2) for moving the laundry, with an anti-crease phase which follows a drying program and in which the laundry is periodically moved and periodically not moved, characterised in that the movement of the laundry during the anti-crease phase is carried out in dependence on the laundry amount preset by a user and/or the laundry amount determined by the device.
5. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the laundry is moved only to the extent that formation of creases is avoided.
6. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the movement of the laundry during the anti-crease phase is carried out in dependence on measurement magnitudes and parameters which are detected in preceding phases of a drying program and/or during the anti-crease phase.
7. Method according to claim 6, characterised in that a drying program comprises a heating-up phase at the beginning and/or that a drying program comprises a cooling-down phase at the conclusion.
8. Method according to claim 6 or 7, characterised in that the laundry amount, the heating-up duration, the laundry moisture, the laundry moisture plot, the laundry electrical conductance, the plot of the laundry electrical conductance, the moisture content, the moisture plot, the temperature of the laundry, the temperature plot of the laundry, the temperature of the drying air, the temperature plot of the drying air in the drum (2) of the laundry drier, the comparison of moisture content, moisture plot, temperature of the drying air or temperature plot of the drying air in the drum (2) of the laundry drier between entry into the drum (2) and exit from the drum (2) or the time period until attainment of a drying target are usable as measurement magnitudes and parameters.
9. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that the rotatable drum (2) has rotational movement time segments and standstill time segments in the anti-crease phase.
10. Method according to claim 9, characterised in that during the rotational movement time segments the drum (2) rotates in one rotational direction and/or rotates in the reversing manner in different rotational directions.
11. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterised in that the duration of an anti-crease phase is one to five hours.
12. Method according to claim 11, characterised in that the duration of the anti-crease phase is subdivisible into, for preference, four time segments and that in a first time segment the movement parts lie between 20% and 90%, that in a second time segment the movement parts lie between 10% and 70%, that in a third time segment the movement parts lie between 1% and 60% and that in a fourth time segment the movements lie between 1 and 30%.
13. Device for drying laundry with a rotatable drum (2) for movement of the laundry and a control device (11) which is in a position of performing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 12.
14. Device according to claim 13, characterised in that the control device (11) has an input device (12) and a time element (13), and that sensor devices (14, 15, 16) are provided for detection of measurement magnitudes and parameters, which can be processed in the control device (12).
15. Device according to claim 13 or 14, characterised in that a heating device (6) for heating the drying air, a motor (9) for driving the drum (2) and a fan (8) for conveying the drying air are provided.

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