GB2550141A

GB2550141A - Subsidiary device for monitoring the internal environment and contents of a tumble dryer

Info

Publication number: GB2550141A
Application number: GB1608108.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Harraway Benjamin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2016-05-09
Filing date: 2016-05-09
Publication date: 2017-11-15
Also published as: GB201608108D0

Abstract

An electronic device which includes a number of sensors 2 to determine the current internal environment of the machine and its contents, including heat, humidity and motion. The device is able to determine the moisture level of the items within the machine determine if they are wet or dry. Further sensors can determine if the current tumble drying cycle is still active or has completed. By combining these sensor readings the device is able to prevent over drying and under drying of items in a tumble dryer as well as forewarn of overheating which could lead to a fire. The device is controlled by a microcontroller, and may use a light 3 to alert the user, or send a message to an external electronic device such as a smart phone. The device may be battery powered.

Description

Subsidiary device for monitoring the internal environment and contents of a tumble dryer

This invention relates to a device that can measure the internal environment of a tumble dryer and the items contained within.

Many tumble dryers on the market work from a manually set timer and do not have any means of determining when the enclosed items are dry. This method has a number of disadvantages of which the most obvious is the inherent unpredictability of the drying process taking in account different fabric types, the size of the load inside the dryer, and the environmental conditions surrounding the dryer. In practice, a guess is made as to how long the drying cycle will take which can result in over drying of the contained items, or under drying of the contained items.

The instance of over drying can result in fabric shrinkage, excessive wear on the items and equipment, and unnecessary expenditure of electricity. In the worst case, over drying can also result in a fire caused by the over heating of particles such as lint build up. The instance of under drying can result in damp clothes becoming fusty and heavily wrinkled and therefore the need to re-wash the items.

In DE 195 21 625 Cl, U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,571 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,899,464 it is noted that a sensor is used to determine the moisture level of items within. Built-in sensors are hard to maintain, keep clean, and expensive to replace if broken. They can also produce differing results dependent on the type of fabric being dried and have no way of altering the thresholds to take this into account. US 20130167400 A1 discloses a tumble dryer with built in fire extinguishing ability. It is suggested that an extinguishing agent is automatically injected into the tumble dryer drum if a fire is detected which would soil the items within.

In EP2653602 it is noted that an algorithm has been devised to use 2 or more sensors to determine if a tumble dryer cycle should be terminated due to the items reaching a desired level of dryness. This algorithm relies on sensors built into various different parts of the tumble dryer therefore increases the cost of implementation, and must be implemented during production or with an expensive retrofit.

It is an object of the present invention to provide any tumble dryer with the means to determine the level of dryness of items contained within, and also a fire detection ability, which overcomes the above disadvantages. The present invention proposes a device which can be inserted alongside the items to be dried and can alert the user to numerous situations such as when the items are dry, or if the dryer is becoming too hot. The present invention contains a number of sensors, a micro-controller and a number of algorithms to monitor the contained items and their environment including, but not limited to, a temperature sensor, humidity sensor and motion sensor. By using one or more of these sensors, the present invention can alert the user to the current state of the dryer and the items contained within, hereby solving the problems mentioned above.

In addition, the present invention can alert a user if the drying cycle has finished but the items are still considered wet or damp.

In addition, the software within the device can use the sensors and algorithms to predict at what point in time the items will become dry.

The invention can alert the user to the state of the items by means of a coloured light on the invention.

The invention can communicate over a wireless signal to an external electronic device such as a smart-phone to offer remote monitoring and alerts.

Advantageously, the electronic sensor readings of the proposed invention will be averaged over time so as to prevent fluctuations in readings due to e.g.: interference from the environment, the invention coming into contact with items of varying moisture levels, or the invention coming into contact with the internal construction of the tumble dryer.

Conveniently, the electronics of the present invention will be encased in a waterproof body so as to protect the moisture sensitive components from the moisture in the tumble dryer and items within. A majority of the sensors will be located within the waterproof body with the exception of the moisture sensor which is by design already waterproof.

Preferably, the waterproof body may be separable from an outer casing so as to allow the replacement of the outer casing because of wear and tear.

Preferably, the waterproof body may have access to a battery or service compartment to allow the battery to be replaced and also a reset button for the electronics.

Preferably, the physical shape of the device will aid in items becoming softer and reducing static electricity after tumble drying due to the noduled exterior.

Advantageously, the device may be battery powered using a number of different techniques, e.g.: a lithium based battery, or super capacitor. In addition to this, the device can be recharged using a number of techniques, e.g.: USB cable, or kinetic energy harvesting.

To determine if the contents of the tumble dryer are wet or dry, the relative humidity of the air being circulated is calculated using one or more of the device sensors. The sensors will take a number of readings over a short time span and average the results whilst disposing of any anomalies. Based on a user definable range, the clothes will be determined wet or dry and the present invention will alert the user via it's available methods.

Conveniently the operator may determine their own defined range of humidity to indicate if the clothes are determined dry. The operator may be allowed to preset different ranges depending on the items being dried.

Advantageously the device is also able to determine if the tumble dryer is becoming too hot and is at risk of catching fire. In this scenario the device is able to send an alert to the user via it's available methods.

Conveniently the present invention does not require a power button or for the user to turn it on or off. The invention will enter a low power mode when it detects inactivity for a predetermined set of time. The invention will exit low power mode and become active when it detects continuous movement for a predetermined set of time, or when an external device such as a smart-phone is used to wake it up.

Preferably the present invention would be placed within the tumble dryer drum but could also be placed on, or in, any physical part of the machine including but not limited to an external vent, pipework or the housing body.

Advantageously the present invention could have it's internal algorithms or functions performed by the microcontroller reprogrammed by an external device such as a smart-phone.

The invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 shows an embodiment of the overall device.

In figure 1, an antenna 1 is provided to allow wireless communication between the invention and an external device such as a smart phone. The antenna transmits data from the sensors 2 and the output of the software based algorithms of the invention. There also exists a visible indicator 3 by way of a multi coloured light source on the invention to give feedback on the functions of the invention. As part of the physical design properties, nodules 4 exist on the device to aid in creating softer and static free items after a drying cycle has completed.

Claims

1. A device to be used in conjunction with a tumble dryer for sensing the internal environment of the host machine and the contents within, with the ability to alert an operator based on a set of configurable variables involving heat, humidity and motion.

2. A device according to claim 1, further comprising a micro-processor containing a number of different algorithms.

3. A device according to any preceding claim in which the device can alert an operator by way of a coloured light.

4. A device according to any preceding claim in which the device can alert an operator by way of a wireless signal to another electronic device such as a smartphone.

5. A device according to any preceding claim in which the device is battery powered and the battery is replaceable

6. A battery according to claim 5 in which the battery is rechargeable via a cable such as a USB cable

7. A battery according to claim 5 in which the battery is rechargeable via kinetic energy harvesting wherein the motion of the tumble dryer spinning recharges the internal battery