JP2010240181A - Drying apparatus, control method of the same, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To highly accurately detect a drying state of clothes or the like in the interior of a rotary drum. <P>SOLUTION: The drying apparatus includes drying detection means 8 for detecting a drying degree of the clothes or the like in the interior of the rotary drum 3, control means 2 for controlling the drying operation, and radio communication means for transmitting a signal from the drying detection means to the control means, wherein the control means is configured to determine the finish of the drying operation by the signal from the drying detection means disposed on a periphery side wall portion 3a of the rotary drum. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a drying device such as a clothes dryer or a washing dryer, a control method of the device, and a program.

  A drying apparatus such as a clothes dryer has a configuration in which warm air is blown from an air intake port to an object to be dried such as clothes in a rotating drum, and hot air containing moisture from the object to be dried is discharged from an exhaust port. Things are common. In this case, since the temperature of the warm air is deprived of the evaporation heat of the water to be dried, the temperature near the exhaust port is lower than the temperature near the intake port. When there is no more evaporation of moisture from the object to be dried, the difference between the inlet and outlet temperatures disappears, and the time when the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet is below the specified temperature difference threshold is detected as the end of drying. can do.

  However, when the amount of moisture in the entire drying object, such as a small amount of clothing or polyester clothing, is small, the amount of water that evaporates is small, so the temperature difference between the intake and exhaust ports does not appear significantly, and the end of drying is accurately detected. Since it is difficult to do this, it has also been proposed to use in combination with a timer operation that operates for a predetermined time that is determined in advance according to the weight of the cloth.

  In addition, it has also been proposed to provide a detection sensor that directly detects the moisture content of clothing by contacting the clothing with the drying device. As an example of such a sensor, there is known an electrode-type detection sensor that measures the resistance value in contact with clothing by utilizing the fact that the contact resistance of clothing changes according to the moisture content of the clothing (for example, , See Patent Document 1).

  In Patent Document 1, an electrode sensor is provided on the main body side wall at the lower part of the front surface of the rotating drum, and the electrode sensor detects that the clothes reach a predetermined level of dryness, and reaches the predetermined dry level detected by the electrode sensor. The optimum drying operation extension time is determined from the time required until the exhaust time, the exhaust temperature at that time, the room temperature, etc., and the detection deviation of the drying operation by the electrode sensor is improved.

  In the above configuration, it is necessary to wire an electrode sensor signal for detecting dryness and a lead wire for supplying power, so that there is a problem that a place where the electrode sensor can be installed is limited. For example, a rotating drum that rotates is difficult to install due to problems such as entanglement or disconnection of the wiring. Yes.

JP 2001-796 A

  However, in the conventional configuration, since the dryness detection sensor is installed on the inner periphery of the clothing input port, when the amount of clothing is small, the frequency of contact of the clothing with the dryness detection sensor becomes extremely low and detection is impossible. A case arises. Conversely, when the amount of clothing is large, contact with only some of the same clothing on the inlet side is repeated, so the end of the drying operation is erroneously determined based on the results of some of the detected clothing. There was a problem that some cases occurred. That is, there is a problem that the dry state cannot be detected accurately due to restrictions on the place where the dryness detection sensor can be installed.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable accurate detection of drying of an object to be dried such as clothes in a rotating drum during a drying operation.

  In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, a drying apparatus of the present invention includes a rotating drum that accommodates an object to be dried, an outer tub that rotatably houses the rotating drum, and a motor unit that rotationally drives the rotating drum. A drying detection means for detecting the degree of drying of the object to be dried in the rotating drum, a control means for controlling a drying operation, and a wireless communication means for transmitting a signal from the drying detection means to the control means, The control means determines the end of the drying operation based on a signal from a wireless communication means from the dryness detection means disposed on the peripheral side wall of the rotating drum.

  As a result, there is no restriction for the wiring of the power supply line and the signal line of the dryness detection sensor, and the dryness detection sensor can be installed at a place where the dry object such as clothing is more frequently in contact with the dry drum side wall or the like. It becomes possible, and it becomes possible to implement | achieve a drying apparatus with high drying detection precision.

  The drying device of the present invention can achieve optimum drying by improving the accuracy of drying detection of an object to be dried such as clothes in a rotating drum.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a washing / drying machine including a drying device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. Front view of rotating drum of the washer / dryer Development view of another example of rotating drum of the washing and drying machine Flow chart showing the operation of the washing and drying machine Block configuration diagram of another example of dryness detection means of the washing / drying machine Block configuration diagram of another example of dryness detection means of the washing / drying machine

  A first aspect of the present invention is a rotating drum that accommodates an object to be dried, an outer tub in which the rotating drum is rotatably mounted, a motor unit that rotationally drives the rotating drum, and an object to be dried in the rotating drum. A drying detection means for detecting the degree; a control means for controlling the drying operation; and a wireless communication means for transmitting a signal from the drying detection means to the control means. The control means includes a peripheral side wall of the rotating drum. Installation of a dryness detection sensor restricted for wiring of a power line or a signal line by determining the end of the dry operation by a signal from a wireless communication means from the dryness detection means arranged in the section There is no restriction on the location, and a dryness detection sensor can be provided on the peripheral side wall of the rotating drum, which is frequently contacted with objects to be dried such as clothes, to improve the dryness detection accuracy. It can be.

  In the second aspect of the invention, in particular, the drying detection means of the first aspect of the invention is provided at a position where the object to be dried falls in the rotating drum, so that the clothes are stirred in the rotating drum as the rotating drum rotates. It can be dropped on the dryness detection means while rolling, and the dry state of different types of clothes in the rotating drum can be detected without unevenness.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in particular, the rotating drum of the second aspect of the present invention is provided with the rotating shaft inclined forward and the dryness detecting means is provided on the bottom side of the peripheral side wall of the rotating drum. It is possible to reliably detect the dry state of clothes that tend to gather on the bottom side of the drum.

In the fourth invention, in particular, the dryness detection means according to any one of the first to third inventions is provided on both sides of the peripheral side wall portion around the rotation axis of the rotary drum, thereby dispersing the dryness detection means. Can be provided on the peripheral side wall portion of the rotating drum, and with the rotating operation of the rotating drum, the clothes can be stirred and rolled in the rotating drum to increase the frequency of contact with the drying detection means. It is possible to accurately detect the dry state of clothing.

  In the fifth invention, in particular, the dryness detection means of any one of the first to fourth inventions is constituted by an electrode type that measures a resistance component value that varies depending on the wetness of an object to be dried. It is possible to realize a simple and low-cost sensor that applies a change in resistance value due to wetness.

  In the sixth aspect of the invention, in particular, the dryness detection means of any one of the first to fourth aspects of the invention includes a light emitting unit that projects light onto the object to be dried, and a reflected light amount that varies depending on the wetness of the object to be dried. It is possible to detect the dryness just by approaching the vicinity without clothing coming into contact with the dryness detection means, because it is configured with a light reflection type equipped with a light receiving part that receives and measures light. It can be detected with high accuracy.

  In the seventh invention, in particular, any one of the first to sixth inventions is provided with a power generation unit that generates power with vibration energy, and the dryness detection means and the wireless communication means are operated by the power of the power generation part. As a result, power consumption can be reduced.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drying detection means for detecting the degree of drying of the object to be dried in the rotating drum, a control means for controlling the drying operation, and a wireless communication means for transmitting a signal from the drying detection means to the control means. A step of detecting the degree of drying of the object to be dried by the drying detecting unit, a step of transmitting the degree of drying detected by the drying detecting unit to the control unit by the wireless communication unit, and a transmitted drying signal Is a control method of a drying apparatus comprising a step of receiving by the control means, and a step of determining the end of the drying operation based on the received drying signal, and drying limited for wiring of a power line and a signal line There is no restriction on the installation location of the detection sensor, and the dry detection sensor can be provided on the peripheral side wall of the rotating drum, which has a high frequency of contact with objects to be dried, such as clothing, to improve the dry detection accuracy. It is possible to realize a control method of the dryer.

  A ninth invention is a program for executing control of the drying apparatus according to any one of the first to eighth inventions, and the information of the present invention is obtained by cooperating hardware resources such as electrical / information equipment, a computer, and a server. At least a part of the distribution system can be easily realized. Also, by recording the program on a recording medium or distributing the program using a communication line, the program can be easily distributed / updated and installed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a washing / drying machine including the drying device according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front view of a rotating drum of the washing / drying machine. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body of a washing / drying machine, a microcomputer peripheral circuit that stores a program for sequentially controlling the entire operation such as washing, rinsing, dehydration, and drying of the washing / drying machine, operation switches, LEDs, and liquid crystals. The control means 2 which integrated the indicator etc. is provided.

  Reference numeral 3 denotes a bottomed cylindrical rotary drum that accommodates clothes A and the like for washing and drying, and is provided with a loading port 4 for loading and unloading clothes on the front side. Reference numeral 5 denotes an outer tub in which the rotary drum 3 is rotatably mounted. The motor unit 6 provided at the rear part rotates the rotary drum 3 forward and backward. A large number of drain holes 7 are provided in the peripheral side wall 3a of the rotating drum 3 for discharging washing water in the rotating drum 3 during dehydration.

  On the peripheral side wall portion 3a of the rotary drum 3, there is provided a dryness detecting means constituted by an electrode sensor 8, and a plurality of them are arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. The electrode sensor 8 rotates together with the rotating drum 3, and comes into contact with the clothes A that is stirred and rolled in the rotating drum 3 to detect the degree of drying. The electrode sensor 8 includes a microcomputer and a peripheral circuit (not shown) that measure a resistance value that changes according to the wetness of the clothes due to contact between the electrode surface and the clothes, and wireless communication means that wirelessly transmits the measurement results to the control means 2. (Not shown).

  The control means 2 also has a wireless transmission / reception unit, receives data transmitted from the electrode sensor 8, and performs calculation operations such as moving average processing. The control means 2 determines that the drying is finished when the calculation result exceeds a threshold value stored in advance in the program, and finishes the drying operation. Transmission / reception between the control means 2 and the drying detection means 8 is performed by wireless communication means.

  Whether the control means 2 has exceeded the threshold for determining the completion of drying is not determined only by a single determination, but considers that there are variations depending on clothes and contact locations that are in contact with the electrode sensor 8. A method of judging based on a plurality of detection results is effective. As an algorithm, a commonly used method for determining whether or not the threshold has been exceeded for a predetermined number of times, a majority determination method for determining by how many times the threshold has been exceeded for a predetermined number of times, The value used for the determination can also be determined by calculating the moving average value.

  Of course, it may be configured that the drying sensor 8 side performs the determination of the end of drying and transmits the determination result of the end of drying to the control means 2.

  Clothing A repeats the operation | movement which is lifted by the baffle 3c protrudingly provided by the surrounding side wall part 3a by the forward / reverse rotation operation | movement of the rotating drum 3 at the time of drying, and falls. The electrode sensor 8 constituting the dryness detection means is provided at a position where the clothing A falls in the rotating drum 3 by the rotational driving of the rotating drum 3, that is, on the peripheral side wall portion 3a. The clothes A are agitated in the rotating drum 3 and dropped onto the electrode sensor 8 so that the clothes A can be brought into contact with the various clothes mixed in the rotating drum 3 one after another.

  In addition, a plurality of electrode sensors 8 are provided at opposite positions of the peripheral side wall 3a around the rotation shaft 3b of the rotary drum 3, that is, on both sides of the peripheral side wall 3a around the rotation shaft 3b. The clothes A can increase the frequency of contact with the electrode sensor 8 while stirring and rolling in the rotating drum 3 in accordance with the rotating operation. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the electrode sensors 8 are provided at four locations. However, if the number is about 2 to 5, the contact frequency with the clothing A can be improved, the circumferential direction of the peripheral side wall 3a, etc. It is preferable to provide at intervals.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the rotating drum 3 is provided with a rotating shaft 3 b inclined forward. The electrode sensor 8 is provided on the bottom side of the inclined side wall 3b of the inclined rotating drum 3 (for example, the position 8c in FIG. 3 to be described later), and falls by the rotation of the rotating drum 3 and gathers on the bottom side. It is easy to come into contact with easy clothing A.

  FIG. 3 shows another example in which the electrode sensor 8 is provided on the peripheral side wall 3 a of the rotary drum 3, and shows the developed peripheral side wall 3 a of the rotary drum 3. A plurality of electrode sensors 8a, 8b, 8c are arranged at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction by shifting the position from the inlet side 3a of the rotating drum 3 to the bottom side 3b where the motor unit 6 is located. ing.

In this embodiment, three electrode sensors 8 are provided between the baffles 3c so that the rotation of the rotary drum 3 makes good contact with the clothing A that is stirred at three different positions in the depth direction. Yes. In particular, when the amount of clothing A is large, the clothing is placed in the rotary drum 3 on the inlet side 3.
It is effective to detect with high accuracy because it is difficult to switch between B and bottom side 3B.

  Next, an outline of the operation will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the drying operation is started (S10), the control means 2 starts the drying operation in which the warm air for drying is blown to the clothes and the rotating drum 3 is rotated while discharging the dehumidified warm air from the exhaust port. When drying operation for one cycle time is performed. The rotation of the rotary drum 3 is stopped (S11), and a telegram requesting the detection value of the electrode sensor 8 is wirelessly transmitted to the electrode sensor 8 (S12).

  On the other hand, the electrode sensor 8 waits for an electrode sensor detection value transmission request from the control means 2 (step S17). When the request transmission of the electrode sensor detection value is received in step S17 (in the case of YES), the measurement value of the electrode sensor 8 is input (step S18), and the measurement value is returned to the control means 2 (step S19).

  When the control means 2 receives the return of the measured value from the electrode sensor 8 (step S13), the control means 2 performs an arithmetic process on this signal and determines whether or not to end the drying operation by comparing with a previously stored calculation method or threshold value. Is determined (step S14).

  In the case of determination to end the drying operation (in the case of YES), a preset drying operation such as stopping the drying hot air blowing, cooling air blowing operation, notification of the end of the drying operation, notification with a buzzer sound, stop of the rotating drum, etc. Is controlled (step S16).

  When it is determined in step S14 that the drying operation is not completed (in the case of NO), the drying hot air is continuously blown and the rotating drum 3 is rotated in the opposite direction (step S15), and the measurement from step S11 is continued.

  In addition, the detection method which transmits a measured value from the electrode sensor 8 regularly without stopping rotation of the rotating drum 3, or the detecting method which performs measurement while the rotating drum 3 is rotating and when the rotating drum 3 is stopped, The rotation direction of the rotating drum 3, the detection timing, and the like, such as a method of performing detection while rotating the rotating drum 3 twice in the same direction, are optimally set in order to satisfactorily detect dryness.

  In the first embodiment, the dryness detection means 8 has been described by taking as an example an electrode sensor that detects by contact with clothing. However, the dryness detection means 8 is configured using a dryness detection sensor based on another principle. Can do. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a light emitting unit 9 that projects light onto an object to be dried such as clothing, and a light receiving unit 10 that receives and measures the amount of reflected light that changes depending on the wetness of the object to be dried are provided. The dry detection means 8 is constituted by a light reflection type, and light that changes the degree of reflection or absorption depending on the wetness of clothing is projected from an LED or a laser element, and an optical method that measures the change of the reflected light is used. Can do.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, it is more effective if a power generation device 11 using vibration is used as the power supply means of the electrode sensor 8 which is a dryness detection means. It is not necessary to replace the battery, and as a waterproof measure, the entire dryness detection means 8 can be easily waterproofed. In recent years, a large number of vibration power generation elements that generate self-power by embedding a permanent-polarized material called an electret in the surface of a comb-shaped electrode that has been finely processed and making this electrode face each other have been proposed and are at a practical level.

  By using these power generation elements to generate power by vibration generated by the rotational motion of the rotary drum 3, it can be used as power for wirelessly transmitting dry state sensing and detection results by the electrode sensor 8. In this case, it is also possible to transmit at a stage where sufficient power that can be transmitted is generated by vibration.

  In addition, the form for inventing and each structure described in the embodiment can be implemented in combination as necessary.

  As described above, the drying device according to the present invention can achieve optimum drying by improving the accuracy of drying detection of an object to be dried such as clothing in a rotating drum, and thus is useful as a drying device for clothing or the like. It is.

2 Control means 3 Rotating drum 3a Peripheral side wall part 5 Outer tank 6 Motor part 8 Electrode sensor (drying detection means)

Claims (9)

A rotating drum that houses the object to be dried, an outer tub in which the rotating drum is rotatably mounted, a motor unit that rotationally drives the rotating drum, and a dryness detection that detects the degree of drying of the object to be dried in the rotating drum. Means, a control means for controlling the drying operation, and a wireless communication means for transmitting a signal from the dryness detection means to the control means, and the control means is disposed on a peripheral side wall portion of the rotating drum. A drying apparatus for determining the end of the drying operation based on a signal from the dryness detection means by wireless communication means. The drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drying detection means is provided at a position where an object to be dried falls in the rotary drum. The drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the rotating drum is provided with a rotating shaft inclined forward and the drying detecting means is provided on the bottom side of the peripheral side wall of the rotating drum. The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the drying detection means is provided on both sides of the peripheral side wall portion with the rotation axis of the rotary drum as a center. The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the drying detection means is configured by an electrode type that measures a resistance component value that varies depending on the wetness of an object to be dried. The drying detection means is configured by a light reflection type including a light emitting unit that projects light onto an object to be dried and a light receiving unit that receives and measures the amount of reflected light that varies depending on the wetness of the object to be dried. The drying apparatus of any one of -4. The drying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a power generation unit that generates electric power using vibration energy is provided, and the drying detection unit and the wireless communication unit are operated by the electric power of the power generation unit. A drying detection means for detecting the degree of drying of the object to be dried in the rotating drum; a control means for controlling a drying operation; and a wireless communication means for transmitting a signal from the drying detection means to the control means. A step of detecting the degree of drying of the object to be dried by the detecting means, a step of transmitting the degree of drying detected by the drying detecting means to the control means by the wireless communication means, and a transmission signal received by the control means And a method of controlling the drying apparatus, comprising: determining the end of the drying operation based on the received drying signal. The program which performs control of the drying apparatus of any one of Claims 1-8.

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