JP2019030607A - Clothes drying system - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a clothes drying system capable of notifying determination information regarding use of clothes drying means only at proper timing, and capable of achieving energy saving.SOLUTION: A clothes drying system Ds includes: human body detection means 2 for detecting presence/absence of a user in the periphery of an installation place of a clothes drying machine Dm; recognition means 3 for recognizing the completion of washing of clothes by a clothes washing machine Wm; environment information collection means 1 for collecting outdoor environment information via a communication network 5; and notification means 4 for notifying determination information regarding the use of the clothes drying machine based on the outdoor environment information collected by the environment information collection means. The notification means is constituted to actuate in the case where the presence of a user in the periphery of the installation place of clothes drying means is detected by the human body detection means, and where the completion of washing of the clothes is recognized by the recognition means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a clothes drying system including clothes drying means for drying clothes that have been washed by a clothes washing machine.

  When drying clothes that have been washed by the clothes washing machine, the clothes may be dried indoors by using clothes drying means such as a clothes dryer or a bathroom heating dryer in addition to naturally drying the clothes outdoors. When clothes are dried outdoors, future weather changes and the attachment of particulate matter such as pollen and yellow sand to clothes are of great concern.

  Conventionally, a clothes dryer provided with a weather prediction unit that performs weather prediction after several hours and a weather prediction display unit that displays a weather prediction issued by the weather prediction unit is known, for example, in Patent Document 1, In the device, the weather prediction unit predicts the weather prediction and the probability of rainfall within the next 3 to 4 hours and displays (notifies) this.

  Here, in general, clothes are washed using a clothes washing machine only twice or three times a day. For this reason, as in the above-described conventional example, if the weather prediction and the probability of rainfall are always predicted and notified, the majority of this is wasted, and this cannot save energy.

JP 2000-271400 A

  This invention makes it the subject to provide the clothing drying system which can alert | report the judgment information regarding utilization of a clothes dryer only at an appropriate timing, and can aim at energy saving in view of the above point. .

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a clothing drying system of the present invention comprising clothing drying means for drying clothes that have been washed by a clothes washing machine is a human body detection that detects the presence or absence of a user around the place where the clothing drying means is installed. Based on the outdoor environment information collected by the means, the recognition means for recognizing the end of washing of the clothes by the clothes washing machine, the environmental information collecting means for collecting outdoor environmental information via the communication network, and the environmental information collecting means An informing means for informing judgment information relating to the use of the clothes drying means, the informing means detecting the presence of a user in the vicinity of the place where the clothes drying means are installed by the human body detecting means, and the recognition means It is characterized by being configured to operate when the end of washing is recognized.

  According to the present invention, the notification means is provided to the user only when there is a human body detecting means and a recognizing means and the user is present around the place where the clothes drying means is installed and the end of washing of the clothes is recognized. In order to notify judgment information such as recommending the use of clothes drying means, the user can obtain the judgment information at an appropriate timing, and in accordance with this, the user can select how to dry the clothes. it can. Thereby, energy saving can be achieved compared with the said prior art example which always estimates the weather prediction and the probability of rainfall and notifies this.

  By the way, while clothes are being washed by the clothes washing machine, the washing tub, dewatering tub and rotating drum of the clothes washing machine rotate to generate a sound of a predetermined frequency, or the clothes washing machine itself vibrates. And when washing is completed, these sounds and vibrations stop. In addition, some clothes washing machines, for example, emit a buzzer sound to notify when washing is completed. Therefore, in the present invention, it is preferable that the recognition means recognizes the end of washing of clothes from the sound or vibration generated by the clothes washing machine when the clothes are washed. According to this, it is not necessary to connect the clothes drying means to the clothes washing machine via a wired or wireless line so that the clothes drying system can be connected to the clothes washing machine by using only the clothes drying means installed around the clothes washing machine. Constructable and advantageous.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said environmental information collection means is comprised so that the said outdoor environmental information may be collected via the said communication network, when the completion | finish of washing of clothing is recognized by the said recognition means. According to this, since outdoor environment information is collected only when necessary, further energy saving can be achieved, which is advantageous.

The perspective view which shows the dressing room where the clothing drying system of this invention was installed. The flowchart explaining control of a clothing drying system.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a clothes drying system Ds of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking as an example the case where the clothes drying means is a clothes dryer Dm installed together with a clothes washing machine Wm in a dressing room Dr of a house. . In addition, as the clothes dryer Dm, a gas type or an electric type can be used, and since this is a publicly known one including the clothes washing machine Wm, detailed description of the structure and function is omitted below. Only the structure and function of the clothes dryer Dm necessary for constructing the clothes drying system Ds of the embodiment will be described.

  Referring to FIG. 1, a clothes dryer Dm has a controller 1 configured by a microcomputer that performs overall control of operations of components such as a heating unit and a rotating drum. The clothes dryer Dm also includes a human body detection means 2 for detecting the presence or absence of a user in the dressing room Dr as a surrounding area of the installation place, a recognition means 3 for recognizing the end of washing of clothes by the clothes washing machine Wm, Informing means 4 for informing predetermined information is provided. The controller 1 can communicate with an external device via a communication network 5. For example, the controller 1 accesses a server 6 that provides a weather forecast information site and collects outdoor environment information of the area. In this case, in this embodiment, the controller 1 also serves as an environment information collection unit.

  The communication network 5 can be a wireless network such as a PHS or mobile phone, the Internet, a cable TV network, etc. The outdoor environment information includes not only weather data such as temperature, humidity, wind speed and precipitation probability, but also pollen and Contains diffusion data for particulate matter such as yellow sand. Then, the controller 1 determines whether or not it is recommended to dry clothes indoors using the clothes dryer Dm based on the collected outdoor environment information, and this is used to determine the use information of the clothes dryer Dm. Is notified by the notification means 4. The conditions for recommending drying clothes indoors using the clothes dryer Dm are stored in the controller 1 in consideration of regional characteristics, seasons, and the like.

  As the human body detection means 2, an infrared sensor, a CCD camera, or the like is used. When it is detected that a user is present in the dressing room Dr, this is output to the controller 1. As the recognition means 3, a microphone that collects sound, a piezoelectric element that captures vibration, or an acceleration sensor is used. Here, while washing the clothes by the clothes washing machine Wm, the washing tub, the dewatering tub or the rotating drum of the clothes washing machine Wm rotates to generate a sound of a predetermined frequency, or the clothes washing machine Wm itself vibrates. Or And when washing is completed, these sounds and vibrations stop. Some clothes washing machines Wm notify, for example, a buzzer sound when washing is completed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the recognition means 3 is a microphone, and for example, when a buzzer sound for notifying the end of washing is collected, this is output to the controller 1. In the case of determining the end of washing from vibration, for example, once the vibration of the clothes washing machine Wm is detected by the piezoelectric element, and after that, the vibration of the clothes washing machine Wm cannot be detected by the piezoelectric element. During the waiting time, when the vibration of the clothes washing machine Wm cannot be detected again by the piezoelectric element, it may be determined that the washing of the clothes by the clothes washing machine Wm has ended.

  The notification means 4 includes a display 41 and a speaker 42 provided in the clothes dryer Dm. In this case, the display 41 can appropriately display an operation screen related to the operation of the clothes dryer Dm and the progress of clothes drying. The display 41 can also display outdoor environment information collected via the communication network 5 when, for example, notification is made by the notification means 4 at the request of the user or as determination information regarding the use of the clothes dryer Dm. It is like that. On the other hand, from the speaker 42, for example, when drying of clothes is finished, a buzzer sound is emitted to notify the user, or outdoor environment information and judgment information can be output as voice guidance.

  By the way, when the outdoor environment information is always collected and notified by the notification means 4, most of it is wasted. For this reason, it is necessary to construct the clothing drying system Ds so as to save energy. In the present embodiment, the notification means 4 is activated when the human body detection means 2 detects the presence of a user in the dressing room Dr and the recognition means 3 recognizes the end of washing of clothes. It is composed. Below, with reference to FIG. 2, the control flow of the clothing drying system Ds of this embodiment is demonstrated.

  When the power of the clothes dryer Dm is turned on, the process proceeds to STEP 1 where it is determined whether or not the recognition means 3 recognizes the end of washing of clothes by the clothes washing machine Wm and recognizes the end of washing of clothes In step 2, the human body detecting means 2 determines whether or not there is a user in the dressing room Dr. If there is a user in the dressing room Dr, the process proceeds to STEP 3 where the controller 1 accesses the server 6 that provides, for example, a weather forecast information site via the communication network 5, and the outdoor environment information of the area. To collect.

  When the outdoor environment information is collected, the process proceeds to STEP 4, and the controller 1 determines whether or not it is recommended to dry clothes indoors using the clothes dryer Dm based on the outdoor environment information, and proceeds to STEP 5. The weather data and the diffusion data are notified by the notification means 4. Next, proceeding to STEP 6, it is determined whether or not it is recommended to dry the clothes indoors using the clothes dryer Dm. If the use of the clothes dryer Dm is recommended, STEP 7 is determined. This is notified by the notification means 4. On the other hand, if the use of the clothes dryer Dm is not recommended, no notification is given and the process ends. Accordingly, the user can determine that the clothes can be naturally dried outdoors without using the clothes dryer Dm. In addition, when use of the clothes dryer Dm is not recommended, determination information such as recommending natural drying of clothes outdoors may be provided.

  According to the above embodiment, the human body detecting means 2 and the recognizing means 3 are provided, and the user is present around the place where the clothes dryer Dm is installed. Since the notification means 4 notifies the determination information that the use of the clothes dryer Dm is recommended, the user can obtain the determination information at an appropriate timing, and how the clothes are dried according to this information. Can be selected. Thereby, energy saving can be achieved compared with the said prior art example which always estimates the weather prediction and the probability of rainfall and notifies this. Moreover, since the controller 1 collects outdoor environment information via the communication network 5 when the recognition means 3 recognizes the end of washing of clothes, it is advantageous that further energy saving can be achieved. In addition, since the recognition means 3 recognizes the end of washing of clothes from the sound or vibration generated by the clothes washing machine Wm as the clothes are washed, the clothes dryer Dm is wired or wirelessly connected to the clothes washing machine Wm. There is no need to be connected via a line so that communication is possible, and for example, the clothes drying system Ds can be constructed with only the clothes dryer Dm installed around the clothes washing machine Wm, which is advantageous.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. In the above embodiment, the gas-type or electric-type clothes dryer Dm has been described as an example of the clothes drying means. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the bathroom heating dryer installed in the bathroom adjacent to the dressing room Dr. (Not shown) can be used. In this case, the clothes drying system Ds of the present invention can be constructed by incorporating the human body detection means 2 and the recognition means 3 into the remote controller (not shown) of the bathroom heating dryer installed on the wall of the dressing room Dr. can do.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the clothes washing machine Wm and the clothes dryer Dm are not communicably connected is described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the clothes washing machine Wm and the clothes dryer Dm For example, the end of washing of clothes may be output from the controller of the clothes washing machine Wm to the controller 1 of the clothes dryer Dm.

  Ds ... clothes drying system, Dm ... clothes dryer (clothing drying means), Wm ... clothes washing machine, 1 ... controller (also used as information environment collecting means), 2 ... human body detection means, 3 ... recognition means, 4 ... notification means , 41 ... display (notification means), 42 ... speaker (notification means), 5 ... communication network.

Claims (3)

In a clothes drying system comprising clothes drying means for drying clothes that have been washed by a clothes washing machine,
A human body detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a user around the place where the clothes drying means is installed;
Recognition means for recognizing the end of washing of clothes by the clothes washing machine;
Environmental information collecting means for collecting outdoor environmental information via a communication network;
An informing means for informing judgment information on the use of clothing drying means based on outdoor environment information collected by the environmental information collecting means,
The notification means is configured to be activated when the human body detection means detects the presence of a user around the place where the clothes drying means is installed and the recognition means recognizes the end of washing of the clothes. Features a clothing drying system.   2. The clothes drying system according to claim 1, wherein the recognition means recognizes the end of washing of clothes from the sound or vibration generated by the clothes washing machine when the clothes are washed.   The said environmental information collection means is comprised so that the said outdoor environmental information may be collected via the said communication network, when the completion | finish of washing of clothing is recognized by the said recognition means. The clothing drying system according to 2.

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