JP3557343B2 - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a clothes dryer provided with clothes amount determination means.
[0002]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
Conventionally, in a clothes dryer, clothes are accommodated in a drum, the drum is rotated by a motor, and warm air generated by a fan and a heater is supplied to a drying chamber to dry the clothes. . In this clothes dryer, generally, the drum is rotated at a certain speed, the fan is rotated at a certain speed, and the heater supplies a predetermined electric power when the drying operation is started. Then, when the degree of dryness of the clothes exceeds a predetermined reference value, the power supply to the heater is stopped, the cool air operation is performed for a predetermined time, and the drying operation is stopped.
[0003]
However, in the above-described conventional configuration, although the degree of drying of the clothes is detected to control the end of the drying operation, when the amount of the clothes is small, the drying temperature becomes too high and the clothes are damaged. Or something.
[0004]
In order to cope with this, there is also provided one provided with a clothing amount determination unit. As the clothing amount determination means, a method of detecting the degree of change in the temperature of the warm air with a thermistor and determining the amount of the clothing according to the degree of change, or the degree of change in the humidity detected by the humidity sensor (humidity of the warm air) is used. There is a method of detecting and determining the amount of clothing according to the degree of change, but in any case, it cannot be determined that a certain amount of time has not elapsed since the drying operation was started, and the clothing amount determination data is determined from the beginning of the drying operation. It cannot be used for control, and the judgment accuracy is not very good.
[0005]
As another clothing amount determination method, there is a method in which an electrode is provided so that clothing inside the drum can come into contact, the number of times the clothing has contacted this electrode is detected, and the clothing amount is determined based on the number of times of contact. This means that the clothing amount determination data can be obtained at the beginning of the drying operation, but the determination accuracy is not so good.
[0006]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a clothes dryer capable of accurately determining the amount of clothes in an early stage of a drying operation.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The invention according to claim 1 is a drum that stores and rotates clothes,
A motor for rotating the drum,
Hot air supply means for generating hot air and supplying the hot air into the drum;
Motor drive control means for controlling the drive so that the rotation speed can be changed;
A first reference rotation speed and a second reference rotation speed are set; In a state where clothes are stored in the drum, Changing the rotation of the motor to a first reference rotation speed from a state where the rotation is controlled to a first reference rotation speed by the motor drive control means, or changing the rotation of the motor to a second reference rotation speed from a state where the rotation is controlled to a second reference rotation speed; And a clothing amount determination unit that measures the time required for the change and determines the clothing amount based on the measurement data.
It is comprised including.
[0008]
In this configuration, the clothing amount determination means With clothing in the drum The motor is controlled to rotate at a first reference rotation speed and then changed to a second reference rotation speed, or vice versa. Then, a time required for a change from the first reference rotation speed to the second reference rotation speed or a change from the first reference rotation speed to the second reference rotation speed is measured, and the clothing amount is determined based on the measured data. The determination result can be obtained accurately at the beginning of the drying operation. That is, when the rotation speed of the motor is changed, the degree of the change depends on the amount of clothing in the drum. In this case, it is conceivable to start up the motor from the stopped state and observe the degree of the change, but the degree of the change may also depend on the state of the clothes inside the drum (the state of being gathered or the state of being separated). It will be different. That is, there is a case where it is not possible to accurately determine the amount of clothing due to a change degree variation factor.
[0009]
However, in the above configuration, With clothing in the drum After the motor is stably controlled to one of the first and second reference rotation speeds, the motor is changed to the other reference rotation speed. Since the rotation speed of the motor is changed after the state becomes stable, the degree of change in the amount of clothing can be obtained without any change degree changing factor. Therefore, the time required for the change depends on the amount of clothing, so that an accurate amount of clothing can be determined from the measurement data at that time. Further, when the motor is started up to the first or second reference rotation speed, even if those reference rotation speeds are considerably high, the start-up control of the motor does not take much time. Can be controlled in accordance with the amount of clothing, and in general, control can be performed in accordance with the exact amount of clothing from the beginning of the drying operation.
[0010]
The invention according to claim 2 has an electrode provided so that the clothes inside the drum can come into contact with the clothes, and a contact frequency detecting means for detecting the number of times the clothes contact the electrodes,
The present invention is characterized in that a cloth determining means for determining the cloth of the clothing based on the number of contacts by the contact number detecting means and the measurement data is provided.
The number of contacts detected by the number-of-contacts detecting means includes a clothing amount element and a fabric element (“stiff” or “slow”). The number of contacts by the contact number detecting means can be obtained at the beginning of the drying operation. Then, the cloth quality is determined by the cloth quality determination means based on the number of times of contact and the measurement data, so that the cloth quality can be determined at an early stage of the drying operation.
[0011]
The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the clothing amount determining means performs time measurement a plurality of times, averages the measurement times, and determines the clothing amount based on the averaged measurement data. Having.
In this configuration, since the amount of clothing is determined based on the averaged measurement data, the amount of clothing can be more accurately determined.
[0019]
Claim 4 The present invention is characterized in that the temperature of the warm air in the first half of the drying operation is increased and the temperature of the warm air in the latter half is decreased based on the determination results of the clothes amount determining means and the cloth quality determining means.
As described above, when the drying operation is viewed in the first half and the second half, the drying operation in the second half often affects the damage and shrinkage of the clothes. In particular, the smaller the amount of clothing or the more supple the fabric, the more likely it is to cause damage or shrinkage. Thus, in the above configuration, the temperature of the warm air in the first half of the drying operation is increased and the temperature of the warm air in the latter half is decreased based on the determination results of the clothing amount determining means and the cloth quality determining means. Damage and shrinkage can be effectively prevented.
[0020]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows a schematic vertical cross-sectional structure of the entire drier. In FIG. 2, the outer box 1 is provided with an entrance 2 for a material to be dried in the center of the front part, and an opening / closing door 3 is provided at the entrance 2. The drum 4 disposed in the outer box 1 has a drying chamber 4a for accommodating clothes to be dried, and a shaft 5 protruding from the center of the rear surface thereof is provided at the rear of the outer box 1. A cylindrical flange portion 7 rotatably supported by the provided support plate 6 and formed on the periphery of the large-diameter opening in the front portion is provided on a drum support 8 provided on a front portion in the outer box 1. It is configured to be rotatably supported. The drum 4 configured as described above is configured to be rotationally driven via a belt transmission mechanism 10 by a motor 9 including an induction motor that is rotatable in the forward and reverse directions and is disposed in the upper portion of the outer box 1.
[0021]
A hot air supply device 11 serving as a hot air supply means for supplying hot air to the drying chamber 4a has a ventilation hole 12 formed by drilling a number of small holes at the rear center of the drum 4, A fan casing 13 communicating with the port 12, a double-wing fan 14 serving as a dehumidifier, which partitions the inside of the fan casing 13 back and forth and is disposed coaxially with the shaft 5, and a fan casing below the drum 4. 13, a heater 15 attached to the drum support 8 at a position downstream (frontward) of the duct 15, and a number of small It comprises a hot air outlet 17 formed by drilling a hole, and a belt transmission mechanism 18 for transmitting the rotational force of the motor 9 to the fan 14.
[0022]
In addition, a filter 19 is disposed in the vent 12 of the hot air supply device 11 so as to cover them from the inside of the drum 4. In addition, a back plate 20 is provided at an open portion on the back surface of the outer box 1 so as to close the open portion, and the back plate 20 has an outside air inlet 21 formed of a large number of small holes in a central portion, Further, a louver-shaped outside air return port 22 is provided at a lower portion.
[0023]
A pair of electrodes 23 is attached to a lower portion of the drum support 8 so as to face the inside of the drum 4 with a predetermined insulating gap therebetween. The object to be dried in the drying chamber 4a comes into contact with these electrodes 23 as the drum 4 rotates, and the resistance between the electrodes 23 changes to a value lower than the steady state with each contact. . In this case, the amount of change in the resistance value between the electrodes 23 is such that the smaller the amount of moisture contained in the object to be dried is, in other words, the higher the degree of drying of the object to be dried is, the smaller the change amount. It is possible to detect the initial degree of dryness of the object to be dried in the drum 4 and the degree of dryness during operation based on the state of change in the resistance value between 23.
[0024]
The casing 13 is provided with a temperature sensor 24 for detecting the temperature of the air flowing out of the drum 4 through the vent 12, that is, the temperature inside the drum 4. Is provided with a control circuit device 25 for controlling the drying operation.
[0025]
Further, a rotation sensor 26 as a rotation speed detecting means is provided at a position corresponding to the motor 9 in an upper portion in the outer box 1. The rotation sensor 26 includes a magnet 26a attached to a motor pulley 18a (which is directly connected to the rotation shaft of the motor 9) of the belt transmission mechanism 18, and a rotation locus of the magnet 26a on the support frame 9a side of the motor 9. And a signal processing circuit 26c that generates a pulse signal by shaping the waveform of an output signal of the magnetic sensor 26b. The rotation sensor 26 may have a configuration using an optical sensor.
[0026]
FIG. 1 shows an electrical configuration. The motor 9 is connected between the two terminals 27a and 27b of the power plug 27 connected to the commercial AC power supply via a triac 28 which is a switching element, and the heater 16 is connected via a triac 29 which is a switching element. ing.
[0027]
The power plug 27 has a zero-cross detection circuit 30 and a DC power circuit 31 connected thereto. The zero-cross detection circuit 30 generates a zero-cross detection signal Sz corresponding to the zero-cross of the AC voltage, and supplies the zero-cross detection signal Sz to the microcomputer 32. The zero-crossing detection signal Sz is used for energization timing control (firing angle control) of phase control for controlling the rotation speed of the motor 9. The DC power supply circuit 31 forms a DC low-voltage power supply, and the power supply is supplied to the microcomputer 32 and the detection circuit 33 for electrodes.
[0028]
The detection circuit 33 constitutes a contact frequency detecting device 34 as a contact frequency detecting means together with the electrode 23, and has a function of generating a contact signal Ss in a state where the object to be dried is in contact with the electrode 23. The contact signal Ss is also provided to the microcomputer 32. The microcomputer 32 determines whether or not the contact signal Ss is input in a very short cycle within a unit time (for example, 2 minutes), counts the input when it is input, and counts the number of contacts ( (Contact rate in 2 minutes).
[0029]
The detection circuit 33 also serves as a dryness detection device serving as a dryness detection means with the electrodes 23. For example, the resistance value of the paired electrodes 23 (that is, the dryness of the material to be dried in the drum 4 is determined). The electrical signal shown in FIG. 2 is converted into a voltage signal, and the voltage signal is output as a dryness signal Sk indicating the dryness of the object to be dried. The dryness signal Sk is given to the microcomputer 32.
The microcomputer 32 is provided with an input from a switch input circuit 35 having a start switch, a course selection switch, and the like, and is also provided with inputs from the temperature sensor 24 and the rotation sensor 26. Has become.
[0030]
The microcomputer 32 controls the entire drying operation and also functions as a clothing amount determining unit, a cloth determining unit, and a motor drive controlling unit. The control contents of the microcomputer 32 will be described below. 3 will be described.
The flowchart in FIG. 3 starts when a “standard” course is set by a course selection switch and a start switch is turned on.
[0031]
First, in step P1, the motor 9 is turned on. In this case, the motor 9 is set to the first reference rotational speed of 1200 r.p.m. p. m, and after startup, motor drive control for keeping the motor is performed. In this drive control, the rotation speed of the motor 9 is detected by counting a pulse signal input from the rotation sensor 26 in a predetermined time unit, and the firing angle α of the phase control is adjusted so as to reach this rotation speed (see FIG. 4). Control). In the next step P2, the heater 16 is energized.
[0032]
By the operation of the motor 9 and the energization of the heater 16, the drum 4 is rotated and the fan 14 is rotated, so that warm air is supplied into the drum 4. The temperature of the hot air is controlled to a set temperature described later. However, during the period Ka (see FIGS. 5 and 6) until the clothing amount determination control and the cloth quality determination control described below are completed. It does not reach the set temperature. FIG. 5 shows how the rotation speed of the motor 9 changes, and FIG. 6 shows how the temperature of the hot air changes.
[0033]
In step P3, it is determined whether or not the elapsed time from turning on the motor 9 in step P1 has exceeded one minute. If one minute has elapsed, the process proceeds to steps P4 to P6 to detect the number of times of contact. That is, the contact signal Ss is read in step P4, and if the contact signal Ss has been input in step P5, it is counted. In step P6, the elapsed time from the time of "YES" in step P3 has passed 2 minutes. The process returns to step P4 if the time has not elapsed, and shifts to step P7 if the time has elapsed. The signal reading timing in the step P4 is performed at an extremely short cycle.
[0034]
In Step P7, clothing amount determination control is performed. Hereinafter, this will be described. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the motor 9 is set to a first reference rotational speed of 1200 r.p.m. p. m and decelerate from the state kept at m. p. m, this 800r. p. m for a predetermined time. Thereafter, 1200 r. p. m. Further, this 1200r. p. m for a predetermined time and again at 800 r. p. Decelerate to m.
[0035]
During such speed control, 1200 r. p. m to 800 r. p. m, the time B required for deceleration (change) to 800 m. p. m to 1200 r. p. The time A required for acceleration (change) to m is measured. As shown in FIG. 7, the time A indicates a relationship that the longer the amount of clothing (weight), the longer the amount of clothing under the same fabric condition. That is, for example, when the cloth is “round neck shirt (cotton, underwear)”, the time A (the time required for acceleration) tends to increase as the amount of clothing increases. For other fabric "towels", the time A is generally longer. In the case of “Y-shirt”, the time A is shortened as a whole.
[0036]
As shown in FIG. 8, the time B (the time required for deceleration) becomes shorter as the amount of clothing (weight) increases. That is, for example, when the cloth quality is “round neck shirt (cotton, underwear)”, the time B tends to become shorter as the amount of clothing increases. In the case of other cloth "towels", the time B is shorter overall. In the case of the “Y-shirt”, the time A is generally longer.
[0037]
The microcomputer 32 stores a determination data table as shown in FIG. That is, the amount of clothing is determined based on the rank for time A and the rank for time B. The time A is divided into four ranks as shown in FIG. 7, where rank 1 is "0.13 seconds or less", rank 2 is "more than 0.13 seconds to 0.18 seconds", and rank 3 is "Over 0.18 seconds to 0.28 seconds or less" and Rank 4 are "Over 0.28 seconds". The time B is also classified into four ranks as shown in FIG. 8, where rank 1 is “less than 0.20 seconds”, rank 2 is “more than 0.20 seconds to less than 0.30 seconds”, and rank 3 Is over 0.30 seconds to 0.40 seconds or less, and rank 4 is over 0.40 seconds.
[0038]
The microcomputer 32 determines which rank the measurement data (measurement time) for the time A corresponds to and which rank the measurement data for the time B corresponds to. For example, the rank of the time A is rank 1 When the rank of the time B is rank 4, as shown in FIG. 9, the clothing amount is determined to be “minimal”. For example, when the rank of time A is rank 2 and the rank of time B is rank 4, the clothing amount is determined to be “small”, and the rank of time A is rank 2 and the rank of time B is rank 3. Sometimes, the amount of clothing is determined to be “medium”, and when the rank of time A is rank 4 and the rank of time B is rank 1, the amount of clothing is determined to be “large”. The above is the control content of the clothing amount determination control in step P7.
[0039]
In the next step P8, the cloth quality is determined based on, for example, the measurement data for time B and the number of times of contact. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the number of contacts counted in step P5 indicates different characteristics depending on the cloth (circular neck shirt (standard), towel (stiff), Y-shirt (flexible)) and the amount of clothing. is there. In this case, the number of contacts is classified into ranks. For example, rank 1 is "more than 1000 to 5500 times", rank 2 is "more than 5500 to 11700 times", and rank 3 is "more than 11700 times". 15,000 or less "and rank 4 is" more than 15,000 ".
[0040]
In addition, the microcomputer 32 stores a cloth quality determination data table as shown in FIG. That is, the cloth quality is determined to be one of “supple”, “standard” and “stiff” based on the rank of the time B and the rank of the number of contacts. For example, the time B is rank 4 and the number of contacts is rank 4 In the case of, it is determined to be “flexible”, when the time B is rank 3 and the number of contacts is rank 3, it is determined to be “standard”, and when the time B is rank 1 and the number of contacts is rank 1, it is determined Is determined.
[0041]
In the next step P9, the rotational speed of the motor 9 is uniquely set to 1225 r. p. m, and the operation mode is set as shown in FIG. 12 based on the clothing amount determination result and the cloth quality determination result. The control elements of this operation mode include a time when the drying rate is predicted to reach approximately 70% (the first half of the drying operation) and a time until the drying rate reaches a predetermined value (90 to 95%) (the drying operation). Late) and hot air temperature. As can be seen from this data table, the time of the first half of the drying operation is set according to the amount of clothes and the quality of the cloth, and the hot air temperature in the first half is set, and the hot air temperature in the second half is set. I have.
[0042]
What is characteristic in this data table is that, under the same cloth condition, the larger the clothing amount determination result, the longer the first period of operation. In addition, under the same clothing amount determination result, when the cloth quality determination result is stiff, the temperature of the hot air, particularly the hot air in the latter half of the drying operation, is lower than when the cloth quality determination result is supple. The temperature is set high.
[0043]
In FIG. 12, for example, when the amount of clothing is large and the cloth quality is “standard”, the first half of the drying operation is set to 130 minutes, and the temperature of the hot air at this 130 minutes is set to 65 ° C. The temperature of the hot air in the latter period is set to 60 ° C. When the amount of clothing is small and the fabric is “supple”, the first half of the drying operation is set to 40 minutes, and the temperature of the warm air at the 40 minutes is set to 55 ° C., and after 40 minutes, the temperature is set to 48 ° C. I do. In the case where the clothing amount determination result indicates that the cloth quality is “stiff”, the first half of the drying operation is set to 110 minutes, and the temperature of the hot air at the 110 minutes is set to 65 ° C. Is also set to 65 ° C.
[0044]
In the next step P10, in the set operation mode, the drive of the motor 9 and the power cutoff control of the heater 16 are performed. That is, the motor 9 is set to 1225 r. p. m, and the power cut-off control of the heater 16 is performed so that the hot air temperature becomes the set temperature. This power cutoff control is performed as shown in FIG. That is, it is turned on (energized) and turned off (disconnected) at ± 2 ° C. of the set temperature. Note that the execution start timing of this step P10 is a timing indicated by a symbol Tp10 in FIGS. 5 and 6 schematically. That is, the hot air temperature has not yet reached the set temperature.
[0045]
Thereafter, in Step P11, the drying degree signal Sk is read, and when the drying degree indicated by the drying degree signal Sk reaches a certain value of “90 to 95%” (determined in Step P12), the process proceeds to Step P13 and the heater is started. Turn off the motor 16 (the motor 9 is operated as it is), execute the cool air operation for a predetermined time (this time may be set according to the amount of clothing), stop the motor 9 in step P14, and end the drying operation. I do.
[0046]
According to the present embodiment, control for rotating the motor 9 to the first reference rotation speed (1200 rpm) and then decelerating the motor 9 to the second reference rotation speed (800 rpm) is performed. And the reverse control is performed. Then, a time B required for deceleration from the first reference rotation speed to the second reference rotation speed is measured, and a time A required for acceleration in the opposite direction is measured, and the clothing amount is determined based on the measured data. Therefore, the clothing amount determination result can be obtained accurately at the beginning of the drying operation.
[0047]
That is, when the rotation speed of the motor 9 is changed, the degree of the change depends on the amount of clothing in the drum 4. In this case, it is conceivable to start up the motor 9 from the stopped state of the motor 9 and observe the degree of change. The degree of change also differs. That is, there is a case where it is not possible to accurately determine the amount of clothing due to a change degree variation factor.
[0048]
However, according to the above-described embodiment, the motor 9 is stably controlled to the first reference rotation speed, then changed to the second reference rotation speed, and after stably controlled to the second reference rotation speed, Because the rotation speed of the motor 9 is changed after the reference rotation speed is changed to 1, that is, the state of storing the clothes inside the drum 4, that is, the stirring state is changed to a stable state, there is no change degree variation factor and the amount of clothes is not changed. The degree of change is obtained. Therefore, the time required for the change depends on the amount of clothing, so that an accurate amount of clothing can be determined from the measured data at that time.
[0049]
In addition, when the motor 9 is started up to the first or second reference rotation speed, even if those reference rotation speeds are considerably high, the start-up control of the motor 9 does not take much time. Unlike the method of detecting the degree of change in the temperature of the wind to determine the amount of clothing, and the method of detecting the degree of change in the humidity of warm air using a humidity sensor to determine the amount of clothing, the amount of clothing is determined at the beginning of the drying operation. Control can be performed.
[0050]
Further, according to the present embodiment, the electrode 23 is provided so that the clothing inside the drum 4 can come into contact, and the contact frequency detecting device 34 for detecting the number of times the clothing has contacted the electrode 23 is provided. Since the cloth quality of the clothes is determined based on the number of times of contact by the unit 34 and the measurement data of the time B, the cloth quality can be determined satisfactorily and at the beginning of the drying operation. That is, the number of contacts detected by the number-of-contacts detecting device 34 includes a clothing quantity element and a cloth element as shown in FIG. Thus, the number of contacts by the contact number detecting device 34 can be obtained at the beginning of the drying operation, and the measurement data of the time B can also be obtained at the beginning of the drying operation as described above. The quality of the cloth can be determined.
[0051]
By the way, if the temperature of the hot air is uniquely set to be high, the drying time of the clothes can be shortened. In this case, the fabric may be stiff, supple, or in the middle (standard), but generally stiff fabric will not damage the fabric even if the temperature of the hot air is high. Hard to do. However, according to the above embodiment, when the cloth quality determination result is stiff, the temperature of the hot air is set to be higher than when the cloth quality determination result is supple. And the drying time can be shortened.
[0052]
The drying operation is performed in the first period (the period from the start of the drying operation until the drying rate becomes approximately 70%) and the second period (the period from the time when the drying ratio reaches approximately 70% to the time when the drying ratio reaches 90 to 95%). In many cases, the drying operation in the later stage often affects the damage and shrinkage of the clothes. In particular, the more flexible the fabric, the more the damage and shrinkage. Therefore, according to the above embodiment, when the cloth quality determination result is supple, the temperature of the warm air in the latter half of the drying operation is set to be lower than when the cloth quality determination result is hard. In addition, damage and shrinkage of clothes can be effectively prevented.
[0053]
In addition, as described above, when the drying operation is viewed in the first half and the second half, the drying operation in the latter half often affects the damage and shrinkage of the clothes. In particular, the smaller the amount of clothing or the more supple the fabric, the more likely it is to cause damage or shrinkage. However, according to the above embodiment, the temperature of the hot air in the first half of the drying operation is increased and the temperature of the hot air in the second half of the drying operation is lowered based on the clothing amount determination result and the cloth quality determination result. And shrinkage can be effectively prevented.
[0054]
FIG. 14 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which time measurement data used for fabric quality determination is different from that of the first embodiment. That is, in the first embodiment, the measurement data of the time B and the number of contacts are used, but the time A (the time required for acceleration) and the number of contacts are used instead of the time B (the time required for deceleration). I have. Also in the second embodiment, it is possible to obtain good fabric quality and at the beginning of the drying operation.
[0055]
The deceleration control from the first reference rotation speed to the second reference rotation speed and the reverse acceleration control are respectively performed a plurality of times, the time required for the change is measured each time, and the measured data is averaged. (Average of only deceleration time or average of only acceleration time), and the amount of clothing may be determined based on the averaged measurement data. In this way, the amount of clothing can be more accurately determined.
[0056]
FIG. 15 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, steps Q1 to Q14 are the same as steps P1 to P14 in FIG. 3 of the first embodiment, and steps Q15 to Q14 are performed. Step Q18 is characteristic. In other words, after the amount of clothing is determined and the quality of the cloth is determined, the drying operation is performed in the operation mode in which the drying operation is set. Is determined, but if the degree of drying has not yet reached a certain value, the process proceeds to step Q15 according to "N" in step Q12.
[0057]
In this step Q15, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time, for example, 30 minutes has elapsed from the time of the clothing amount determination and the cloth quality determination (the time when step Q8 has elapsed), and if 30 minutes have elapsed, the process proceeds to step Q16 and proceeds to step Q16. The same clothing amount determination control as in Q7 is executed. Then, the process proceeds to step Q17, where the cloth quality is determined based on the measurement data of the time B and the number of times of contact in the same manner as in step Q8. Then, the process proceeds to step Q18, where the operation mode is set based on the clothing amount and the cloth quality. That is, the first clothing amount determination result and the cloth quality determination result are changed, and the driving mode is also changed. At this time, when the determination results of the clothing amount and the cloth quality are the same as in the first case, there is substantially no change in the operation mode. Then, returning to step Q10, the drying operation is executed in the changed operation mode.
[0058]
Note that in the second case, the characteristics of the time B and the time A used for the clothing amount determination are different from those in the first case. That is, at the second time point, since the drying has progressed, the time B characteristic is slightly longer (because the rotational resistance is reduced) than the time B characteristic of FIG. 8 which is the first time. The time A characteristic shifts in a direction slightly shorter than the time A characteristic shown in FIG. 7, which is the first time. As described above, the characteristics of the second time B and the time A slightly shift, but in consideration of this, each determination of the clothing amount and the cloth quality in the second time is also made satisfactorily.
[0059]
According to the third embodiment, after the determination operation of the amount of clothing and the quality of the cloth is performed at the beginning (first) of the drying operation, the determination operation is performed again after a lapse of time to change the first determination result. Therefore, at the time of the first determination operation, even if the flow state of the clothes in the drum 4 is poor due to some circumstances and an accurate determination result cannot be obtained, the clothes in the drum 4 will not be obtained by the next determination operation. Can be expected to recover normally, and thus the amount of clothing can be accurately determined.
[0060]
16 to 20 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the clothing amount determining means and the cloth quality determining means are different from those in the first embodiment. When the drying operation is started, as shown in FIG. p. m. In this case, a soft start for sequentially increasing the rotation speed is performed. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 18, the conduction angle β of the phase control (see FIG. 17, the firing angle is indicated by the symbol α) is sequentially increased, and the rotation speed 1225r. p. In the m-keep state, the conduction angle β is controlled between βa and βb.
[0061]
The microcomputer 32 averages the conduction angles βa and βb. Based on this average conduction angle βab, the duty ratio for the motor 9 (100 × βab / (α + β)) indicates a relationship that increases as the amount of clothing increases, as shown in FIG. To determine the amount of clothing. Furthermore, according to the present inventors, it has been found that the electrical conductivity, the number of times of contact, and the fabric have a relationship as shown in FIG. The microcomputer 32 stores the relationship shown in FIG. 20 as a cloth determination data table, and determines the cloth from the duty ratio and the number of contacts (rank).
[0062]
This embodiment has the following features. That is, when the motor 9 is controlled to the set rotation speed, the duty ratio to the motor 9 increases when the amount of clothing is large, and the duty ratio to the motor 9 decreases when the amount is small. Focusing on this point, in this embodiment, the clothing amount is determined based on the power supply rate to the motor 9 when the motor 9 is controlled stably at the set rotation speed, so that the accurate clothing amount is determined. It is possible to perform the determination at the beginning of the drying operation.
[0063]
Further, according to this embodiment, since the energization rate to the motor 9 and the number of contacts can be detected in the early stage of the drying operation, the cloth quality of the clothing is determined based on the number of contacts and the energization rate to the motor. Can be performed at the beginning of the drying operation.
The motor 9 may be constituted by a DC brushless motor, which may be driven and controlled by PWM control of an inverter control device. In this case, the duty ratio of the PWM corresponds to the duty ratio.
[0064]
【The invention's effect】
As apparent from the above description, the present invention can obtain the following effects.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, the clothing amount determination means With clothing in the drum, The motor is controlled to rotate at the first reference rotation speed and then changed to the second reference rotation speed, or vice versa, and the time required for the change is measured, and the amount of clothing is determined based on the measurement data. Since the determination is made, the result of the determination by the clothing amount determining means can be obtained accurately at the beginning of the drying operation.
[0065]
According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrode provided so that the clothes inside the drum can come into contact with each other, and a contact number detecting means for detecting the number of times the clothes contact the electrode, and a contact by the contact number detecting means. Since the apparatus is provided with the cloth determining means for determining the cloth quality of the clothing based on the number of times and the measurement data, the cloth quality can also be determined at the beginning of the drying operation.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the clothing amount determination means executes time measurement a plurality of times, averages the measurement times, and determines the clothing amount based on the averaged measurement data. In addition, the amount of clothing can be more accurately determined.
[0069]
Claim 4 According to the invention, the temperature of the warm air in the first half of the drying operation is increased and the temperature of the warm air in the latter half of the drying operation is decreased based on the determination results of the clothing amount determining means and the cloth quality determining means. Can be effectively prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an electrical configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view of a clothes dryer.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing control contents of a microcomputer.
FIG. 4 is a waveform chart for explaining phase control.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a change in rotation speed.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a temperature change of hot air;
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between time A and the amount of clothing;
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between time B and the amount of clothing.
FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a data table for clothing amount determination;
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount of clothing, the quality of cloth, and the number of times of contact.
FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a data table for fabric quality determination;
FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining operation data.
FIG. 13 shows an example of temperature control.
FIG. 14 is a view corresponding to FIG. 11, showing a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 15 is a view corresponding to FIG. 3, showing a third embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a change in rotation speed of a motor.
FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining a conduction angle of phase control;
FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a change in conduction angle.
FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the relationship between the duty ratio and the amount of clothing.
FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a relationship between the number of times of contact, an electric conduction rate, and fabric.
[Explanation of symbols]
4 is a drum, 9 is a motor, 11 is a hot air supply device (hot air supply means), 16 is a heater, 23 is an electrode, 26 is a rotation sensor, 30 is a zero cross detection circuit, and 32 is a microcomputer (clothing amount determination means, 33, a detection circuit; and 34, a contact frequency detecting device (contact frequency detecting device).

Claims (4)

A drum that accommodates and rotates clothing;
A motor for rotating the drum,
Hot air supply means for generating hot air and supplying the hot air into the drum;
Motor drive control means for controlling the drive so that the rotation speed can be changed;
A first reference rotation speed and a second reference rotation speed are set, and in a state in which clothes are stored in the drum, the motor is controlled to rotate to the first reference rotation speed by the motor drive control means. 2, or from the state where the rotation is controlled to the second reference rotation speed to the first reference rotation speed, the time required for the change is measured, and the amount of clothing is determined based on the measurement data. A clothes dryer configured to include a clothes amount determination unit for determining. Contact frequency detecting means for detecting the number of times the clothing has contacted the electrode, having an electrode provided so that the clothing inside the drum can contact,
2. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, further comprising: cloth determining means for determining the cloth of the clothes based on the number of contacts by the contact number detecting means and the measurement data. 2. The clothing amount determination unit according to claim 1, wherein the clothing amount determination unit performs time measurement a plurality of times, averages the measurement times, and determines the clothing amount based on the averaged measurement data. Clothes dryer. 3. The clothes dryer according to claim 2, wherein the temperature of the warm air in the first half of the drying operation is increased and the temperature of the warm air in the second half of the drying period is decreased based on the determination results of the clothes amount determining means and the cloth quality determining means. .

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