JPH01192396A - Control method for clothing drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate unnecessary electric energy consumption and to finish drying in a satisfactory dried state by calculating a required heater output in accordance with the quantity of load by load quantity deciding operation to dry clothing. CONSTITUTION:The load quantity deciding operation is started just after the start of a drying process to measure the gradient of temperature rise, and the quantity of load is decided by the gradient. The heater output is calculated and the heater output value is supplied to a controller 17. The controller 17 controls the power of a heater 14 and a fan 15 so that the supplied heater output value is realized, thus continuously performing the drying operation.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method for controlling a clothes dryer, particularly in an automatic washing machine or an automatic dryer, in which an end time is set and the drying process is completed at this end time. The present invention relates to a method for controlling a clothes dryer.

[Prior Art] A clothes dryer can be used as an automatic dryer installed separately from a washing machine that washes and rinses laundry, or as a dryer for a drum-type washing machine that performs both the washing/rinsing process and the drying process. In such automatic dryers or drum-type automatic washing machines, if you select the late night program,
The start time of the washing or drying process is set by counting backwards from the end time of the drying process.

Conventionally, there is a method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 197100/1983 that controls the operation of a dryer based on the end time of late-night power and the required drying time.

Figure 7 shows the operating parts of a conventional drum-type washing machine, where (1) is the power switch, (2) is the time display, and (
3) is a reservation timer button that allows you to reserve the start or end time of washing in minutes, and (4) is a timer button that allows you to set the washing process time in minutes.
Wash selection button to select one from 0 minutes, 20 minutes or 15 minutes, (5) a dehydration selection button to select either high speed dehydration or slow dehydration in the dehydration process, (6)
(7) is a drying selection button that allows you to select whether the finish level is standard or ironable in the drying process, and (7) is a drying selection button that allows you to choose between a standard finish or a state that can be ironed. This is a course selection button for selecting one.

According to such a washing machine, by setting the late-night course using the course selection button (7), all washing can be completed at the end of the late-night time period when electricity charges are low.

This late-night course has been established due to the following reasons.

In other words, in recent years, power consumption has been concentrated during the daytime, and electric power plants are required to have a scale that can supply the maximum amount of power used during the daytime, and for this purpose, it is necessary to increase the number of power facilities. Another problem is that this requires a huge amount of investment. Therefore, on the power supply side, it is necessary to moderate the power consumption, suppress the height of the consumption peak as much as possible, and average it out of 10.

For this reason, during late night hours when power consumption is low,
Consideration has been given to reusing the electricity used during the day, and one method is to set lower electricity rates during late-night hours.

Therefore, for automatic washing machines, especially those that require a long drying process, if the washing machine is used late at night, the benefits for the user will be greater.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In conventional dryers, the time required for drying varies depending on the amount of clothes, the moisture content in the clothes, the ambient temperature, or the ambient humidity. There is a problem in that when drying is started, unnecessary drying must be performed.

That is, in the control for setting the start time of washing or drying from the end time of the midnight time slot, the start time of washing or drying is determined in consideration of the predicted maximum time required for drying. Therefore, even when the amount of clothes to be dried is small, when the moisture content of the clothes is low, or when a short drying time is sufficient depending on the ambient temperature and humidity,
This means that drying operation will have to be carried out for a long time.

This wastes power, and the unnecessary drying process increases contact between the drum and the cloth or between the cloths, resulting in damage to the cloth.

Furthermore, in order to avoid wasting drying time, conventional apparatuses automatically detect the end of the drying process and stop the drying operation. However, this method does not allow the drying process to end at the set end time, and the clothes are left in the drum even after the drying process is finished, resulting in wrinkles on the clothes.

This invention was made to solve such problems, and it eliminates unnecessary power consumption, and also reduces the damage to clothes.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for controlling a clothes dryer that eliminates wrinkles and performs good drying.

[Means and effects for solving the problem] In the method for controlling a clothes dryer according to the present invention, immediately after starting the drying process, a load amount determination operation is performed to determine the load amount of the clothes to be dried. This load amount basically indicates the heat capacity required for the clothes placed in the drum to be 100% dry, and includes the amount of clothes, moisture content of the clothes, ambient temperature, and ambient humidity. It is determined from the elements of

This load amount can be detected, for example, from a change in the temperature inside the drum during the drying process, and it is determined by the gradient rate of temperature increase at the start of drying (preheating period of the drying process), and the predetermined temperature difference at the start of drying. The heat capacity until the target clothing is 100% dry, based on the time until drying or the time from the start of drying until the temperature change in the drum becomes constant, etc.
In other words, the amount of load can be determined.

Then, the heater output required to complete the drying within the set drying time is calculated from the load amount, and the drying process is continued and the operation is controlled using this heater output. This heater output indicates the amount of heat generated by the heater, and also takes into account the air outlet set by the fan.

Therefore, after the load amount determination operation is completed, the operation of the dryer is started again using the calculated heater output, and this drying operation is continued until the set end time.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

Figure 1 shows the configuration of an example in which the present invention is applied to a drum-type washing machine that performs everything from the washing process to the drying process in one drum, where (8) is a cabinet, and (9) is a cabinet (8). The outer tub (10) of the washing tub supported on a rack is a washing tub that rotates within the outer tub (9) and washes or massages the laundry, and in the drying process, it is used as a drying tub. The rotating drum, (11) is the door for loading and unloading the laundry,
(12) is a motor connected to the support rotating shaft of the rotating drum (10) via a pulley or belt, (13) is an air path for circulating hot air, and (14) is a motor connected to the rotating drum (10) side. The heater (15) provided at the outlet of the air passage is a fan for circulating hot air. The characteristic feature of the present invention is that an operation is performed to determine the load amount of the clothes to be dried;
The drying operation was performed using a heater output corresponding to this negative ('42).

In FIG. 1, (16) is an operating unit as shown in FIG. 7, (17) is a controller that controls load amount determination operation, etc., and (18) is a controller that controls the load amount determination operation, etc. A load amount determining means (19) for determining the load amount calculates a heater output necessary to complete drying within a set drying time from the load amount obtained by the load amount determining means (18). This is heater output calculation means.

In the load amount determining means (18), the load amount is the heat capacity until the clothes placed in the rotating drum (10) are 100% dry, and when drying is in the ironing mode, it is less than 100%. Based on the dry state of This load amount is determined by considering various requirements such as the amount of clothes to be dried, the moisture content in the clothes, the ambient temperature, or the ambient humidity. In the example, it is determined from the following three measured quantities. Can be done.

That is, the load amount can be measured by the rate of change in the temperature inside the drum during the preheating period of the drying process; the first method is to determine the load amount by the gradient rate of temperature rise ΔS/Δt;
The method is a method of determining the load amount based on the time T1 until a predetermined temperature difference is reached, and the third method is a method of determining the load amount based on the time T2 from the start of drying until there is no temperature change.

Figure 2 shows the change in temperature inside the drum at the exterior outlet (9a).
The characteristic curve expressed by the exhaust temperature at
This characteristic curve has an ambient temperature of 20℃ and a humidity of 6596.
This curve is for the case where the amount of clothing and moisture content are standard, but the curve varies depending on the above-mentioned factors. In the figure, the period when the temperature gradient rate is high between 0 minutes and about 30 minutes is called the preheating period, and the period when the temperature is constant between about 30 minutes and 90 minutes is called the period when the drying efficiency is stable. In this sense, it is called an efficiency period, and the period in which the temperature rises for about 90 minutes or more during drying time is called a waning rate period in the sense that the drying efficiency decreases.

The present invention determines the required drying time by detecting the rate of change in such a characteristic curve during the preheating period, and the first
In the method shown in the figure, the temperature gradient rate ΔS/Δt is measured between the time t1 and the minute time Δt, and according to the first method, the load amount can be determined using a short time period where Δ is time. This will be done on the product.

The second method is carried out by measuring the time T1 from exhaust temperature S1 to exhaust temperature S shown in FIG. Furthermore, the third method measures the time T2 from the start of drying to the time t when the efficiency period begins and the temperature becomes constant.

In reality, the clothes become 10,096 dry at the point 200 shown in Figure 2, but the pattern of the characteristic curve can be known from the rate of temperature change during the preheating period, and the load amount can be determined from this. .

Then, this heater output calculation means can calculate the heater output value W1, that is, the heat radiation melon in consideration of the air volume, based on the following equation.

W−f (load amount 9 ambient temperature) + α (1) In the above equation (1), α is an amount that takes into account the variation as an error range.

The signal of this heater output value W is supplied to the controller (17), and the heater 1
Power to 4 is controlled. For example, as shown in Fig. 3, when the load is large, the heater power is 201, when the load is small, the heater power is 203, and when the load is between the above two, the heater power is 202. After the load amount judgment operation using the predetermined heater power is completed, the heater (1
4) Performs power control.

Further, the controller (17) not only controls the amount of heat radiated from the heater (14), but also controls the fan (15), and the heater output can also be changed depending on the airflow rate by the fan.

The embodiment has the above configuration, and its operation will be explained below based on FIGS. 4 to 6.

FIG. 4 shows the operation of the first method of determining the load amount based on the gradient rate of temperature rise. First, in step 101, it is determined whether the reserved course or the late-night course has been selected with the operation section (16). , if "NO", repeat step 101; if "YES", repeat step 1
02 to start load amount determination operation.

This load amount determination operation is performed immediately after the drying process is started to determine the load amount, and when this load amount determination operation is started, the process moves to step 103A.

In step 103A, it is determined whether 11 hours have passed since the start of load amount determination operation, and if "No", step 103A is further repeated, and if "YES", the process moves to step 103B and the gradient of temperature rise is determined. Measure the ratio ΔS/Δt.

As described above, this gradient rate ΔS/Δt changes in a substantially proportional relationship to the load amount of the clothes to be dried, and the load amount can be determined based on this gradient rate.

When the measurement of the temperature gradient rate is completed, the process moves to step 104, and the heater output is calculated using the above equation (1).
The heater output value W is supplied to the controller (17).

Then, in step 105, the controller (17) controls the power of the heater (14) and fan (15) so that the heater output value is reached, and the drying operation continues.

Figure 5 shows the time T until the drum internal temperature reaches a predetermined temperature difference.
This is the operation of the second method of determining the load amount according to No. 1, and the steps excluding step 103C to step 103E are the same as those in FIG.

In this case, step 10 starts the load amount determination operation.
When step 2 is completed, the process moves to step 103C in which it is determined whether or not the drum internal temperature, that is, the υr humidity temperature 51 has been reached.If "No", the process returns to step 103C, and if "YES", the process proceeds to step 103C. Move to 103D.

In step 103D, determination of the time from when the temperature St is reached is started, and the process proceeds to step 103E.

In step 103E, the exhaust temperature is 82 (S2>S
1), and if "NO", the process returns to step 103E; if "YES", the process proceeds to step 103F, and calculates the time Tl from temperature S to temperature S2. Measure. As in the first method, this time T1 is a value corresponding to the rate of temperature change during the preheating period of the characteristic curve shown in FIG. 2, and this makes it possible to determine the amount of clothing load.

FIG. 6 shows the operation of the third method of determining the load amount based on the time T2 from the start of drying until there is no temperature change, and the steps except step 103G and step 103H are the same as the above method. .

In this case, step 102 starts the load amount determination operation.
When the process ends, the process moves to step 103G, starts measuring time from the start of load amount judgment operation, and proceeds to step 103H.
to move to.

In step 103H, it is determined whether the temperature change per unit time has become less than a predetermined value, that is, a value close to O. If "NO", step 103H is repeated again; if "YES", The process moves to step 103I.

In this step 103I, a time T2 is measured when the temperature change per unit time becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value. This time T2 also indicates the rate of temperature change during the preheating period of the characteristic curve in FIG. 2, and the load amount can be determined from this.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention performs a load determination operation immediately after starting drying, and determines the heater output based on the detected load to finish the drying process within the set drying time. is calculated and the drying operation is continued using this heater output, thereby eliminating unnecessary power consumption.

Further, according to the present invention, there is an advantage that clothing can be finished in a good dry state without damage or wrinkles.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration when the present invention is applied to a drum-type washing machine, Fig. 2 is a diagram of a characteristic curve showing the change in temperature inside the drum under certain conditions, and Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the characteristic curve showing the change in temperature inside the drum under certain conditions. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment using the first load amount determination method; FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment using the second load amount determination method. , FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment according to the third load amount determination method, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of the operating section of the conventional device. In the figure, (3) is the reservation timer button, (7) is the course selection button, (8) is the cabinet, (9) is the exterior, (10) is the rotating drum, (12) is the motor, (14) is
is the heater, (15) is the fan, (16) is the operation unit, (1
7) is a controller, (1B) is a load amount determination means, (1
9) is a heater output calculation means. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or equivalent parts. Agent: Patent attorney Masuo Oiwa (and 2 others) Figure 1: 90 翾连 口 10: Blind] #YunFram 12: (-ta 14: and -ta 15: fan Figure 2: Tribute) P Mochiyan Ku. Town, Figure 4, Figure 5, Figure 6, Figure 7, Procedural amendment (spontaneous) Showa year, month, day 2, name of invention, method for controlling clothes dryer 3, relationship with the case of the person making the amendment. Patent applicant address: 2-3 Oki-chome, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Name (601) Mitsubishi Electric Corporation Representative Moriya Shiki 4, Agent address: 2-2-3-5 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Detailed description of the invention in the specification to be amended. 6. hli positive content

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Immediately after starting the drying process, perform a load determination operation for a predetermined period of time to determine the load of the clothes to be dried, and adjust the heater output required to complete drying within the set drying time. A method for controlling a clothes dryer, in which a calculation is made from the load amount obtained in the load amount determination operation, and the drying process is continuously controlled using the heater output.