JPH06170098A - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always soften clothes at the time when the clothes are taken out by providing an operating means for reoperating a ventilation means and a heating means to a reserved time, when it becomes before a prescribed time of the reserved time, after a drying operation is finished. CONSTITUTION:After turning on a power source, a user inputs the present time by a time setting key group 42. Subsequently, by a setting key group 38, a drying course and various conditions are set. Next, clothes are taken out of a drying chamber. In the case it is desired to set a reserved time, a reservation key 41 is depressed, and by the time setting key group 42, the time when it is desired to take out clothes is inputted. Subsequently, when a start key is depressed, a drying operation is executed. Next, after the drying operation is finished, when it becomes before a prescribed time of the reserved time, a driving motor 31 and a heater unit 29 are operated again. In such a way, clothes are warmed up, while being loosened again, and when the reserved time comes, the operation of the driving motor 31 and the heater unit 29 is stopped, and it is informed by a buzzer.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a clothes dryer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a clothes dryer in which the drying rate of clothes is detected and the drying operation is terminated based on this, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-236098 (D06).
F58 / 28), the drying operation required time is predicted according to the load amount of clothes, and the drying operation start time is determined so that the operation is finished at the reserved time set by the user in advance. There is.

[0003]

In the above clothes dryer, the required drying operation time is predicted only based on the load amount of clothes, but the actual required time varies depending on the ambient temperature and the type of clothes. Therefore, it cannot always be finished at the reserved time. That is, the driving may end much earlier than the estimated required time. In this case, when the user takes it out at the reserved time, the clothes are cold and googore. For this reason, if the user immediately tries to wear this clothing, the user will feel very uncomfortable.

The present invention relates to an improvement of a clothes dryer and solves such a problem.

[0005]

The clothes dryer of the present invention comprises:
A drying chamber for accommodating clothes, a blowing unit for sending drying air to the drying chamber, a heating unit for heating the drying air, and a drying operation by controlling the operations of the blowing unit and the heating unit. Control means, a reservation means for reserving the time to take out the clothes from the drying room, and a predetermined time before the reservation time set by the reservation means after the drying operation is completed, the blower means and the heating means. And an operating means for re-operating until the reserved time.

[0006]

After the drying operation is completed, the heating means and the air blowing means are operated again from the predetermined time before the reserved time set by the user to the reserved time to warm the clothes in the drying chamber. Therefore, when the user takes out the clothes, the clothes can be always warm and soft.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 3, 1 is a clothes dryer of the present invention, 2 is a machine frame thereof, and 3 is a clothes inlet provided at the center of the front surface of the machine frame 2. Reference numeral 4 denotes a rear surface plate attached to the rear surface of the machine frame 2. Reference numeral 5 denotes an introduction hole provided in the center of the rear plate 4 for introducing external air, and 6 denotes the rear plate 4 for introducing the air introduced from the introduction hole 5 to the outside of the machine again.
It is an outlet provided in the lower part of.

Reference numeral 7 is a door for opening and closing the input port 3, and 8 is an annular sheet metal drum support plate mounted so as to surround the input port 3. 9 is the rear part of the machine frame 2 and the rear plate 4
A support plate 10 installed laterally with a space therebetween is a fan casing fixed to the support plate 9.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a horizontal shaft type drum, which is disposed in the machine frame 2 and serves as a clothes drying chamber, and has a front opening facing the input port 3. The front side of the drum 11 is supported by the drum support plate 8 via a felt or the like, and the rear side is rotatably supported by a shaft 12. A baffle 13 is formed by inflating a part of the inner wall of the drum 11 inward, and is for scraping clothes in the baffle as the drum 11 rotates. 14 is the drum 1
1. The dry air outlet provided in the center of the rear surface of 1;
A lint filter 16 is attached to the inside of the filter cover.

Reference numeral 17 is a dry air inlet provided in the lower portion of the drum support plate 8. Reference numeral 18 is a communication port provided in the support plate 9, and 19 is a seal member for reliably sending the air from the dry air outlet 14 to the communication port 18.

In the fan casing 10, a disk-shaped double-sided synthetic resin fan serving as a blower for the drum 11 is rotatably fixed to the shaft 12. The double-sided fan 20 has a circulation fan surface 21 located on the drum 11 side and a cooling fan surface 22 located on the rear plate 4 side, which are integrally formed on the front and back sides. Further, a pulley 23 is provided at the central portion on the cooling fan side.
Reference numeral 24 denotes the fan casing 10 and the double-sided fan 2
It is a partition plate made of synthetic resin provided so as to surround 0. By storing the double-sided fan 20 in the circular opening at the center of the partition plate 24, the partition plate 24 and the double-sided fan 2
Together with 0, the inside of the fan casing 10 is divided into a drying air passage 25 and a cooling air passage 26.

Reference numeral 27 is an exhaust port provided in the lower portion of the dry air duct 25, and 28 is a drying duct connecting the exhaust port 27 and the dry air inlet 17. 29 is this drying duct 28
Placed near the outlet of the dry air inlet 17, that is, near the dry air inlet 17.
A heater device for heating that serves as a heating means.
It consists of a and 29b. A discharge port 30 is provided at the bottom of the drying duct 28, and discharges the dehumidified water condensed in the duct 28 to the outside of the machine.

Reference numeral 31 is a drive motor, and a small pulley 32,
It is connected to the pulley 23 via a belt 33. At the same time, it is connected to the drum 11 via a pulley 34 and a drum belt 35.

Thus, during drying, the drum 11 is driven at a low speed by the driving force of the motor 31, and the double-sided fan 2 is operated.
0 is high speed and each rotates in one direction. At the same time, the heater device 29 is energized to heat the dry air.

As a result, the dry air generated by the rotation of the circulation fan surface 21 is supplied to the dry air passage 25 and the dry duct 2.
8. Circulate through the drum 11 to exchange heat with the clothes in the drum 11. Further, the cooling fan surface 22 rotates, and the outside air is introduced into the cooling air passage 26 from the introduction hole 5 and is led out from the outlet 6. At this time, the double-sided fan 20 is cooled. Then, after the heat exchange, the dry air comes into contact with the double-sided fan 20 and is cooled, and the moisture in the dry air is condensed, flows down in the dry air passage 25, and is discharged from the discharge port 30.

Reference numeral 36 denotes a first thermosensitive element installed near the communication port 18, which detects the temperature of the dry air discharged from the drum 11 (the temperature at the drum outlet) and converts it into an analog voltage value. 37 is in the drying duct 28,
A second thermosensitive element installed near the inlet of the heater device 29 detects the temperature of the dry air (heater inlet temperature) before being reheated by the heater device 29 and converts it into an analog voltage value. As these heat sensitive elements, for example, thermistors are used.

FIG. 4 shows an operation panel arranged at the lower front portion of the machine casing 2. 38 is an operating condition setting key group for setting the dry operating condition, and this key group 38 is composed of a heater switching key 39 and a course switching key 40. Reference numeral 41 is a reservation key operated by the user when reserving the time to take out the clothes, and 42 is a time setting for setting the current time when the power is turned on or for setting the reservation time after pressing the reservation key. It is a group of keys. The reservation key 41 and the time setting key group 42 constitute the reservation means of the present invention. Reference numeral 43 is a start / stop key operated when starting the drying operation or stopping the drying operation on the way, and 44 is a power switch.

The heater switching key 39 is used for the heater 2
9a and 29b are energized control, that is, heater strong control, or only energization control to heater 29a, that is, heater weak control, is switched and set. Each time the heater switching key 39 is operated, the strength and the weakness are repeatedly switched and set.

The course switching key 40 is used to switch and set each of the "standard", "slightly dry" and "intense" driving courses. The "standard" course is for drying ordinary clothing,
The "lightly dry" course is set when drying clothes that are dry and warming underwear, and the "thick" course is set when drying clothes that are difficult to dry, such as jeans. Each course is repeatedly switched and set each time the course switching key 40 is operated.

The time setting key group 42 is the time key 4
5, a time key 46 and a minute key 47. When setting the time, first, the time key 45 is pressed to make it possible to input the time, and then the time is adjusted by the hour key 46 and the minute key 47. Each time the time key 46 is pressed, the time increases by one hour, and each minute key 47 presses the minute by one minute. When the time is adjusted in this way and the time key 45 is pressed again, the time is set.

Reference numerals 48 and 49 denote strong and weak display portions that are turned on when the heater strength / weakness is set, and reference numerals 50 to 52 are course display portions that are turned on when each of the "standard" to "remarkable" courses is set. Reference numeral 53 is a reservation display section that indicates that the reservation key 41 is pressed to make a reservation, and 54 is a time display section that displays the current time and the reservation time set by the time setting key group 42. The strong / weak display portions 48, 49, the course display portions 50 to 52, and the reservation display portion 53 are composed of LEDs, and the time display portion 54 is composed of a fluorescent display tube.

FIG. 5 shows a control mechanism in this embodiment.
55 is the center of this control mechanism, and is a malocomputer (hereinafter abbreviated as "microcomputer") that serves as control means and operation means.
CPU56, RAM57, ROM58, A / D converter 5
9, counter 60 and the like.

Reference numeral 61 is a door switch for detecting the opening / closing of the door 7, 62 is a display section drive circuit for driving the respective display sections, 63 is a buzzer circuit for notifying the end of operation or abnormal operation, and 64 is the motor. 31 is a load drive circuit for driving the heater 31 and the heater device 29. The door switch 61 is connected to the input side of the microcomputer 55, and the display drive circuit 62, the buzzer circuit 63, and the load drive circuit 64 are connected to the output side.

The first heat sensitive element 36 and the second heat sensitive element 37 are connected to the input side of the microcomputer 55, and the temperature data of the analog voltage value inputted from each element to the microcomputer 55 is A / D. It is converted into a digital voltage value by the converter 59. On the other hand, the ROM 58 stores the reference value corresponding to the temperature. The CPU 56 uses the A /
The output of the D converter 59 is compared with the reference value to determine the temperature.

Further, the setting key group 38 and the reservation key 41
The time setting key group 42 is also connected to the input side of the microcomputer.

Then, the microcomputer 55 causes the setting key group 38, the reservation key 41, the time setting key group 42, the first,
A control signal is sent to the display drive circuit 62, the buzzer circuit 63, and the load drive circuit 64 based on the information from the second heat sensitive elements 36 and 37 and the door switch 61.

The operation of this embodiment based on the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. The user first turns on the power source, and then inputs the current time with the time setting key group 42 (S1). As a result, the counter 60 in the microcomputer 55 operates to measure the time. Next, the setting course 38 is used to set the drying course and various conditions (S
2).

If the time to take out the clothes is not reserved, the start key 43 is pressed as it is (S
3). As a result, the drying operation is started, and the motor 31
Is activated to rotate the drum 11 and the double-sided fan 20, and the heater device 29 is activated (S4).
In this way, while the clothes in the drum 11 are being stirred,
It is gradually dried by heated dry air.

The drum outlet temperature and the heater inlet temperature detected by the first heat sensitive element 36 and the second heat sensitive element 37 show the characteristics as shown in FIG. 2 as the clothes dry. The heater inlet temperature is affected by the outside temperature, and the value itself changes each time, but it does not change much after a while after the start of operation. On the other hand, the temperature at the outlet of the drum keeps a constant value because the heat is exchanged with the clothes when the clothes contain sufficient water, but the heat is not sufficiently exchanged when the clothes get dry. So the temperature starts to rise. The microcomputer 55 determines the drying rate from the temperature difference between the two places. That is, after a lapse of 15 minutes from the start of the drying operation, the temperature difference A when heat is sufficiently exchanged with the clothes is detected and used as a reference. Then, when the clothes are dried, the temperature at the drum outlet rises, the temperature difference widens, and when the temperature difference reaches (A + B), which is a predetermined value B added to A, the drying rate of the clothes becomes a sufficient value, Determine that the clothes are dry.
Here, the predetermined value B varies depending on each drying course, and is determined in advance by experiments or the like.

When such drying control is performed (S5) and the clothes are sufficiently dried (S6), only the heater device 29 stops operating (S7) and only the cold air is blown by the drum 11.
Send it inside to cool hot clothes to some extent (cool down). When 5 minutes have passed (S8), the motor 31 is stopped, the drying operation is finished (S9), and the buzzer notifies (S10).

The temperature difference from the start of the drying operation is (A
The maximum drying time (eg 2 hours 5 without reaching + B)
Even after 5 minutes have elapsed (S11), after the cool down is performed, the drying operation is ended.

On the other hand, when it is desired to set the reservation time, the reservation key 41 is first pressed (S12). Next, the time when the user wants to take out the clothes is input by the time setting key group 42 (S13). At this time, when the difference between the input reserved time and the current time is shorter than 3 hours (longest drying time + cooldown time) (S14), the time display unit 54
Is flashed or a buzzer is sounded to notify the error (S15). This is to prevent the reserved time from being reached before the dry operation is completed. After that, when the start key 43 is pressed (S16), the state where the reserved time can be input again is restored.

After inputting the reserved time without error, when the start key 43 is pressed (S17), the drying operation is performed as in the above (S4 to S9).

Thus, when the drying operation is completed and a predetermined time (for example, 3 minutes) before the reserved time is reached (S19),
The motor 31 and the heater device 29 are activated again (S
20). As a result, the clothes are warmed while being unwound again. Then, at the reserved time (S21), the operation of the motor 31 and the heater device 29 is stopped (S22), and the buzzer notifies (S10).

As described above, according to the structure of the clothes dryer of the present embodiment, when the reserved time is set, the drying operation is performed again after the drying operation is finished and from the predetermined time before the reserved time to the reserved time. Since the clothes are warmed in the drying chamber, the user can always warm and soften the clothes when the user takes out the clothes. Therefore, when the taken out clothing is immediately worn, it can be comfortably worn.

[0037]

According to the structure of the clothes dryer of the present invention, after the drying operation is completed, the heating means and the air blowing means are restarted from a predetermined time before the reserved time set by the user to the reserved time. Since the clothes in the drying chamber are warmed, the clothes can be warmed and softened at all times when the user takes out the clothes. Therefore, when the taken out clothing is immediately worn, it can be comfortably worn.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the operation of a clothes dryer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a temperature characteristic diagram of a drum outlet and a heater inlet.

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view showing an outline of the clothes dryer of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the configuration of the operation panel of the same.

FIG. 5 is an electric block diagram showing a control mechanism of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Drum (drying room) 20 Double-sided fan (blowing means) 29 Heater device (heating means) 41 Reservation key (reservation means) 42 Time setting key group (reservation means) 55 Microcomputer (control means, operation means)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A drying chamber for accommodating clothes, a blowing unit for sending a drying air to the drying chamber, a heating unit for heating the drying air, and an operation of the blowing unit and the heating unit. Control means for performing a dry operation by means of, and a reservation means for reserving the time of taking out the clothes from the drying chamber,
A clothes dryer comprising: an operating unit that restarts the air blowing unit and the heating unit until a reserved time when a predetermined time comes before the reserved time set by the reservation unit after the completion of the drying operation.