JPH078690A - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To dry clothes without generating an unevenness in the dried condition by a method wherein during a specified period of time, the detection of the dryness is performed again, and as the result, if a specified dryness is not detected, a drying operation is performed again for a specified period of time. CONSTITUTION:A microcomputer 27 connects power with a heater 18 and motor 9 first, and a drum rotates in the normal direction, and hot air is fed to the inside of the drum, and a drying operation is performed. Then, by an electrode 30 and a dryness-detecting signal from a detecting circuit 31, whether a specified dryness is detected in the drum or not is judged, and as long as the specified dryness is not detected, the judgement is continued. When the specified dryness is detected, the power connection to the heater 18 and motor 9 is shut off after a specified period of time has passed, and the operation is completed. Also, when the specified dryness is not detected, the drum is reversed during a drying operation of the specified period of time. By this method, an unevenness in the dried condition can be prevented from generating.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is a so-called drum type,
The present invention relates to a clothes dryer that controls the operation by detecting the degree of dryness of clothes to be dried in the drum.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a so-called drum type clothes dryer has a dryness detecting means for detecting the dryness of the clothes to be dried in the drum, and the dryness detecting means provides a predetermined dryness during the drying operation. When is detected, the drying operation is performed for a predetermined period of time after that to end the operation.

[0003]

According to the above,
The dry operation can be efficiently performed without depending on the intuition of the user.

However, inside the drum, the dryness of the clothes to be dried near the dryness detecting means and the dryness of clothes away from the dryness detecting means may be different, and especially the depth of the recent drum is increased. The tendency is strong in the large volume type. Further, the clothes to be dried have different thicknesses such as thick and thin ones, and further have different cloth qualities such as natural fibers and chemical fibers, so that their drying speeds are different. For these reasons, there is a problem in that even if the drying operation is performed for a predetermined time after the predetermined dryness is detected by the dryness detecting means, the dryness of the clothes to be dried remains different, causing so-called unevenness in dryness. Had.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and therefore an object thereof is to provide a clothes dryer capable of drying clothes to be dried without causing unevenness in drying.

[0006]

To achieve the above object, in a clothes dryer of the present invention, a drum for containing clothes to be dried, and a drive device for rotating the drum in both forward and reverse directions are provided. A hot air supply device for supplying hot air to the drum, and a dryness detection means for detecting the dryness of the clothes to be dried in the drum, during the drying operation by the drive device and the hot air supply device, A dryness detection means detects a predetermined dryness, and then performs a drying operation for a predetermined time to end the operation. During the predetermined time, the drum is reversed to detect the dryness. The dryness is detected again by means, and as a result,
When the predetermined dryness is not detected, the drying operation is performed again for the predetermined time.

Further, in the clothes dryer of the present invention, a drum for containing the clothes to be dried, a drive device for rotating the drum only in one direction, and a hot air supply device for supplying hot air into the drum. And a dryness detecting means for detecting the dryness of the clothes to be dried in the drum,
During a drying operation by the driving device and the hot air supply device, when a predetermined dryness is detected by the dryness detecting means, the dry operation is performed for a predetermined time after that, and the operation is terminated. It is also possible to intermittently rotate the drum during a predetermined time and detect the dryness by the dryness detecting means again, and as a result, when the predetermined dryness is not detected, the drying operation is performed again for the predetermined time. Characterize.

In this case, in any of the above cases, the predetermined dryness detection level when the dryness is detected again is preferably set to 95% or more.

[0009]

According to the above means, during the drying operation for a predetermined time after the predetermined dryness is detected by the dryness detecting means,
By rotating the drum in the reverse direction or rotating intermittently, the agitation of the clothes to be dried in the drum is changed and the clothes are replaced. In this situation, next, the dryness is detected again by the dryness detecting means, and as a result, when the predetermined dryness is not detected, it can be determined that the clothes to be dried were insufficiently dried. Therefore, by continuing the operation for a predetermined time, the clothes to be dried continue to be dried, and as a result, all the clothes to be dried having a difference in the position with respect to the dryness detection means in the drum, cloth thickness, cloth quality, etc. It can be dried sufficiently.

Further, in that case, when the detection level of the predetermined dryness when the dryness is detected again is set to 95% or more, the clothes to be dried can be dried more sufficiently. .

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First of all, FIG. 2 shows an outer box 1 of the entire clothes dryer, in which a clothes entrance 2 is formed in the front part, or substantially in the center thereof, and a door 3 for opening and closing the entrance 2 is pivotally installed. A drum 4 is housed inside the outer box 1, and the housed drum 4 has a large-diameter opening 5 formed on the front surface thereof rotated on a drum support 6 provided at the front part inside the outer box 1. Support the shaft 7 provided in the center of the rear surface as much as possible,
Similarly, it is rotatably supported on a support plate 8 provided at the rear of the outer box 1.

A biaxial motor 9 is disposed in the upper part of the outer box 1 outside the drum 4, and the motor 9 and a first pulley 10 attached to one end of the rotary shaft of the motor 9. Also, a drive device 1 for rotating and driving the drum 4 by the first belt 11 hung from the first pulley 10 to the outer circumference of the drum 4.
Make up 2. In this case, the drive device 12 as a whole can rotate in both forward and reverse directions.

A large number of small holes are formed in the rear portion of the drum 4 to form an air outlet 13, which is covered with a filter 14 inside the drum 4 and outside the drum 4. The fan casing 15 communicates with the rear of the. A duct 16 is communicated with the fan casing 15 below, and a tip portion of the duct 16 is communicated with an inlet port 17 formed by forming a number of small holes in the lower portion of the drum support 6, The heater 1 is installed in the duct 16 behind the air inlet 17.
8 are arranged.

Inside the fan casing 15, the fan 1 which also functions as a double-bladed heat exchanger so as to partition it into front and rear
9 is provided, and the fan 19 is rotated by the motor 9 via the second pulley 20 and the second belt 21.

When the fan 19 is rotated, the air in the drum 4 is sucked from the air outlet 13 into the front portion of the fan casing 15 and discharged into the duct 16 as shown by the arrow. At the same time, the air outside the machine is blown from the outside air intake 23 formed in the center of the outer case back plate 22 into the fan casing 1.
5 is sucked into the rear portion of the inside of the outer casing 5, and is discharged to the outside of the machine from the outside air return port 24 formed in the lower portion of the outer case back plate 22.
As a result, in the fan casing 15, the air inside the drum 4 and the air outside the machine are in contact with each other with the fan 19 as a boundary, and heat is exchanged to dehumidify the air inside the drum 4. Therefore, the dehumidified air inside the drum 4 passes through the duct 16, and when the heater 18 is in the energized heat generation state, it is heated by the heater 18 and turns into hot air, so that the drum 4 passes through the inlet port 17.
The hot air supply device 25 is constituted by them.

On the other hand, FIG. 3 shows the circuit board 26 shown in FIG.
The main components of the control circuit mounted on the upper part of the outer box 1 are shown in FIG. 1, and the microcomputer 27, which is the center of the control circuit, functions as control means.
A necessary DC power source is supplied from the power source 28 through the rectifier circuit 29. Further, the microcomputer 27 is made to face the inside of the drum 4 and the drum support 6
The dryness detection signal of the clothes to be dried is inputted from the electrode 30 attached to the lower part of the electrode through the detection circuit 31, and therefore the electrode 30 and the detection circuit 31 function as the dryness detection means. It has become.

In addition, the microcomputer 2
7, various switch signals from a switch input unit 32 including various switches, temperature detection signals from a temperature sensor 33 (see FIG. 2) provided to detect the temperature in the drum 4, and a clock signal. Clock pulses are respectively input from the pulse generation circuit 34,
Based on these inputs and a control program stored in advance, the microcomputer 27 gives a drive control signal to a drive circuit 36 for driving the motor 9, the heater 18 and the buzzer 35. A power switch 37 is inserted and connected to a circuit from the power source 28 to the motor 9, the heater 18, and the buzzer 35.

Next, the operation based on the function of the microcomputer 27 having the above configuration will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, when its operation is started, the microcomputer 27 first energizes the heater 18 and the motor 9 (step A1). Therefore, with them, the drum 4
Is rotatively driven in the normal direction, and hot air is supplied to the inside.

Thereafter, the dryness detection signal from the electrode 30 and the detection circuit 31 (dryness detection means) causes the clothes to be dried in the drum 4 to have a predetermined dryness (for example, 95 to 99).
It is determined whether or not 95% or more of [%] is detected (step A2), and if not detected, the determination is continued.

On the other hand, when the predetermined dryness is detected in step A2, the count value at time t1 is set to "0".
(Step A3), and then the counting of the time t1 is started (step A4).

During the counting of time t1, time t2
When (for example, 10 [minutes]) has been reached, a pause time of, for example, 10 seconds is set, the motor 9 is also energized in the reverse direction for 10 seconds, and the drum 4 is rotated in the reverse direction. And the motor 9 is energized in the forward direction for 10 seconds in the same manner, so that the drum 4
Is normally rotated (step A5). It should be noted that the reverse rotation and the forward rotation of the drum 4 may be performed not only once but a plurality of times, or may be performed only in the reverse rotation without performing the forward rotation.

After that, the electrode 30 and the detection circuit 31 are again provided.
Based on the dryness detection signal from the drum 4, the clothes to be dried in the drum 4 have a predetermined dryness (also 95 to 99, for example).
It is determined whether or not (95% or more of [%]) is detected (step A6), and if detected, it is determined whether the count value of the time t1 has reached a predetermined time, for example, 15 minutes. (Step A7), and when it reaches, the counting of the time t1 is finished (step A8), the energization of the heater 18 and the motor 9 is cut off (step A9), and the operation is finished.

However, if the predetermined dryness is not detected in step A6, the process returns to step A3 to continue the operation.

As described above, in this structure, the drum 4 is reversed during the drying operation for a predetermined time after the predetermined dryness is detected by the electrode 30 and the detection circuit 31.
As a result, the agitation of the clothes to be dried in the drum 4 changes, and the clothes are replaced. Then, in that situation, next, the dryness is detected again by the electrode 30 and the detection circuit 31, and as a result, when the predetermined dryness is not detected, there is something that is insufficient for drying the clothes to be dried. Since it can be determined that the clothes are dried, the clothes to be dried are continued to be dried by performing the operation again for a predetermined time. The whole can be sufficiently dried, and the occurrence of uneven drying can be eliminated.

Further, in this case, by setting the predetermined dryness detection level when the dryness is detected again to 95% or more, the clothes to be dried can be dried more sufficiently. Further, it is possible to further eliminate the occurrence of drying unevenness.

In contrast to the above, FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which step B5 replaces the previous step A5.
When the predetermined time t2 is reached, the motor 4 is intermittently energized by, for example, 10 seconds of rest and 10 seconds of energization being repeated, so that the drum 4 is intermittently rotated. , Other steps B1 to B
4 and steps B6 to B9 are the same as the previous steps A1 to A.
4 and steps A6 to A9. In this case, the drive device 12 is rotatable only in one direction, and therefore the intermittent rotation of the drum 4 is also performed only in that direction.

Even in this case, the intermittent rotation of the drum 4 causes a change in the agitation of the clothes to be dried in the drum 4 and the replacement of the clothes is replaced. Therefore, the dryness is detected again in the same manner as described above. By doing so, the same effect as described above can be obtained. Also in this case, the predetermined dryness detection level is 95 when the dryness is detected again.
It is set above [%], so that
The same effect as described above can be obtained.

The times t1 and t2 are 10 times as described above.
It may be longer or shorter than [minutes], 15 [minutes]. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and may be appropriately modified and implemented without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0029]

The clothes dryer of the present invention is as described above, and has the following effects. Firstly, a drum for containing clothes to be dried, a drive device for rotating the drum in both forward and reverse directions, and a hot air supply device for supplying hot air into the drum are provided, and the inside of the drum is dried. A dryness detection means for detecting the dryness of the clothes is provided, and during the dry operation by the drive device and the hot air supply device, when the predetermined dryness is detected by the dryness detection means, the dry operation is performed for a predetermined time thereafter. In such a case where the operation is ended by performing the operation, the drum is reversed during the predetermined time, and the dryness is detected again by the dryness detecting means. As a result, the predetermined dryness is not detected. Occasionally, by performing the drying operation again for a predetermined time, it is possible to sufficiently dry all the clothes to be dried that have different positions in the drum, cloth thickness, cloth quality, etc. It can be eliminated.

Secondly, a drum for containing clothes to be dried,
A drive device for rotating the drum in only one direction is provided, a hot air supply device for supplying hot air into the drum, and a dryness detection means for detecting the dryness of the clothes to be dried in the drum. However, during the drying operation by the driving device and the hot air supply device, when the predetermined dryness is detected by the dryness detecting means, the drying operation is performed for a predetermined time after that to end the operation. During the predetermined time, the drum is intermittently rotated and the dryness is detected again by the dryness detecting means. As a result, when the predetermined dryness is not detected, the drying operation is performed again for the predetermined time. As a result, it is possible to sufficiently dry all the clothes to be dried, which also have differences in the position in the drum, the thickness of the cloth, the cloth quality, etc., and it is possible to eliminate the occurrence of drying unevenness.

Thirdly, by setting the predetermined dryness detection level when the dryness is detected again to 95% or more, the clothes to be dried can be dried more sufficiently. Further, it is possible to further eliminate the occurrence of drying unevenness.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 2] Overall vertical side view

FIG. 3 is a schematic electrical configuration diagram.

FIG. 4 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 4 is a drum, 9 is a motor, 12 is a driving device, 18 is a heater, 19 is a fan, 25 is a hot air supply device, 27 is a microcomputer (control means), 30 is an electrode (dryness detection means) , 31 are detection circuits (dryness detection means).

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A drum for containing clothes to be dried, and a drive device for rotating the drum, which is rotatable in both forward and reverse directions,
A dry air supply device for supplying hot air to the drum is provided, and a dryness detection means for detecting the dryness of the clothes to be dried in the drum is provided, and drying is performed during a drying operation by the drive device and the hot air supply device. When the predetermined dryness is detected by the dryness detecting means, the drying operation is performed for a predetermined time after that to end the operation, and the drum is reversed during the predetermined time to dry by the dryness detecting means. The clothes dryer is provided with a control means for performing the drying operation again for a predetermined time when the predetermined dryness is not detected as a result. 2. A drum for containing clothes to be dried, and a drive device for rotating the drum, which is rotatable only in one direction.
A dry air supply device for supplying hot air to the drum is provided, and a dryness detection means for detecting the dryness of the clothes to be dried in the drum is provided, and drying is performed during a drying operation by the drive device and the hot air supply device. When a predetermined dryness is detected by the dryness detecting means, the drying operation is performed for a predetermined time thereafter to end the operation, and the drum is intermittently rotated during the predetermined time to detect the dryness by the dryness detecting means. A clothes dryer, further comprising a control means for detecting the degree of dryness again, and as a result, when the predetermined degree of dryness is not detected, the drying operation is controlled again for a predetermined time. 3. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein a predetermined dryness detection level when the dryness is detected again is set to 95% or more.