JPH11226298A - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To lessen scattering of the temperature of the inside of a rotary drum at the end of the air blast operation. SOLUTION: When a drying operation ends, a blast operation is started (S4, S5, S6). Until the elapse of 15 min. from the start of blast operation, whether the outlet temperature of the drum is higher than 45 deg.C or not, is judged (S8, S9). When the outlet temperature of the drum becomes 45 deg.C or lower before 15 min. elapses from the start of blast operation, the blast operation is brought to a stop after 3 min. thereafter. When the outlet temperature of the drum does not become 45 deg.C or lower even when 15 mim. has elapsed from the start of blast operation, whether the outlet temperature of the drum is higher than 50 deg.C or not is Judged (S8, S15, S16). If the outlet temperature of the drum becomes lower than 50 deg.C before 40 min. elapses from the start of blast operation, the blast operation is brought to a stop after 3 min. thereafter.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a clothes dryer for performing a drying operation for drying clothes and then performing a blowing operation for cooling hot clothes after the drying operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There has been known a clothes dryer that blows hot air into a rotating drum containing wet clothes and rotates the rotating drum to dry the clothes.
In such a clothes dryer, heat is exchanged between the hot air blown into the rotating drum and the wet clothes, and the clothes are dried by the heat exchange. Therefore, the clothes in the rotating drum immediately after the drying operation is finished are hot,
In this state, clothes cannot be taken out of the rotating drum. Therefore, after the end of the drying operation, a blowing operation for cooling the hot clothing is performed.

[0003] The air blowing operation is terminated, for example, when the temperature in the rotary drum falls below a predetermined temperature or when a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the air blowing operation. Specifically, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the air exhausted from the rotating drum is provided near the exhaust port of the rotating drum, and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is 40 ° C.
The blow operation ends when the following occurs. The time from the start of the blowing operation is measured, and the blowing operation ends when the elapsed time from the start of the operation reaches 30 minutes. Thereby, since the temperature of the place where the clothes dryer is installed is high and the temperature in the rotating drum does not become lower than 40 ° C., it is possible to prevent the blowing operation from continuing indefinitely.

[0004]

By the way, the temperature in the rotating drum after the end of the blowing operation may be "hot" or "hot" when the user grasps the clothes by hand to take out the dried clothes from the rotating drum. It is preferred that the temperature be lowered to an appropriate temperature so that it does not feel "cold". However, in the above-described conventional device, the temperature inside the rotating drum at the time of the end of the air blowing operation varied. That is, the temperature detected by the temperature sensor becomes 4 within 30 minutes after the start of the blowing operation.
When the temperature falls to 0 ° C. or lower, the air blowing operation is stopped at this point, so that the temperature in the rotating drum at the end of the air blowing operation can be set to approximately 40 ° C. On the other hand, if the temperature detected by the temperature sensor does not become 40 ° C. or less within 30 minutes from the start of the air blowing operation, depending on the temperature of the place where the clothes dryer is installed and the amount of clothes put in the rotating drum. At the end of the blow operation,
In some cases, the temperature was higher than ℃.

It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned technical problems and to provide a clothes dryer capable of suppressing a variation in temperature in a rotating drum at the end of a blowing operation.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rotary drum for storing clothes to be dried, a blower for blowing air into the rotary drum, and a blower. A heater for heating the air sent to the rotating drum by the air blower, and in order to dry the clothes in the rotating drum, a blower and a heater are driven to perform a drying operation of sending hot air into the rotating drum, and then drying. A clothes dryer that performs only a blower operation to blow cool air into the rotating drum to cool hot clothing after operation, and measures the time elapsed since the start of the blow operation. Means, temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the air exhausted from the rotating drum,
Until the time measured by the timer reaches the first predetermined time, the blower is stopped based on the fact that the temperature detected by the temperature detector has dropped to the first reference temperature. If the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means has not dropped to the first reference temperature, the air-blowing operation is further continued, and the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means has dropped to the second reference temperature higher than the first reference temperature. And an operation control means for stopping the blower based on the following.

According to this configuration, the temperature of the exhaust gas from the rotating drum detected by the temperature detecting means has decreased to the first reference temperature until the first predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the blowing operation. The blower is stopped based on. Further, even if the first predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the blowing operation, if the exhaust temperature from the rotating drum does not drop below the first reference temperature, the blowing operation is further continued,
The blower is stopped based on the exhaust temperature from the rotating drum having dropped below the second reference temperature.

Accordingly, when the clothes and air in the rotating drum are relatively easy to cool, the temperature in the rotating drum at the end of the blowing operation can be stabilized near the first reference temperature. Further, even when the amount of clothes put in the rotating drum or the temperature of the place where the clothes dryer is installed is high, the clothes and air in the rotating drum are relatively hard to cool down. In addition, the temperature in the rotating drum at the end of the blowing operation can be stabilized near the second reference temperature. Therefore, as compared with the conventional clothes dryer, it is possible to reduce the variation in the temperature inside the rotating drum at the end of the blowing operation.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the operation control means switches the blower when a predetermined time has elapsed after the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means has decreased to the first reference temperature or the second reference temperature. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the clothes dryer is stopped. When the exhaust temperature from the rotating drum reaches the first reference temperature or the second reference temperature, the vicinity of the exhaust port of the rotating drum has dropped to the first reference temperature or the second reference temperature, but the other portions have the first reference temperature or the second reference temperature. There is a possibility that the temperature is higher than the reference temperature or the second reference temperature. Therefore, in the configuration in which the blowing operation is immediately terminated in response to the exhaust temperature from the rotating drum having dropped to the first reference temperature or the second reference temperature, the case where the temperature unevenness occurs in the rotating drum does not occur. It is assumed that the temperature inside the rotating drum at the end of the blowing operation differs between the cases.

According to the second aspect of the invention, after the exhaust temperature from the rotary drum reaches the first reference temperature or the second reference temperature, the air blowing operation is continued for a predetermined time, so that the inside of the rotary drum can be maintained. The clothes and the air are agitated, and the temperature unevenness in the rotating drum at the end of the operation can be eliminated. Therefore, compared to a configuration in which the blowing operation is immediately terminated in response to the exhaust temperature from the rotating drum having dropped to the first reference temperature or the second reference temperature, the variation in the temperature in the rotating drum at the time when the blowing operation ends is reduced. It can be further suppressed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, when the time measured by the time measuring means reaches a second predetermined time longer than the first predetermined time, it is determined that the blowing operation cannot be normally performed, and 3. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, further comprising abnormality determination means for stopping the operation. For example, if there is an abnormality in a circuit for driving the heater or the like and the heater is driven in spite of the air blowing operation, the second predetermined time has elapsed since the air blowing operation was started. Also, the temperature of the exhaust gas from the rotating drum does not drop below the second reference temperature.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the temperature inside the rotating drum does not become lower than the second reference temperature due to the above-mentioned abnormality, it is possible to prevent the blowing operation from continuing indefinitely. . The invention according to claim 4 further comprises abnormality notification means for notifying, when the abnormality determination means determines that the blowing operation cannot be performed normally, to that effect. It is a clothes dryer.

According to this configuration, when it is determined that the air blowing operation cannot be performed normally, the user is notified of the fact, so that the user can quickly recognize the abnormality of the clothes dryer. .

[0014]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a clothes dryer according to one embodiment of the present invention. The clothes dryer includes a housing 1 having an opening 1a on the front surface, a rotating drum 2 provided in the housing 1, and an openable / closable door 3 attached to the opening 1a of the housing 1. Clothes to be dried are put into the rotating drum 2 through the opening 1a of the housing 1 with the door 3 opened. On the front surface of the housing 1 and below the door 3, there is provided a panel case 4 in which an operation panel 40 including various push switches and indicators is arranged on the front surface. A control board 5 is provided inside the panel case 4. On the control board 5, a microcomputer described later and a board thermistor L for detecting a temperature on the control board 5 (hereinafter, referred to as "board temperature") are mounted.

The rotary drum 2 is provided with its end face in front and back. The front side is rotatably supported by a drum support plate 6 attached so as to surround the opening 1a of the housing 1, and the rear side is the rear face of the housing 1. Is rotatably supported by a support shaft 7 inserted through the support shaft 7. An exhaust port 8 for exhausting the air in the rotary drum 2 is formed on the rear surface of the rotary drum 2. A lint filter 9 for capturing lint and the like contained in air exhausted from the rotating drum 2 and a filter cover 10 for protecting the lint filter 9 from clothing are attached to the exhaust port 8.

A blower 11 for circulating air is provided behind the rotary drum 2. A blower 11 includes a double-sided fan 12 rotatably supported on a support shaft 7.
And a fan casing 13 accommodating the double-sided fan 12. A partition member 14 is provided in the fan casing 13 so as to surround the double-sided fan 12.
And a cooling air passage 16. The peripheral edge of the double-sided fan 12 and the partition member 14 are connected by a labyrinth, so that air cannot flow between the drying air passage 15 and the cooling air passage 16.

An opening 17 for taking in air into the drying air passage 15 is formed on a surface of the fan casing 13 facing the rotating drum 2. A seal member 18 is provided between the rotary drum 2 and the fan casing 13 to guide exhaust air from an exhaust port 8 formed on the rear surface of the rotary drum 2 to the drying air passage 15. In the drying air passage 15, a drum outlet thermistor H for detecting the temperature of the air flowing into the drying air passage 15 from the rotating drum 2 (hereinafter referred to as "drum outlet temperature") is provided. I have. On the other hand, the cooling air passage 16 is communicated with the outside of the housing 1 through an outside air inlet 19 and an outside air outlet 20 formed in the rear plate 1 b of the housing 1.

A circulation duct 21 is provided below the rotating drum 2.
Are arranged. One end of the circulation duct 21 is connected to a drying air passage 15 defined in the fan casing 13, and the other end of the circulation duct 21 is connected to a hot air inlet 22 formed at a lower portion of the drum support plate 6. ing. Thereby, the rotating drum 2 and the drying air path 1
5 and the circulation duct 21 form an air circulation path. A heater 23 for heating the air flowing through the circulation duct 21 is disposed near the hot air inlet 22 in the circulation duct 21. The heater 23 includes a first heating element 23a and a second heating element 23b configured by, for example, a positive temperature coefficient thermistor, and selectively turns on / off the first heating element 23a and the second heating element 23b. The output can be switched between strong and weak.

A motor 26 having output shafts 24 and 25 at the front and rear is provided at a lower portion in the housing 1. A drum pulley 27 is fixed to an output shaft 24 extending forward of the motor 26. An endless drum belt 28 is provided between the drum pulley 27 and the outer circumference of the rotary drum 2.
The output shaft 22 is rotated by a rotating drum 2 via a drum pulley 27 and a drum belt 28.
It is transmitted to. The drum belt 28 is given an appropriate tension by an idler pulley 29 in order to prevent slippage between the drum belt 28, the rotating drum 2 and the drum pulley 27.

On the other hand, the output shaft 2 extending rearward of the motor 26
5 is provided with a fan pulley 30. An endless fan belt 32 is wound between the fan pulley 30 and a pulley 31 provided at the center of the double-sided fan 12. Therefore, when the motor 26 is rotationally driven, the driving force of the motor 26 is transmitted to the rotary drum 2 and the double-sided fan 12 via the drum belt 28 and the fan belt 32, and the rotary drum 2 and the double-sided fan 12
Rotates.

When the double-sided fan 12 is rotated, the air in the drying air passage 15 is sent to the circulation duct 21. The air sent to the circulation duct 21 is heated by the heater 23 to become high-temperature hot air, and flows into the rotary drum 2 through the hot air inlet 22. In the rotating drum 2, the hot air and the clothing are stirred by the rotation of the rotating drum 2, and heat exchange is performed between the hot air and the clothing. As a result, the moisture contained in the clothes is evaporated. Air containing moisture evaporated from the clothes is sucked into the drying air passage 15 by the rotation of the double-sided fan 12.

The double-sided fan 12 is taken in the cooling air passage 16 from the outside air inlet 19 by its rotation and is cooled by the outside air discharged from the outside air outlet 20, and removes the water flowing into the drying air passage 15. The contained air is cooled by the cooled double-sided fan 12. As a result, the moisture contained in the air in the drying air passage 15 is removed by the double-sided fan 12.
Condenses on the surface of the water to form water droplets. The water droplets are blown from the inside of the fan casing 13 to the circulation duct 21 by the rotation of the double-sided fan 12, and are drained to the outside from a drain port 33 formed at a lower portion of the circulation duct 21. The air with reduced moisture is again sent to the circulation duct 21 by the rotation of the double-sided fan 12, and the rotating drum 2, the drying air path 15
And the air circulation path formed by the circulation duct 21 is repeatedly circulated. Thereby, the clothes in the rotating drum 2 are dried.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of the operation panel 40 arranged on the front surface of the housing 1. A plurality of push switches for the user to input various command signals to the clothes dryer are arranged on the operation panel 40. Specifically, a power switch 41 for turning on the power, a start / stop key 42 for starting and stopping the operation of the clothes dryer, and a type of clothes from a plurality of driving courses set in advance. And a course selection key 43 for selecting a driving course according to the quantity and quantity.
A heater setting key 44 for switching the output of the heater 23 (see FIG. 1) between high and low is provided.

The operation panel 40 also includes a plurality of course LEDs 45 for displaying which operation course has been selected in accordance with the course selection by the course selection key 43, and the intensity of the heater output set by the heater setting key 44. Heater LED 46 and heater weak L for displaying
An ED 47 and a clogging LED 48 for notifying clogging of the lint filter 9 are arranged.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the clothes dryer. Each section of the clothes dryer operates by AC power supplied from a commercial AC power supply 50. More specifically, the first heating element 23a of the heater 23 is connected in series to the commercial AC power supply 50 via the power switch 41 and the load switch 51, and when the power switch 41 and the load switch 51 are both turned on. The voltage from the commercial AC power supply 50 (for example, 10
0V) is applied. Also, heater 2
The third second heating element 23b is connected in series to the commercial AC power supply 50 via the power switch 41 and the load switch 52. When both the power switch 41 and the load switch 52 are turned on, the voltage from the commercial AC power supply 50 is reduced. Is applied.

The motor 26 is connected in series to a commercial AC power supply 50 via a power switch 41 and a load switch 53. Therefore, the voltage from the commercial AC power supply 50 is supplied to the motor 26 with both the power switch 41 and the load switch 53 being on. Commercial AC power supply 5
0 further includes a power switch 41 and a load switch 5
4 and an APO (Auto Power Off) 55 is connected. The APO 55 is for automatically shutting off the power supply to each part after the operation of the clothes dryer is completed. When the load switch 54 is turned on, the APO 55 is turned on (on state). Power switch 41 is turned off (off state).

The commercial AC power supply 50 includes, for example, 1
A transformer 56 for lowering the power supply voltage of 00V is connected via the power supply switch 41. Power switch 4
When 1 is turned on, the voltage from the commercial AC power supply 50 is applied to the primary coil of the transformer 56, thereby inducing a secondary voltage lower than the power supply voltage in the secondary coil of the transformer 56. The induced secondary voltage is
The voltage is reduced to 5 V by a power supply circuit 57 connected to 6 and used as an operating voltage of a microcomputer 60 for controlling the operation of each section of the clothes dryer.

The microcomputer 60 includes a CPU and an R
It is composed of a memory including an AM and a ROM.
The microcomputer 60 receives, for example, a pulse from a clock 61 composed of a crystal oscillator and detection signals from a substrate thermistor L and a drum exit thermistor H via a thermistor input circuit 62. The microcomputer 60 also receives signals from push switches including a power switch 41, a start / stop key 42, a course selection key 43, and a heater setting key 44 arranged on the operation panel 40, and a signal from the door 3 shown in FIG. A signal is input from a door switch 63 which is turned on / off as the door is opened and closed.

The microcomputer 60 is connected to a load drive circuit 64 for controlling on / off of the load switches 51, 52, 53, 54. The microcomputer 60 outputs / stops a drive signal to the load drive circuit 64 based on signals input from the substrate thermistor L, the drum exit thermistor H, and the like, and controls on / off of the load switches 51, 52, 53, 54. Thereby, the driving of the heater 23, the motor 26, and the APO 57 is controlled. The load switches 51, 52, 53, 5
For 4, a switching element such as a triac or a relay can be used.

The microcomputer 60 includes LEDs 45, 46, 47,
48 and a buzzer 65 for notifying that the operation of the clothes dryer has been completed are connected.
To control the drive of. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing during the drying operation and the blowing operation. The processing shown in FIG. 4 is based on the fact that after the clothes to be dried are stored in the rotating drum 2 by the user, the power switch 41 is pressed to turn on the power, and further the start / stop key 42 is pressed. The process is started in response (step S1).

When the start / stop key 42 is pressed, first, a drying operation for drying the wet clothes in the rotary drum 2 is started (step S2). At the time of the drying operation, the motor 26 is turned on, the rotary drum 2 and the double-sided fan 12 are driven to rotate, and the heater 23 is controlled according to the strength of the heater output set by the heater setting key 44. When the heater output is set to “strong”, the first heating element 23 a and the second heating element 2
When both the heaters 3b are turned on and the heater output is set to "weak", for example, only the first heating element 23a is turned on. As a result, hot air having a temperature corresponding to the set heater output is blown into the rotating drum 2, and the clothes in the rotating drum 2 are dried by the hot air.

The drying operation ends when it is determined that the clothes in the rotating drum 2 have been sufficiently dried (step S3).
Whether or not the clothes are sufficiently dried depends on whether or not the temperature difference between the drum exit temperature detected by the drum exit thermistor H and the substrate temperature detected by the substrate thermistor L is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value. Is determined. In other words, while the clothes are wet, the heat of the hot air blown into the rotary drum 2 is taken away by the clothes, so that the drum outlet temperature becomes relatively low. small. On the other hand, when the clothes are dried, the hot air blown into the rotary drum 2 is exhausted as it is, so that the temperature at the drum outlet becomes relatively high, so that the temperature difference between the drum outlet temperature and the substrate temperature increases. therefore,
The temperature difference between the drum outlet temperature and the substrate temperature when the clothes are dried by experiments etc., and if the above reference value is set appropriately from the obtained temperature difference, the temperature difference between the drum outlet temperature and the substrate temperature will be It is possible to determine whether or not the clothes in the rotating drum 2 have dried by determining whether or not the reference value has been exceeded.

When a course with a limited drying operation time, such as a 60-minute course, is set, the drying operation ends when the drying operation is performed for a predetermined time. If it is determined in step S3 that the drying operation has been completed, then a blowing operation for cooling the clothing that has become hot after the drying operation is completed is started. Specifically, the power supply to the first heating element 23a and the second heating element 23b is cut off (steps S4 and S5). Then, the heater 23 (first
With the heating element 23a and the second heating element 23b) turned off, only the motor 26 is driven (step S6), whereby cool air is sent into the high-temperature rotary drum 2.

Next, the measurement of the elapsed time from the start of the blowing operation is started (step S7). The elapsed time after the start of the blowing operation can be measured by counting the number of clock pulses input from the clock 61 to the microcomputer 60 after the start of the blowing operation by the operating time counter built in the microcomputer 60. The operation time counter is cleared (count = 0) at the start of this processing.

The count value of the operation time counter is constantly monitored. Until 15 minutes have elapsed since the start of the blowing operation (NO in step S8), the output signal of the drum outlet thermistor H is referred to and the drum output thermistor H is referred to. Outlet temperature 45
It is determined whether the temperature is higher than ° C (step S9). Immediately after the start of the blowing operation, the inside of the rotating drum 2 is in a high temperature state, so that it is determined that the drum outlet temperature is higher than 45 ° C.

If it is determined in step S9 that the drum outlet temperature is higher than 45 ° C., the temperature determination time counter is cleared (step S10). The temperature determination time counter is a counter for measuring the elapsed time from when the drum outlet temperature has become equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature, and can be constituted by a RAM counter built in the microcomputer 60. After the temperature judgment time counter is cleared,
The process returns from step S10 to step S4, and the above-described processing after step S4 is repeatedly performed.

By continuing the blowing operation, the air and clothes in the rotating drum 2 are cooled by the cool air. If the drum outlet temperature drops to 45 ° C. or less before 15 minutes have elapsed since the start of the blowing operation,
In step S9, the determination as to whether the drum outlet temperature is higher than 45 ° C. is denied, and the process proceeds to step S11. Thereafter, the number of clock pulses output from the clock 61 is counted by the temperature determination time counter. That is,
The time elapsed since the drum outlet temperature became 45 ° C. or less was measured.

Until three minutes have elapsed since the drum outlet temperature dropped to 45 ° C. or less, the process returns from step S12 to step S4, where the above-described processing from step S4 is performed, and the air blowing operation is continued. When three minutes have elapsed since the drum outlet temperature became 45 ° C. or less, the motor 2
6 is interrupted (step S13), and the buzzer 65
After the notification of the completion of the drying operation and the blowing operation is performed (step S14), the process ends.

On the other hand, if the drum outlet temperature does not drop below 45 ° C. even if 15 minutes have elapsed since the start of the air blowing operation, it is determined in step S8 that the elapsed time after the start of the air blowing operation has reached 15 minutes. It is determined, and the process proceeds from step S8 to step S15, and it is determined whether 40 minutes have elapsed since the start of the blowing operation. At this time, the determination in step S15 is naturally denied, and in step S16, it is determined whether the drum outlet temperature detected by the drum outlet thermistor H is higher than 50 ° C. If the drum outlet temperature is higher than 50 ° C., step S16
Then, the process proceeds to step S10, and the temperature determination time counter is cleared. After the temperature determination time counter is cleared, the flow returns to step S4 and the blowing operation is further continued.

The blowing operation is continued in this manner, and the temperature at the drum outlet is set to 50 ° C. before 40 minutes have elapsed since the start of the blowing operation.
If it falls below, the process proceeds from step S16 to step S11, in which the counting operation of the temperature determination time counter is started, and the elapsed time from when the drum outlet temperature has become 50 ° C. or less is measured. Until three minutes have elapsed since the drum outlet temperature became 50 ° C. or less, the flow returns from step S12 to step S4, and the blowing operation is continued. And
When three minutes have elapsed since the drum outlet temperature became 50 ° C. or less, the power supply to the motor 26 was cut off (step S1).
3) After the notification that the drying operation and the air blowing operation by the buzzer 65 has been completed is performed (step S14), the process ends.

Also, for example, when there is an abnormality in a circuit for driving the heater 23 and power is supplied to the heater 23 even during the air blowing operation, forty minutes have elapsed since the air blowing operation was started. However, there is a possibility that the temperature at the drum outlet does not drop to 50 ° C. Therefore, from the start of the blow operation, 4
If the drum outlet temperature does not drop to 50 ° C. within 0 minutes, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the clothes dryer, and the power to the motor 26 is cut off (step S17).
It is displayed that there is an abnormality in the clothes dryer (step S).
18) Further, the abnormality is notified by the buzzer 65 (step S19), and this processing ends. As a result, it is possible to prevent the blowing operation from being continued indefinitely, and to prompt the user to recognize the abnormality of the clothes dryer.

In this embodiment, step S17
Corresponds to the function of the abnormal end means, and the processing in step S18
The processing in S19 and S19 corresponds to the function of the abnormality notification means. Note that the display indicating that there is an abnormality in step S18 is performed, for example, on all the Ls arranged on the operation panel 40.
The ED may be turned on, or the operation panel 4
It may be that an abnormality indication LED separately provided on the LED is turned on.

As described above, in the clothes dryer according to this embodiment, if the drum outlet temperature does not drop below 45 ° C. even after 15 minutes have passed since the start of the blowing operation, the blowing operation is further performed. If the drum outlet temperature falls to 50 ° C. or less within 40 minutes after the start of the blowing operation, the blowing operation is stopped when three minutes have elapsed thereafter. Accordingly, even when the amount of clothes put in the rotating drum 2 is large or when the temperature of the place where the clothes dryer is installed is high, the temperature inside the rotating drum 2 at the end of the blowing operation Is stable at about 50 ° C. Therefore, as compared with the conventional clothes dryer, it is possible to reduce the variation in the temperature inside the rotating drum at the end of the blowing operation.

When the temperature at the drum outlet is 45 ° C. or 50 ° C.
Immediately after the temperature drops to 45 ° C., only the vicinity of the exhaust port 6 of the rotating drum 2 drops to 45 ° C. or 50 ° C., and there is a possibility that the temperature in other parts in the rotating drum 2 becomes 45 ° C. or 50 ° C. or more. Therefore, if the air blowing operation is immediately terminated in response to the drum outlet temperature dropping to 45 ° C. or 50 ° C., the time when the air blowing operation is completed depends on whether or not temperature unevenness has occurred in the rotary drum 2. , The temperature inside the rotating drum 2 may be different.

Therefore, in the clothes dryer according to this embodiment, the air blowing operation is continued for another 3 minutes after the temperature at the drum outlet becomes 45 ° C. or 50 ° C. or less.
Thereby, the clothes and the air in the rotating drum 2 are further stirred, and the temperature unevenness in the rotating drum 2 at the end of the blowing operation can be eliminated. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress the variation in the temperature inside the rotary drum 2 at the end of the blowing operation, as compared with the case where the blowing operation is immediately terminated in response to the drum outlet temperature dropping to 45 ° C. or 50 ° C.

The description of one embodiment of the present invention is as described above, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment,
The case where the reference temperature serving as a criterion for determining whether to end the air blowing operation is changed to two stages (45 ° C. and 50 ° C.) is described. However, an operation mode in which the reference temperature is changed in three or more stages in accordance with the blowing operation time may be employed. For example, for 15 minutes after the start of the air blowing operation, the operation ends based on the fact that the drum outlet temperature has dropped to 45 ° C. or less. The operation is terminated based on the fact that the drum outlet temperature has dropped to 47 ° C. or lower, and the drum outlet temperature has dropped to 50 ° C. or lower for a period from 30 minutes to 45 minutes after the start of the blowing operation. The operation may be terminated based on this.

In the above embodiment, the case where the number of heating elements provided in the heater is two is described, but the number of heating elements is not limited to two, but is one. Or three or more. When three or more heating elements are provided, the output of the heater can be set more finely. In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of the technical matters described in the claims.

[0048]

According to the present invention, the variation in the temperature inside the rotating drum at the end of the blowing operation can be reduced as compared with the conventional clothes dryer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration of an operation panel.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the clothes dryer.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing during a drying operation and a blowing operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Rotary drum 11 Blower 23 Heater 26 Motor 60 Microcomputer (time measuring means, operation control means) 62 Thermistor input circuit (Temperature detection means) 65 Buzzer (Abnormality notification means) H Drum outlet thermistor (Temperature detection means)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Yoshihiro Inamoto 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A rotary drum for accommodating clothes to be dried, a blower for feeding air into the rotary drum, and a heater for heating air fed to the rotary drum by the blower. In order to dry the clothes, a blower and a heater are driven to drive hot air into the rotating drum, and then a drying operation is performed. A clothes dryer for performing a blowing operation for blowing cool air into the inside, wherein a time measuring means for measuring an elapsed time since the start of the blowing operation, and a temperature detecting means for detecting a temperature of air exhausted from the rotating drum. Until the time measured by the time measuring means reaches a first predetermined time, it is sent based on the fact that the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means has decreased to the first reference temperature. If the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means is not lowered to the first reference temperature when the first predetermined time is reached, the air blowing operation is further continued, and the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means is reduced. An operation control means for stopping the blower based on a fall to a second reference temperature higher than the first reference temperature. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the operation control means stops the blower when a predetermined time has elapsed after the temperature detected by the temperature detecting means has decreased to the first reference temperature or the second reference temperature. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, characterized in that: 3. An abnormality judging means for judging that the air blow operation cannot be normally performed and stopping the blower when the time measured by the time measuring means reaches a second predetermined time longer than the first predetermined time. The clothes dryer according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: 4. The clothes dryer according to claim 3, further comprising abnormality notification means for notifying, when the abnormality determination means determines that the blowing operation cannot be performed normally, to that effect. .