KR20020076590A - Method and device for control in drying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A drying control device of a drying machine and a method thereof are provided to carry out the precise control from the beginning and the end of the drying operation on the basis of a difference signal detected by two thermistor parts. CONSTITUTION: A drying control device of a drying machine includes a humidity sensor(50) having a thermistor in which the air flow is opened and a thermistor in which the air flow is closed for detecting a humidity amount changed according to a signal of difference between the thermistors, a heater(19) for heating the air circulating inside a drum, and a control element(52) for determining a drying degree on the basis of the humidity amount detected by the humidity sensor for controlling the drying operation according to the on/off operation of the heater.

Description

Drying control device and control method {Method and device for control in drying apparatus}

The present invention relates to a drying control apparatus and a control method of a dryer, and more particularly, to a drying control apparatus and a control method of a dryer for controlling a drying operation by applying a humidity sensor.

One of the most common household appliances found in homes is a washing machine. In recent years, the washing machine further includes a drying function to pursue multifunctionality and multiplication. The washing machine or dryer having such a drying function controls the drying operation of the laundry by controlling the operation of circulating the inside of the drum containing the laundry after heating the air using the heater.

Next, with reference to Figure 1 looks at the operation of the conventional dryer.

1 shows a configuration of a general dryer. As shown, the outer case 1 forms the appearance of the dryer. And the front plate 3 is connected to the front end of the outer case 1 to form the front of the dryer.

In the interior of the outer case (1), a laundry (5) is introduced into the drum (5) is dried rotatably installed. The inner surface of the drum 5 is provided with a plurality of stirring blades (6). The stirring blade 6 serves to mix the laundry during the rotation of the drum (5). Such a drum 5 is rotated by a drum drive belt 7 surrounding its outer surface. Here, the drum drive belt 7 is driven by a separate drive source.

On the other hand, a door 8 for selectively communicating the inside of the drum 5 with the outside is installed through the front plate 3 corresponding to the tip of the drum 5. An exhaust port 10 is formed to correspond to an inner surface of the front plate 3 and to be opened toward the inside of the drum 5. The exhaust port 10 serves to exhaust air in the drum 5 to the outside of the drum 5, and a filter 12 is installed at an inlet thereof to remove foreign substances mixed in the air.

And one side of the exhaust port 10 is equipped with an electrode sensor 30 for measuring the temperature inside the drum 5 during the drying operation. The electrode sensor 30 is a temperature sensor, and when the laundry is touched, it detects the temperature by the difference in the voltage applied to both ends of the electrode. The detected signal is output as a voltage signal.

An exhaust passage 13 is formed inside the front plate 3 to be connected to the exhaust port 10. And the blower assembly 15 is installed in communication with the exhaust passage (13). The blower assembly 15 is connected to an exhaust duct 17 for discharging the air from the exhaust passage 13 to the outside of the dryer.

Meanwhile, a supply duct 18 for supplying air into the drum 5 is installed at a portion of the inside of the outer case 1 corresponding to the lower part of the drum 5. The supply duct 18 supplies air to the inside of the drum 5 through the rear of the drum 5. On one side of such a supply duct 18, a heater 19 is provided.

Next, an operation process of circulating air for drying in a conventional dryer having the above configuration will be described.

First, the door 8 is opened to load laundry for drying in the drum 5. When the drying operation signal is input after the door 8 is closed, the drum 5 is rotated by a driving source. The blower assembly 15 is operated to discharge air in the drum 5 to the exhaust duct 17.

When the air inside the drum 5 is discharged, outside air is sucked into the drum 5 through the supply duct 18, and the heater 19 at the inlet of the supply duct 18 is sucked. By air generation, the air is heated to a predetermined temperature and supplied into the drum 5.

The air supplied into the drum 5 absorbs moisture in the laundry and flows through the exhaust port 10 to the exhaust passage 13 by driving the blower assembly 15. The exhaust passage 13 is discharged to the outside through the blower assembly 15 through the exhaust duct 17.

At this time, the air passing through the exhaust port 10 is purified by the filter 12, so that foreign matter (for example, seams or lint of laundry) mixed in the air is not transmitted to the blower assembly 15. Play a role.

On the other hand, the control unit (not shown) presets the detection value of the electrode sensor 30 according to the type and degree of drying of the building. Therefore, when a drying operation is started, the detection value according to the kind of dry material is recognized based on the preset value. Then, the operation of the heater 19 is controlled to generate heat. After the heater 19 is heated, the external inlet air sucked into the drum 5 through the supply duct 18 is generated by the heat generated by the heater 19 at the inlet of the supply duct 18. Is heated to a predetermined temperature and is supplied into the drum 5.

In this operation, the electrode sensor 30 detects the temperature of the dry matter in the air circulated inside the drum 5, and transmits the detected signal to the controller as a voltage signal. At this time, the electrode sensor 30, when the building is touched by the sensor, senses the temperature using the difference in the voltage value applied to both ends of the electrode. The sensed temperature is then output as a voltage signal.

The detected value of the electrode sensor 30 is continuously input to the control unit, and the control unit determines the current drying degree by the change of the voltage value detected by the electrode sensor 30.

However, the conventional drying control apparatus of the dryer has the following problems.

Conventionally, the control device of a dryer performs the difference of the drying degree based on the detected value of an electrode sensor. That is, there is no difficulty in performing control because a large difference in voltage is generated in the detection value detected by the electrode sensor at the beginning of drying. However, as shown in FIG. 2, when the drying degree is increased to 80% or more, the difference in the sensed voltage detected through the electrode sensor becomes small.

That is, as shown in Figure 2, the value detected in accordance with the temperature in the electrode sensor 30 is converted into a voltage is input to the control unit, the control unit is to determine the degree of adjustment by changing the input voltage value. However, from above a certain time point, the difference of the detected voltage value is decreasing, which eventually causes a problem of significantly lowering the discriminating power of the electrode sensor.

Therefore, the electrode sensor used in the conventional dryer has a difficulty in detecting a minute temperature difference when the degree of drying rises above a certain portion, which results in a problem that the dry state of the dried product becomes excessive or insufficient. .

In view of the above, the present invention intends to improve drying performance by precisely controlling the degree of drying from the start of drying to the completion of drying using a humidity sensor that can accurately sense and control even in a state where the degree of drying is raised above a certain state. .

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a drying control apparatus and a control method of a dryer that can improve the drying performance by finely controlling the drying degree.

1 is a block diagram of a general dryer,

2 is a detection waveform diagram during a drying operation using a conventional electrode sensor,

3 is a configuration diagram of a drying control apparatus for a dryer according to the present invention;

4 is a configuration diagram of a humidity sensor used in the present invention,

5 is a detection waveform diagram during the drying operation using the humidity sensor according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

19: heater 50: humidity sensor

52: control unit 54: signal input unit

60,62: thermistor 64: fixed resistance

66: variable resistance

Drying control apparatus of the dryer according to the present invention for achieving the above object, the thermistor configured to open the flow of air; A humidity sensor having a thermistor configured to seal the air flow and detecting an amount of humidity changed by a difference signal between the two thermistors; A heater for heating air to be circulated into the drum; And a control means for determining a degree of drying based on the amount of humidity detected by the humidity sensor and controlling a drying operation according to an on / off operation of the heater.

In addition, the present invention, the thermistor configured to open the flow of air; A dryer comprising a thermistor configured to seal an air flow, the humidity sensor detecting a humidity amount changed by a difference signal between two thermistors, and a drying heater, comprising: the humidity according to the type of laundry and the degree of drying Recognizing a set value of the sensor; Reading a detection value of a current humidity sensor; And comparing the current humidity detection value and the set value to determine the drying degree, and controlling the on / off operation of the drying heater.

Hereinafter, a drying control apparatus for a dryer according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a block diagram of a drying control apparatus of a dryer according to the present invention. And the internal structure of the dryer required in the description will be described with reference to FIG.

Drying control device of the dryer according to the invention is characterized in that the use of the humidity sensor 50 as a basic information detection device for controlling the drying operation. The humidity sensor 50 is mounted on the blower case part which is easy to detect the humidity. Detailed configuration of the humidity sensor 50 used in the present invention will be described in FIG.

In addition, the present invention includes a control unit 52 for controlling the optimum drying operation according to the drying conditions selected by the user. The said control part 52 presets the humidity value according to the kind (cloth type) of all the dry matter which can be selected in a product, and the degree of drying. Accordingly, the drying operation is controlled by comparing the value set during the drying operation with the detection signal of the humidity sensor 50.

In particular, in the present invention, the drying operation is controlled based on the detected value of the humidity sensor 50 composed of two thermistors. Accordingly, the controller 52 determines the degree of drying using the size of the gap Gap between the two thermistor detection values, as shown in the detection waveform shown in FIG. 5. In addition, it is determined whether the drying is completed using the size of the gap and the number of times to reach the maximum temperature. That is, the control part 52 stores the data of the waveform diagram as shown in FIG. 5 according to the kind of building material, and controls the drying operation based on the value.

In addition, a signal input unit 54 for outputting a user's selection signal is provided, and the selection signal of the signal input unit 54 is output to the controller 52. The signal input unit 54 outputs to the controller 52 various conditions for drying in an optimal state depending on the type of the building. The heater 19 is driven according to a drying operation under the control of the controller 52.

4 is a detailed circuit diagram of the humidity sensor applied to the present invention.

The humidity sensor according to the present invention forms a bridge circuit using two thermistors 60 and 62, one fixed resistor 64, and a variable resistor 66. In the bridge circuit configured as described above, the one thermistor unit allows the flow of air to be opened to sense moisture. The other thermistor section closes the air flow, making it difficult to detect moisture and to sense only temperature changes. Therefore, the thermistor is installed in the metal case opened to the atmosphere, and the thermistor is installed in the sealed metal case, and the temperature compensation sensor element is installed in the sealed metal case.

The humidity sensor configured as described above initially controls the voltages V1 and V2 at both ends of the bridge circuit by changing the value of the variable resistor 66 so that electricity does not flow. Thereafter, when the ambient humidity changes as the drying proceeds, a change in the resistance value occurs from the configuration of the thermistor which changes in the outside atmosphere and the thermistor in the closed atmosphere isolated from the outside air. From this change, the bridge circuit generates a voltage signal that changes according to the ambient humidity.

In other words, the thermistor open to the surroundings is affected by temperature and humidity, and the thermistor closed to the ambient is only affected by temperature. Therefore, the difference between the detection values of the two thermistors is detected by the absolute amount of humidity in the atmosphere.

Next, a drying control process of the dryer according to the present invention having the above configuration will be described.

In order to control the drying of the dryer according to the present invention, the controller 52 presets a detectable humidity value as shown in FIG. 5 according to the type of laundry to be dried and the degree of drying.

Therefore, when the user selects a drying operation according to a desired condition through the signal input unit 54, and the selected signal is input to the controller 52, the controller 52 controls the drying operation according to the input condition to be performed.

First, the controller 52 recognizes the type of laundry according to the drying condition selected by the user. The controller 52 recognizes a humidity value according to the degree of drying that is set according to the recognized type of laundry. The value changes to another value as the drying proceeds.

The controller 52 controls the heat generation of the heater 19 so as to suit the above conditions. On the other hand, the outside air is sucked into the drum 5 through the supply duct 18, the air is heated by the heat generated by the heater 19 at the inlet of the supply duct 18, the predetermined air The temperature is supplied to the inside of the drum 5.

The air supplied into the drum 5 absorbs moisture in the laundry and flows through the exhaust port 10 to the exhaust passage 13 by driving the blower assembly 15. The exhaust passage 13 is discharged to the outside through the blower assembly 15 through the exhaust duct 17.

In the state in which the air circulation operation is performed, the laundry contained in the drum 5 is dried. The control unit 52 controls the drying operation inside the drum 5 while controlling the on / off of the heater 19 according to the drying conditions recognized at the beginning of the drying operation.

On the other hand, a difference occurs in the amount of moisture contained in the air circulated as the drying proceeds. The humidity sensor 50 detects this. The humidity sensor 50, as described above, one thermistor is to open the flow of air is affected by moisture and temperature, the other thermistor is to close the flow of air to be affected only by the temperature have.

The humidity sensor 50 configured as described above changes in the resistance values of the two thermistors according to the change in the humidity of the surrounding environment as the laundry proceeds. At this time, as the voltage balance of the bridge circuit is broken, a current flow is generated at the output terminal of the humidity sensor 50 configured as the bridge circuit. At this time, the signal generated by the current flow is input to the controller 52 as a voltage signal.

The control unit 52 inputs a signal detected from the thermistor unit sealed in the air and a signal detected from the thermistor unit open in the air, and calculates a difference signal between the two signals. That is, the gap signal Gap of the two thermistor detection values shown in FIG. 5 is calculated. The gap signal thus obtained is recognized as a signal corresponding to the amount of humidity inside the drum 5.

In addition, the controller 52 determines the time of completion of drying by using the gap signal and the number of times of reaching the maximum temperature after the amount of humidity (gap signal) detected by the humidity sensor 50 reaches a predetermined value. do.

Therefore, the present invention can prevent the inaccuracy of the detected signal because the amount of humidity, that is, the degree of drying is determined by the size of the gap Gap detected from the humidity sensor composed of the two thermistor parts.

That is, the present invention is characterized by controlling the drying operation of the dryer using a humidity sensor capable of fine control. The humidity sensor is composed of two thermistor parts, one thermistor part is configured to be sealed to the air flow, and the other thermistor part is configured to be open to the air flow.

Therefore, the signals detected from the two thermistor units consist of a signal influenced by temperature and humidity, and a signal affected by temperature, and the difference signal between the two signals becomes a detection signal of the amount of humidity that varies according to the surrounding environment. In particular, the present invention is characterized in that it is possible to perform accurate control from the start of the drying operation to completion because it determines the current degree of drying by using the difference signal according to the detection signal of the two thermistor unit.

The present invention described above obtains the following effects.

First, the present invention uses the difference signal according to the detection signal of the two thermistor unit to determine the current degree of drying, it is possible to perform precise control from the start of the drying operation to completion by a clear difference according to the detection signal Do.

Second, the present invention, by precise control according to the drying operation, to prevent the laundry to be dried is over-dried or undried state, it is possible to increase the customer satisfaction with the product by adjusting to the optimal dry state.

Claims (2)

A thermistor configured to open air flow; A humidity sensor having a thermistor configured to seal the air flow and detecting an amount of humidity changed by a difference signal between the two thermistors; A heater for heating air to be circulated into the drum; And a control means for determining a degree of drying based on the amount of humidity detected by the humidity sensor and controlling a drying operation according to an on / off operation of the heater. A thermistor configured to open air flow; In a dryer comprising a thermistor configured to seal the air flow, the humidity sensor detecting a humidity amount changed by a difference signal between the two thermistors, and a drying heater: Recognizing a set value of the humidity sensor according to the type of laundry and the degree of drying; Reading a detection value of a current humidity sensor; And determining a degree of drying by comparing a current humidity detection value and a set value, and controlling an on / off operation of the drying heater.