KR20090127768A - Dryer having sensor for sensing laundry and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A dryer having a laundry sensing device and a controlling method thereof are provided to sense an amount of laundry by an infrared sensor, thereby controlling drying operation time to prevent malfunction. CONSTITUTION: A laundry quantity detection sensor(210) senses volume of laundry accepted in a drum. A controller(200) determines drying operation time by data received from the laundry quantity detection sensor. The laundry quantity detection sensor includes an infrared sensor equipped in the drum. After the laundry is accepted in the drum, the drum is rotated while a heater is driven. Operation time corresponding to the sensed volume is determined. It is sensed whether the operation time elapses.

Description

Dryer with laundry detection device and control method {DRYER HAVING SENSOR FOR SENSING LAUNDRY AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to a dryer, and more particularly, to a dryer having a laundry detection device whose drying time is variable according to the amount of laundry to be dried, and a control method thereof.

1 is a configuration diagram showing a flow path structure of a dryer according to the prior art, Figure 2 is a partial cutaway perspective view showing a dryer according to the prior art.

1 and 2, the dryer according to the prior art forms the exterior of the dryer and the case 2 is formed in the front and back of the object to be opened, the inside of the case 2 is rotatably disposed and the object to be dried The drum 12 opened in the front-rear direction so that the air passes therethrough, the heater 18 disposed inside the case 2 to heat the sucked air, and the heated air passed through the heater 18. An intake duct 20 guiding to the rear of the drum 12, an exhaust means 22 for discharging the turbid air while drying the object to the outside of the case 2, and a blowing air provided in the exhaust means 22 A fan (not shown), a motor (not shown) and a belt 40 for rotationally driving the drum 12 and the blowing fan are included.

On the inner circumferential surface of the drum 12, a lifter 11 for lifting and dropping a dry object is disposed.

The exhaust means 22 includes a lint duct 25 in which air in the drum 12 is sucked and a filter 24 is mounted to filter foreign matter, and a fan housing in communication with the lint duct 25 and surrounding the blower fan 30. (26) and an exhaust duct (27) in which one end communicates with the fan housing (26) and the other end is disposed outside the case (2).

Looking at the operation of the prior art configured as described above are as follows.

First, after the object is put into the drum 12, the door is closed and the dryer is operated. As the motor is driven, the drum 12 and the blowing fan rotate, and the heater 18 also operates.

At this time, as the drum 12 is rotated, the dry matter in the drum 12 is lifted by the lifter 11 and falls.

And the outside air is sucked into the inside of the heater 18 by the blowing force generated during the rotation of the blowing fan is heated by high temperature and low humidity air, and then discharged into the drum 12 through the intake duct 20.

The air of the high temperature and low humidity supplied into the drum 12 is moved directly to the front end side of the drum 12 while being in direct contact with the to-be-dropped object to dry and to change into air of low temperature and high humidity. 27) to the outside of the dryer.

Since the dryer according to the prior art does not have a separate device for detecting the amount of laundry, the drying operation is performed for a time determined by the user's operation irrespective of the amount of laundry stored in the drum. There is a problem that the drying of the laundry is not completed even after the operation is completed.

Therefore, there is a need for improvement.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a dryer and a method of controlling the laundry having a laundry detection device to adjust the driving time according to the amount of laundry.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention, the laundry amount sensor for sensing the volume of the laundry contained in the drum; And it provides a dryer having a laundry detection device comprising a control unit for determining the operation time of the drying operation proceeds by the data received from the laundry amount detection sensor.

In addition, the laundry detection sensor of the present invention provides a dryer having a laundry detection device, characterized in that it comprises an infrared sensor provided in the drum.

The present invention also includes a driving step in which the drum is rotated after the laundry is stored in the drum and the heater is driven; A sensing step of determining an operating time corresponding to the sensed volume by sensing the volume of laundry stored in the drum when the driving step is started; And it provides a control method of a dryer having a laundry detection device comprising a step of determining whether the operation time has elapsed.

In addition, in the determining step of the present invention provides a control method of a dryer having a laundry detection device, characterized in that the driving step is maintained if the operation time has not elapsed.

Dryer having a laundry detection apparatus according to the present invention is provided with an infrared sensor for detecting the volume of the laundry stored in the drum, it is possible to detect the amount of laundry stored in the drum, the drying operation proceeds according to the amount of laundry The operating time can be adjusted, there is an advantage that can prevent the malfunction that does not complete the drying of the laundry after the drying operation is more than necessary or complete the drying operation.

Hereinafter, a dryer having a laundry detection apparatus and a control method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

For convenience of description, a dryer having a gas heater will be described as an example.

In this process, the thickness of the lines or the size of the components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of description.

In addition, terms to be described later are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention, which may vary according to a user's or operator's intention or custom.

Therefore, the definitions of these terms should be made based on the contents throughout the specification.

3 is a block diagram showing a dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a gas heater according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 5 is according to an embodiment of the present invention A block diagram showing a dryer having a laundry detection device is shown.

In addition, Figure 6 is a plan view showing a suction flow path of the dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 7 is a side cross-sectional view showing a circulation flow path of the dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 8 is a present invention Top view of the exhaust passage of the dryer according to an embodiment of the.

3 to 8, a dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention forms a predetermined space, an opening is formed at one side, and a cabinet 50 having a discharge port 54 formed therein and rotatably installed inside the opening. And a drum 60 for storing laundry, a plurality of lifters 60a installed on the inner wall of the drum 60 to rotate the laundry, and an intake pipe for guiding air inside the cabinet 50 to the drum 60. 70, a heater 100 provided in the intake pipe 70, an exhaust fan 82 (see FIG. 8) provided between the drum 60 and the discharge port 54, an exhaust fan 82 and the discharge port A washing machine for detecting an amount of laundry stored in the drum 60 and a driving motor 90 (see FIG. 8) connected between the exhaust pipe 80 and the rotation shaft of the exhaust fan 82 are installed between the 54. Include.

Thus, when power is applied to the driving motor 90 by the user's operation, the exhaust fan 82 is rotated to circulate air, and the air introduced into the cabinet 50 is heated while passing through the heater 100. The air is converted into air and supplied into the drum 60 along the intake pipe 70, and the drying or sterilization operation of the laundry is performed while contacting the laundry within the drum 60.

Thereafter, the air discharged by the exhaust fan 82 is discharged to the outside through the discharge port 54 of the cabinet 50 along the exhaust pipe 80, thereby circulating the air.

The drum 60 is formed in a cylindrical shape in which the front and rear surfaces thereof are opened so that the front surface corresponds to the opening of the cabinet 50, and the rear surface of the drum 60 is rotatably installed on the support panel 62 having the through hole 62a formed therein.

Here, the support panel 62 is installed on the rear surface of the cabinet 50 so that the drum 60 is rotatably supported, and the intake pipe 70 is installed in the through hole portion 62a.

In addition, the front panel 64 is provided between the front end of the drum 60 and the opening of the cabinet 50, and a discharge port 64a is formed at the lower end of the front panel 64.

An extension pipe 84 facing the exhaust fan 82 side is provided at the discharge port 64a, and a housing (not shown) is installed between the extension pipe 84 and the exhaust pipe 80 so that the exhaust fan 82 is rotatably embedded. do.

In addition, the intake pipe 70 is formed of a passage extending from the heater 100 to the through-hole portion 62a, so that the air introduced from the inside of the cabinet 50 is converted into air of a predetermined temperature or more while passing through the heater 100. It moves along the intake pipe 70 to the upper side of the cabinet 50 and flows into the drum 60 through the through-hole part 62a.

At this time, as the drum 60 connected to the drive motor 90 and the belt (not shown) is rotated so that the contact area of the hot air and the laundry increases, a drying operation or a sterilization operation of the laundry is performed.

The heater 100 is installed at one side of the cabinet 50, a gas pipe 130 for supplying gas into the cabinet 50, a valve 150 connected to the gas pipe 130, and controlling gas supply and degree, and A nozzle 140 installed on one side of the valve 150, a mixing pipe 120 installed corresponding to the nozzle 140 to mix gas and air, and disposed to correspond to an outer end of the mixing pipe 120 to spark Spark plug 170, which is causing the mixing pipe, the guide pipe 110 is installed outside the mixing pipe 120 to guide the heated air to a predetermined space, and the mixing pipe 120 is installed in the cabinet 50 It includes a bracket 160 and a flame holder 180 is installed in the mixing pipe 120 to suppress that the spark generated by the spark plug 170 is larger than a predetermined size.

Thus, when the valve 150 is opened and the gas is supplied to the mixing pipe 120 along the gas pipe 130, the valve 150 is mixed with the air in the cabinet 50 to be injected outside the mixing pipe 120, and at this time, the spark plug 170 Flames are generated by the flames generated from).

The flame generated in this way is controlled by the flame holder 180 so that the size and position of the flame are controlled so that the flame is positioned inside the guide tube 110, so that the air introduced along the guide tube 110 passes through the flame and is heated to a high temperature. The temperature is changed by hot air and sprayed to laundry.

The bracket 160 has a groove 160a on which the mixing pipe 120 is seated on the upper surface, and a fixing surface 160b on which the spark plug 170 is installed is formed at the rear side and mounted on the bottom surface of the cabinet 50. do.

The valve 160 is mounted to the bracket 160, and the fixing piece 152 is connected to the valve 150 and coupled to the bracket 160 to form a connection between the valve 150 and the bracket 160. The front of the bracket 160 is provided with a fastening portion 162 is coupled to the fixing piece 152.

Thus, when the valve 150 is installed or replaced, by assembling the valve 150 to the fixing piece 152, the fixing piece 152 is coupled to the fastening part 162 formed on the front surface of the bracket 160. Assembly of the valve 150 is completed.

The fixing piece 152 is formed of a panel bent in a 'b' shape, the valve 150 is mounted on the upper surface, and the through hole part 154 is formed on the side in close contact with the fastening part 162.

Thus, after the valve 150 is fastened to the upper surface of the fixing piece 152, the side surface of the fixing piece 152 is brought into close contact with the fastening part 162, and the fastening member is inserted through the through hole part 154. When combined with the fastening hole 164 of 162, the assembly of the valve 150 is completed.

At this time, since the front surface of the bracket 160 is exposed to the front of the dryer through the gap between the front panel 64 and the cabinet 50, the front panel 64 is replaced with the cabinet 50 when the valve 150 is replaced. It is possible to perform the replacement operation of the valve 150 without removing from).

The mixing pipe 120 has a mixing part 124 formed at one side to allow air in the cabinet 50 to flow in, and the mixing part 124 is formed of a wide opening in comparison with the diameter of the nozzle 140. Gas injected from the 140 and the air inside the cabinet 50 is mixed.

The mixing part 124 is formed by extending the end of the mixing tube 120, the hollow cylindrical shape is formed in the opening corresponding to the end corresponding to the nozzle 140.

The laundry detection device is provided in the dryer configured as described above, and the time during which the drying operation is performed is controlled according to the amount of the laundry. The laundry detection device detects the amount of the laundry for detecting the volume of the laundry stored in the drum 60. The sensor 210 and a control unit 220 for determining the operation time of the drying operation proceeds by the data received from the laundry amount sensor 210.

Thus, when the drying operation is started after storing the laundry in the drum 60, the amount of laundry is detected by the laundry amount sensor 210, and the operation time of the drying operation corresponding to the detected amount of laundry is determined to determine the operation. Drying operation is performed for a time.

By this operation, the drying operation proceeds more than necessary, or even after the drying operation is completed, it is possible to prevent a malfunction in which the laundry is not dried.

Here, the laundry amount detection sensor 210 includes an infrared sensor 212 provided in the drum 60, a plurality of the infrared sensor 212 is provided on the back of the drum 60, that is, the support panel 62 By being installed, when the drying operation is started, the infrared rays irradiated from the infrared sensor 212 may collide with the front surface of the drum 60 to measure the amount of infrared rays reflected and returned to measure the volume of the laundry.

The larger the number of the infrared sensors 212, the more accurate the measurement can be. However, it is appropriate that five are provided at the upper end, the lower end, the left end, the right end, and the center of the support panel 62.

Here, the number of the infrared sensor 212 reveals that it can be varied in various ways, the structure of the infrared sensor 212 consisting of a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit is a conventional technical configuration and will not be described in detail.

As described above, when the amount of laundry stored in the drum 60 is detected, the information is transmitted to the control unit 200, and the control unit 200 compares the data stored in the memory unit with the measured values during the set operation time. One is determined to determine the operating time of the drying operation.

Looking at the operation of the dryer according to the present invention configured as described above are as follows.

First, when a user operates a driving button (not shown), power is applied to the driving motor 90 so that the exhaust fan 82 and the drum 60 are rotated, and the cabinet 50 is driven by driving the exhaust fan 82. Air introduced into the inside of the cabinet 50 is moved upward along the intake pipe 70 formed long in the vertical direction on the rear surface of the cabinet 50.

At this time, since the supply of gas is started along the gas pipe 130 while the valve 150 of the heater 100 is opened, the gas passing through the valve 150 is injected into the mixing pipe 120 through the nozzle 140. In addition, primary mixing with air introduced through the nozzle 140 is performed to form a mixed gas.

In addition, when the mixed gas is injected into the mixing tube 120, secondary mixing is performed by air introduced into the space between the mixing tube 120 and the nozzle 140.

Thereafter, when gas and air mixed gas is injected through the mixing tube 120, a flame is generated by the spark plug 170. The mixed gas injected from the mixing tube 120 collides with the flame holder 180 to vortex Therefore, since the flame is formed around the flame holder 180, a flame which is widely disposed in the lateral direction is formed.

The air introduced into the intake pipe 70 along the guide tube 110 is heated with hot dry air of a predetermined temperature or more while being in contact with the flame.

The heated air passes through the intake pipe 70, and the air introduced into the drum 60 through the through-hole part 62a flows in a tornado shape and contacts with the laundry to perform a drying operation.

A discharge port 64a is formed in the front panel 64 provided between the opening of the drum 60 and the inner wall of the cabinet 50, and the air which has undergone the drying operation is discharged to the outside of the drum 60 along the discharge port 64a. , And flows to the housing 86 of the exhaust fan 82 through the connecting pipe 84 in communication with the discharge port 64a, and moves along the exhaust pipe 80 in the housing 86 to the cabinet through the discharge port 54. 50) It is discharged to the outside.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a dryer having a laundry detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 to 9, as described above, the operation time during which the drying operation is performed is determined by the laundry detection device. The method of controlling the laundry detection device includes rotating the drum after the laundry is stored in the drum, The driving step is driven, and when the driving step is started, the sensing step of detecting the volume of the laundry contained in the drum to determine the operating time corresponding to the detected volume, and determining whether the operating time has elapsed.

The detecting step S20 detects the amount of infrared rays emitted from the infrared sensor 212 installed on the rear surface of the drum 60 by colliding with the front surface of the drum 60 to be stored in the drum 60. The amount of laundry will be detected.

The amount of laundry is received by the control unit 200 by an electrical signal, and the control unit 200 compares the data already stored with the received data to determine the operation time.

The drying operation is performed during the operation time determined as described above, and when it is determined in operation S30 that the operation time has elapsed, the driving motor 90 for driving the drum 60 and the exhaust fan 82 is stopped and the heater 100 is stopped. ) Is stopped and the drying operation is terminated, and if the operation time has not elapsed, the driving step S10 is maintained to dry the laundry stored in the drum 60.

As a result, it is possible to determine the required operating time according to the amount of laundry stored in the drum 60, so that the drying operation proceeds more than necessary or malfunctions such as the drying of the laundry are not completed after the drying operation is completed. It can be prevented.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to one embodiment shown in the drawings, this is merely exemplary, and various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible to those skilled in the art. Will understand.

In addition, although a dryer having a gas heater has been described as an example, this is merely exemplary, and a laundry detection apparatus and a control method of the present invention may be used in a dryer other than a dryer having a gas heater.

Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the claims below.

1 is a configuration diagram showing a flow path structure of a dryer according to the prior art.

Figure 2 is a partial cutaway perspective view of a dryer according to the prior art.

3 is a configuration diagram showing a dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an exploded perspective view showing a gas heater according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a block diagram showing a dryer having a laundry detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a plan view showing a suction flow path of the dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

 Figure 7 is a side cross-sectional view showing a circulation passage of the dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a plan view showing the exhaust passage of the dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a dryer having a laundry detection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols on main parts of the drawings>

50: cabinet 54: discharge port

60 drum 62 support panel

62a: through hole 64a: outlet

70: intake pipe 80: exhaust pipe

82: exhaust fan 84: connector

86 housing 90 drive motor

100: heater 110: guide tube

120: mixing tube 124: mixing section

130 gas pipe 140 nozzle

150: valve 152: stationary piece

154: through hole 160: bracket

162: fastening portion 164: fastening hole

170: spark plug 180: flame holder

200: control unit 210: laundry amount detection sensor

212 infrared sensor

Claims (4)

A laundry amount sensor for sensing a volume of laundry stored in the drum; And And a control unit configured to determine an operation time of the drying operation based on the data received from the laundry amount sensor. The method of claim 1, The laundry amount sensor is provided with a laundry detection device, characterized in that it comprises an infrared sensor provided in the drum. A drive step of rotating the drum after the laundry is stored in the drum and driving of the heater; A sensing step of determining an operating time corresponding to the sensed volume by sensing the volume of laundry stored in the drum when the driving step is started; And And a determining step of detecting whether the operation time has elapsed. The method of claim 3, And the driving step is maintained if the operation time has not elapsed in the determining step.

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