KR20180083827A - Clothes dryer and control method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a clothes dryer capable of providing a drying course suitable to clothes made of a special material and a control method thereof. According to the present invention, the control method comprises the steps of: performing a first drying process for drying a dry matter at a first reference drying temperature when the dry matter contained in a drying container is a functional clothing made of a special material; and performing a second drying process for drying the dry matter at a second reference drying temperature higher than the first reference drying temperature.

Description

[0001] Clothes dryer and control method [0002]

The present invention relates to a clothes dryer and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a clothes dryer capable of providing a drying course suitable for functional clothes made of special materials and a control method thereof.

The clothes dryer is a device for drying the dried material by evaporating moisture contained in the dried material such as clothes. BACKGROUND ART [0002] A garment dryer is mainly composed of a hot air blower which rotates a drying drum in a main body and supplies hot air into a drying drum to dry the dried material.

Clothes dryers can be largely classified into exhaust type clothes dryers and condensing clothes dryers. The exhaust type clothes dryer means a method of exhausting the high temperature and high humidity air passing through the drying drum to the outside of the dryer. A condensable clothes dryer is a system that removes moisture from hot and humid air passing through a drying drum and circulates the moisture-free air back into the dryer drum.

Such a clothes dryer provides various drying courses depending on the type of the dried material, that is, the type of the cloth. For example, a standard course, a towel course, an underwear course, and the like can be exemplified. Thus, since the clothes dryer is provided with various drying courses, the user can select a drying course suitable for the type of the dried article to dry the dried article.

However, conventional clothes dryers do not provide a drying course suitable for functional clothes such as mountain climbing clothes or sportswear. Functional clothes such as mountain climbing clothes and sportswear are mostly made of moisture-permeable water-repellent material or stretch material. Such functional clothes deteriorate the inherent functions of the clothes such as water-repellent function through the characteristic washing process of the material. When such functional garments are dried at a temperature not suitable for them, the degraded function is not restored or the shape of the clothes changes. Some clothes dryers provide a drying course for synthetic fibers. However, conventional synthetic fiber course is not easy to obtain a desired drying degree for a dried product because the drying process is simply carried out at a low temperature.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a clothes dryer capable of providing a drying course suitable for a functional garment made of a special material and a control method thereof.

However, the problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned problems, and other problems which are not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a clothes dryer, including: a first drying step of drying the dried material to a first reference drying temperature when the dried material contained in the drying drum is a functional garment made of a special material; ; And a second drying step of drying the dried material to a second reference drying temperature higher than the first reference drying temperature.

The special material includes at least one of a moisture-permeable water-repellent material and a stretch material.

Wherein the first reference drying temperature is a temperature capable of restoring a decreased water repellent performance of the moisture permeable and water repellent material, the second drying process is performed during a second reference drying time, And is a time during which the shape deformation of the stretch material does not occur when exposed to the second reference drying temperature.

The step of performing the first drying step may include: turning on at least one heater; And maintaining the temperature inside the drying tub at the first reference drying temperature by repeating the ON / OFF of the one or more heaters when the temperature inside the drying tub reaches the first reference drying temperature.

The step of maintaining the temperature inside the drying cylinder at the first reference drying temperature includes repeating turning on and off the second heater having a larger power capacity than the first heater while the first heater is turned on.

The step of performing the second drying step further includes the steps of: increasing the operating temperature of the one or more heaters when the drying degree of the dried material reaches the target degree of drying in the first drying step; And maintaining the temperature inside the drying tub at the second reference temperature by repeating the ON / OFF of the one or more heaters when the temperature inside the drying tub reaches the second reference temperature.

The step of maintaining the temperature inside the drying cylinder at the second reference temperature includes repeating turning on and off of the second heater having a larger power capacity than the first heater while the first heater is turned on.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a clothes dryer comprising: a drying drum for containing a dried material; And a second drying step of drying the dried material to a first reference drying temperature when the dried material is a functional material made of a special material and a second drying step of drying the dried material to a second reference drying temperature higher than the first reference drying temperature, And a drying step in this order.

The special material includes at least one of a moisture-permeable water-repellent material and a stretch material.

Wherein the first reference drying temperature is a temperature capable of restoring a decreased water repellent performance of the moisture permeable and water repellent material, the second drying process is performed during a second reference drying time, And is a time during which the shape deformation of the stretch material does not occur when exposed to the second reference drying temperature.

Wherein the controller turns on one or more heaters and repeatedly turns on and off the one or more heaters when the temperature inside the drying cylinder reaches the first reference drying temperature by the one or more heaters, Is maintained at the first reference drying temperature, thereby performing the first drying step.

The controller repeatedly turns on and off the second heater having a larger power capacity than the first heater while the first heater is turned on to maintain the temperature inside the drying tub at the first reference drying temperature.

Wherein the control unit further increases the operating temperature of one or more heaters when the drying degree of the dried material reaches the target degree of drying in the first drying step and when the temperature of the inside of the drying unit reaches the second reference temperature , And the second drying process is performed by repeating the ON / OFF of the one or more heaters to maintain the temperature inside the drying tub at the second reference temperature.

The controller repeatedly turns on and off the second heater having a larger power capacity than the first heater while the first heater is turned on to maintain the temperature inside the drying tub at the second reference temperature.

The clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention further includes a heater, wherein the controller increases the operating temperature of the heater when the drying degree of the dried article reaches the target drying degree in the first drying step, The temperature inside the drying cylinder can be maintained at the second reference drying temperature by repeating the on-off of the heater when the temperature reaches the second reference drying temperature.

The first reference drying temperature may be 61 to 62 ° C, and the second reference drying temperature may be 67 ° C.

Wherein the first drying step is performed during a first reference drying time, the second drying step is performed during a second reference drying time, and the ratio of the first reference drying time to the second reference drying time is 2 to 3 In the ratio range of < / RTI >

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of controlling a clothes dryer in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of: drying the dried material at a first reference drying temperature for a first reference drying time, ; And drying the dried material at a second reference drying temperature for a second reference drying time, wherein the second reference drying temperature is higher than the first reference drying temperature and the second reference drying time is greater than the second reference drying temperature, And is shorter than the drying time.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a clothes dryer comprising: a drying cylinder for containing a dried material; And a control unit for drying the dried material at a first reference drying temperature for a first reference drying time and drying the dried product at a second reference drying temperature for a second reference drying time if the dried product contained in the drying drum is a functional garment, Wherein the second reference drying temperature is higher than the first reference drying temperature and the second reference drying time is shorter than the second reference drying time.

The clothes dryer and the control method thereof according to the present invention have the following effects.

By providing a drying course suitable for a functional garment made of a special material, the performance of the functional garment deteriorated can be restored through the washing process.

Suitability for functional garment When the dried material is dried according to the drying course, the shape of the functional garment can be prevented from changing as compared with the drying course that is unconditionally advanced at a high temperature.

When the dried material is dried according to a drying course suitable for functional clothes, a better drying degree can be obtained as compared with a drying course which is unconditionally carried out at a low temperature.

1 is a perspective view of a clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a side cross-sectional view of the clothes dryer shown in Fig.
3 is a control block diagram of a clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a graph showing a change in temperature inside the drying drum over time when a drying course for a special material is selected in the clothes dryer shown in FIG. 3. FIG.
5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of controlling a clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a control block diagram of a clothes dryer according to another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a graph showing a temperature change inside the drying drum with time when a drying course for a special material is selected in the clothes dryer shown in FIG.
8 is a flowchart illustrating a control process of the clothes dryer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The advantages and features of the present invention, and the manner of achieving them, will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. To fully disclose the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims.

Hereinafter, a clothes dryer and a control method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals designate like elements.

1 is a perspective view of a clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention. And Fig. 2 is a side sectional view of the clothes dryer shown in Fig.

1 and 2, a clothes dryer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a main body 10, a drying cylinder 20, a driving unit 30, a hot air duct 70, .

The body 10 may have a generally hexahedral shape. The main body 10 includes a cabinet 11, a top cover 12 covering the top of the cabinet 11, a front panel 13 disposed on the front surface of the cabinet 11, and a control panel 14 . The control panel 14 may be provided with an input unit (see 110 in FIG. 3) and a display unit (see 140 in FIG. 3). The input unit 110 may include various buttons or keys for controlling the clothes dryer 1. The display unit 140 can display the control status of the dryer 1. The input unit 110 and the display unit 140 may be implemented separately in hardware, or may be implemented in a hardware integrated manner such as a touch screen.

The drying cylinder 20 is a space in which the dried body is dried, and is rotatably installed inside the body 10. The drying cylinder 20 may have a cylindrical shape with its front and rear surfaces opened. A plurality of lifters (21) for raising and lowering the dried material may be provided in the drying cylinder (20). A front support plate 22 is provided inside the front portion of the main body 10 and a rear support plate 24 is provided inside the rear portion of the main body 10. The front support plate 22 and the rear support plate 24 support the front openings and the rear openings of the drying barrel 20 so that the drying barrel 20 can rotate. A drying vat intake port 24a is formed on the upper portion of the rear support plate 24. [

The front surface of the main body 10 and the front supporting plate 22 are provided with a loading port 19a for inserting a drying material into the drying barrel 20 or for taking out the dried material in the drying barrel 20. A door 19 is provided on the front surface of the main body 10 to open and close the inlet 19a.

The drive device 30 includes a drive motor 31, a pulley 32, and a rotary belt 33. The drive motor 31 is installed at the lower inner side of the cabinet 10. The pulley 32 and the rotary belt 33 serve to transmit the power of the ballast motor 31 to the drying cylinder 20. [ The pulley 32 is coupled to the outer surface of the drying cylinder 20 and to the output shaft of the drive motor 31. The rotary belt 33 is installed so as to be wound on the pulley 32.

The hot air duct 70 may include a heating unit 80 and a hot air supply unit 40.

The heating unit 80 is installed at a lower portion of the drying cylinder 20 and heats the air introduced from the outside. The heating section 80 includes a heater 81 for radiating heat to the inside of the heating section 80. As the heater 81 installed in the heating unit 80, a coil heater can be mainly used. The heater may be composed of a plurality of heaters, and each of the heaters may have a different power capacity. For example, if the total power capacity is 5.3 Kw (100%), a small capacity heater with a power capacity of about 1.6 kW (30%) and a large capacity heater with a power capacity of 3.7 kW (70% Can be used. At this time, the ratio of the power capacity of the small capacity heater to the capacity of the large capacity heater is not necessarily limited to 3: 7, and it is a matter of course that the ratio of the power capacity between the two heaters can be variously changed. In the following description, for convenience of explanation, a heater having a small power capacity will be referred to as a 'first heater', and a heater having a large power capacity will be referred to as a 'second heater'.

The hot air supply unit 40 connects the heating unit 80 and the drying air inlet port 24a formed on the upper portion of the rear support plate 24 to form an air flow path. And serves to guide the air heated by the heating unit 80 to the drying cylinder 20.

On the other hand, an exhaust duct 50 is connected to the front lower portion of the drying cylinder 20. The exhaust duct 50 serves to guide the air inside the drying tub 20 to the outside. The exhaust duct (50) includes a front exhaust duct (51) and a rear exhaust duct (53).

The front exhaust duct 51 connects between the exhaust port 22b provided in the lower portion of the front support plate 22 and the inlet of the fan apparatus 60 provided in the lower portion of the drying cylinder 20. The front exhaust pipe (51) is provided with a filter member (55). The filter member 55 filters foreign substances such as dust and lint contained in the hot air discharged from the drying cylinder 20.

The rear exhaust duct 53 is installed on the lower side of the cabinet 11 and communicates the outlet of the air blowing device 60 and the outside of the rear portion of the cabinet 11.

The air blowing device (60) includes a blowing fan (61) and a blowing case (63). The air blowing fan 61 is installed in the lower front of the drying cylinder 20 and serves to circulate the air. The air blowing case 63 surrounds the air blowing fan 61 and is connected to the front exhaust duct 51 and the rear exhaust duct 53, respectively.

A drying degree sensor (90) is installed at the lower front end of the drying cylinder (20). The drying degree sensor 90 comes into contact with the dried material in the drying cylinder 20 as the drying cylinder 20 rotates, and senses the amount of moisture contained in the dried material. The output value of the drying degree sensor 90 can be used to determine the degree of drying of the dried material. Specifically, the output value output from the drying degree sensor 90 varies according to the amount of moisture contained in the dried material. The drying degree of the dried material can be determined by comparing the output value output from the sensor 90 with the stored output value . For this purpose, the drying degree sensor 90 may include a touch sensor in the form of a plate bar.

A temperature sensor 95 is provided at the lower rear of the drying cylinder 20. The temperature sensor 95 can sense the temperature of the air inside the drying cylinder 20.

3 is a control block diagram of a clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3, the clothes dryer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a drying degree sensor 90, a temperature sensor 95, an input unit 110, a control unit 120, a driving unit 130, And may include a driving motor 31, a first heater 81, a second heater 82, a drying cylinder 20, a blowing fan 61, and a display unit 140.

The drying degree sensor 90 detects the amount of moisture contained in the dried matter in contact with the dried matter in the drying cylinder 20. The output value of the drying degree sensor 90 according to the detection result is provided to the control unit 120.

The temperature sensor 95 senses the temperature of the air inside the drying cylinder 20. The output value of the temperature sensor 95 according to the detection result is supplied to the control unit 120.

The input unit 110 inputs a command for controlling the operation of the clothes dryer 1. For this, the input unit 110 may include various buttons. For example, a drying mode selection button that allows you to choose between manual drying and automatic drying, a numeric button that allows you to select the dryness temperature or drying time for the building if manual drying is selected, And a drying course selection button for selecting the drying course. Here, examples of the drying course include a standard course, a towel course, an underwear course, a synthetic fiber course, and a special material course.

The standard course is a drying course suitable for general drying, and the towel course is a drying course for drying towel or cotton fabric to high temperature. The underwear course is a drying course suitable for drying thin cloth such as underwear, and the synthetic fiber course is a drying course suitable for drying a dried material made of a synthetic fiber material. Special material course is suitable for functional clothes made of special material such as breathable water-repellent material and stretch material. The drying time and drying temperature may be set differently for each course.

The various buttons provided on the input unit 110 may include at least one of a push button and a rotary button. For example, the drying mode selection button or number button may be implemented as a push button, and the drying course selection button may be implemented as a rotary button.

The input unit 110 may be provided with a jog dial that can select a dry state in addition to the above-described buttons. Examples of dry conditions include semi-drying and full drying.

The control unit 120 generates a control signal according to a command received through the input unit 110 and controls the overall operation of the clothes dryer 1 according to the generated control signal. For example, when the standard course is selected from the drying courses according to the type of the dried material, the controller 120 measures the degree of drying of the dried material through the drying degree sensor 90 for a predetermined drying time, The drying process is performed by adjusting the drying temperature.

If a special material drying course is selected in the drying course, the control unit 120 controls the overall operation of the clothes dryer 1 according to an algorithm corresponding to the special material drying course.

Here, the special material means the breathable water-repellent material and the stretch material. Stretch material refers to stretchable fibers and fabrics such as polyurethane. The breathable water-repellent material refers to a fabric attached with a film made by heating (heating) a Teflon-based resin (resin) resistant to heat or chemicals. These membranes can not flood outside water, but there are innumerable small holes that can leach water inside, such as sweat. Since the size of this hole is 2/1000 mm, it is possible to prevent the raindrops having a size of at least 1 mm from passing through and allowing the water vapor to pass through 4/10 million mm. These membranes are described by the inventor R.W. It may be called 'Gore-Tex' following Gore's name.

Functional garments made of breathable and water-repellent materials may deteriorate water-repellent performance through the washing process. When the functional clothes with reduced water repellency performance are dried at a high temperature, the decreased water repellency performance can be restored to some extent. However, if the functional clothes are dried at a high temperature in order to recover the water repellency, the shape of the clothes in the case of the functional clothes made of the stretch material is changed.

Accordingly, when the special material drying course is selected, the control unit 120 performs a two-step drying process having different drying temperatures. Thereby restoring the water repellent performance of the functional garment degraded by washing and minimizing the morphological deformation of the functional garment made of the stretch fabric.

Hereinafter, the control process of the clothes dryer 1 when the special material drying course is selected will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a graph showing the temperature change in the drying cylinder 20 over time when the dried material is controlled according to the special material drying course in the clothes dryer 1 shown in FIG.

When the special material drying course is selected, the control unit 120 starts the first drying step. For this, the controller 120 turns on both the first heater 81 and the second heater 82. The reason why the two heaters 81 and 82 are turned on at the same time is to allow the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 to reach the first reference drying temperature T1 more quickly. When the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 reaches the first reference drying temperature T1 as a result of measuring the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 using the temperature sensor 95, The second heater 82 is repeatedly turned on / off to maintain the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 at the first reference drying temperature T1. Referring to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the temperature in the drying cylinder 20 is maintained at the first reference drying temperature T1 as the second heater 82 is repeatedly turned on / off. Thereafter, when the degree of drying of the dried material is measured using the drying degree sensor 90, if the degree of drying of the dried material reaches the target degree of drying, the controller 120 controls the first standard drying After completing the time t1, the second drying step is started.

The controller 120 turns on the second heater 82 to start the second drying process. If the second heater 82 is turned off in the first drying step, the controller 120 turns on the second heater 82. If the second heater 82 is turned on in the first drying step, the controller 120 can keep the second heater 82 on to start the second drying process. As a result of measuring the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 using the temperature sensor 95 after turning on the second heater 82 as described above, the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 is lower than the second reference drying temperature T2, The control unit 120 turns on / off the second heater 82 to maintain the second reference drying temperature. Referring to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the temperature in the drying cylinder 20 is maintained at the second reference drying temperature T2 as the second heater 82 is repeatedly turned on / off.

If the elapsed time after the start of the second drying process reaches the second reference drying time t2 allocated to the second drying process, the controller 120 performs the cooling process. The cooling process can be performed by turning off both the first heater 81 and the second heater 82 and operating the blowing fan 61. The ratio of the time allotted to the first drying step, the second drying step and the cooling step among the total time (t1 + t2 + t3) allocated to the special material drying course may be approximately 3: 1: 1. However, the ratio of the time allocated to the first drying step, the second drying step and the cooling step (t1: t2: t3) is not necessarily limited to 3: 1: 1, can be changed. In this case, the time t2 allocated to the second drying step is preferably shorter than the time allocated to the first drying step t1.

The driving unit 130 drives the driving motor 31, the first heater 81 and the second heater 82 related to the operation of the clothes dryer 1 in accordance with the control signal of the controller 120.

The air blowing fan 61 is installed in the lower front of the drying cylinder 20 and serves to circulate the air. When the cooling process is performed, both the first heater 81 and the second heater 82 are turned off and only the blowing fan 61 can be operated. In this case, the blowing fan 61 discharges hot air in the drying tub 20 to the outside.

The display unit 140 may be provided on the control panel 14. The display unit 140 may display an operation state of the clothes dryer 1. [ The display unit 140 may be implemented separately from the input unit 110 or may be implemented as hardware integrated with the input unit 110, such as a touch screen.

The storage unit 150 may store algorithms or data necessary for controlling the operation of the clothes dryer 1. [ For example, the algorithm for each drying course can be stored, and the data needed to perform the drying process can be stored according to each algorithm. Examples of the data include a first reference drying temperature (T1), a second reference drying temperature (T2), a first reference drying time (t1) assigned to the first drying process, a second reference drying The time t2, the cooling time t3 allocated to the cooling process, and the like. At this time, the second reference drying temperature T2 may be higher than the first reference drying temperature T1. For example, the first reference drying temperature T1 may be 61 to 62 占 폚, and the second reference drying temperature T2 may be 67 占 폚. The second reference drying time t2 may be shorter than the first reference drying time t1. For example, the first reference drying time t1 may be about 24 minutes, and the second reference drying time t2 may be about 8 minutes. The cooling time t3 may be equal to or shorter than the second reference drying time t2.

The storage unit 150 for storing the above-described algorithms and data may include a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a programmable read only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read Only memory (EPROM), a non-volatile memory device such as a flash memory, a volatile memory device such as a random access memory (RAM), or a storage medium such as a hard disk or an optical disk. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example, and it goes without saying that the storage unit 150 may be implemented in any other form known in the art.

5 is a flowchart illustrating a process of controlling a clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

When the special material drying course is selected (S500), the control unit 120 turns on the first heater 81 and the second heater 82 to start the first drying process (S510). The reason why the first heater 81 and the second heater 82 are turned on at the same time is to shorten the time for the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 to reach the first reference drying temperature.

When the first heater 81 and the second heater 82 are turned on (S510), the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 is measured by the temperature sensor 95. The control unit 120 determines whether the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 95 has reached the first reference drying temperature T1 (S520).

If it is determined in step S520 that the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 has not reached the first reference drying temperature T1, the controller 120 continuously monitors the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 95. [

If it is determined in step S520 that the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 has reached the first reference drying temperature T1, the controller 120 turns on / off the second heater 82 having a large electric power capacity, (S530) so that the temperature inside the drying chamber 20 is maintained at the first reference drying temperature T1. Specifically, if the predetermined time period (toff) elapses after turning off the second heater 82 that was turned on in step S510, the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 is lowered to some extent. Then, the controller 120 turns on the second heater 82 again. When a predetermined time (ton) passes after turning on the second heater 82, the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 is raised again. In this way, the controller 120 repeatedly turns on / off the second heater 82 to control the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 to be maintained at the first reference drying temperature T1. The reason why the second heater 82 is turned on and off while the first heater 81 is turned on is that when the first heater 81 is turned on and off while the second heater 81 is turned on This is because the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 can be changed quickly.

After step S530, the control unit 120 determines whether the drying degree of the dried material in the drying drum 200 has reached the target drying degree based on the measurement result of the drying degree sensor 90 (S540).

If it is determined in step S540 that the degree of drying measured by the degree of drying sensor 90 does not reach the target degree of drying, the controller 120 repeatedly turns on / off the second heater 82, ) Is maintained at the first reference drying temperature T1 (S530).

If it is determined in step S540 that the drying degree measured by the drying degree sensor 90 has reached the target drying degree, the controller 120 determines whether the time elapsed since the start of the first drying step is less than the first reference drying time t1 (S545). ≪ / RTI >

If it is determined in step S545 that the elapsed time has not reached the first reference drying time t1 (NO in step S545), the controller 120 determines whether the elapsed time has exceeded the first reference drying time t1 the internal temperature of the drying cylinder 200 is maintained at the first reference drying temperature T1 until the temperature t1 is reached (S530). The reason why the first reference drying time t1 allocated to the first drying process is satisfied even when the drying degree of the dried product reaches the target drying degree is to cover the case where the accuracy of the drying degree sensor is not high. That is, when the drying degree of the dried material is measured using the drying degree sensor, the accuracy of the measured value may be lowered. Therefore, even if the target drying degree is reached, The first drying step is continued until the temperature reaches the predetermined temperature.

As a result of the determination in step S545, if the elapsed time after the start of the first drying process reaches the first reference drying time t1, the controller 120 further increases the operating temperature of the second heater 82 (S550) 2 Start the drying process. The reason for further increasing the operating temperature of the second heater 82 is to raise the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 from the first reference drying temperature T1 to the second reference drying temperature T2.

Thereafter, the control unit 120 determines whether the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 measured by the temperature sensor 95 has reached the second reference drying temperature T2 (S560).

As a result of the determination in step S560, if the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 does not reach the second reference drying temperature T2, the controller 120 continuously monitors the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 95. [

If the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 reaches the second reference drying temperature T2 as a result of the determination in step S560, the controller 120 turns on / off the second heater 82, Is maintained at the second reference drying temperature T2 (S570).

After step S570, the controller 120 determines whether the time elapsed after the start of the second drying process reaches the second reference drying time t2 allocated to the second drying process (S580).

If it is determined in step S580 that the elapsed time has not reached the second reference drying time t2, the control unit 120 turns on / off the second heater 82 to turn on the drying tub 20 ) Is maintained at the second reference drying temperature T2 (S570).

If it is determined in step S580 that the elapsed time has reached the second reference drying time t2, the controller 120 controls the operation of the clothes dryer 1 so that the cooling process is performed S590). In the cooling process, both the first heater 81 and the second heater 82 are turned off, and only the blowing fan 61 can be driven. When only the blowing fan 61 is driven as described above, the heat in the drying cylinder 20 is discharged to the outside of the clothes dryer 1, so that the temperature of the air in the drying cylinder 20 can be lowered.

In the control process of the above-described clothes dryer 1, the reference temperatures T1 and T2 for judging the temperature in the drying cylinder 20 and the control temperatures for operating at least one of the two heaters 81 and 82 120 may be different from each other.

5, the first reference drying temperature T1 for determining the temperature in the drying cylinder 20 may be approximately 61 to 62 ° C. However, if it is determined in step S510 that the two heaters 81, The first control temperature output from the control unit 120 may be 54 [deg.] C.

As another example, although it has been described that the second reference drying temperature T2 for determining the temperature in the drying cylinder 20 may be about 67 ° C in step S560, in order to operate the second heater 82 in step S550, And the second control temperature output from the control unit 120 may be 55 [deg.] C. The information about the first control temperature and the second control temperature may be stored in the storage unit 150. [ At this time, the first control temperature and the second control temperature may be stored in the form of a mapping table including a mapping relation with the first reference drying temperature (T1) and the second reference drying temperature (T2), respectively.

6 is a control block diagram of a clothes dryer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6, the clothes dryer according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a drying degree sensor 90, a temperature sensor 95, an input unit 210, a control unit 220, a driving unit 230, a driving motor 31, a third heater 83, a drying cylinder 20, a blowing fan 61, and a display unit 240. Components other than the third heater 83 are the same as those shown in FIG. 3, so that a duplicate description will be omitted.

The clothes dryer shown in Fig. 6 differs in the number of clothes dryers and heaters shown in Fig. The clothes dryer shown in FIG. 3 includes a first heater 81 having a small electric power capacity and a second heater 82 having a large electric power capacity. On the other hand, the clothes dryer shown in FIG. 6 includes only the third heater 83 .

The power capacity of the third heater 83 may be equal to or greater than the power capacity of the second heater 82 shown in Fig.

The control unit 220 performs a two-step drying process having different drying temperatures when a special material drying course is selected from the drying courses according to the type of the dried material. Hereinafter, the control process of the clothes dryer in the case where the special material drying course is selected will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a graph showing a change in temperature in the drying cylinder 20 over time when a dried material is controlled according to a special material drying course in the clothes dryer shown in FIG.

When the special material drying course is selected, the control unit 220 starts the first drying process. For this, the controller 220 turns on the third heater 83. When the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 reaches the first reference drying temperature T1 as a result of measuring the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 using the temperature sensor 95, The third heater 83 is turned on / off to maintain the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 at the first reference drying temperature T1. Referring to FIG. 7, it can be seen that the temperature in the drying cylinder 20 is maintained at the first reference drying temperature T1 as the third heater 83 is repeatedly turned on / off. Thereafter, when the degree of drying of the dried material is measured using the drying degree sensor 90, if the degree of drying of the dried material reaches the target degree of drying, the controller 220 determines that the first standard drying After completing the time t1, the second drying step is started.

The controller 220 further increases the operating temperature of the third heater 83 to start the second drying process. When the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 reaches the second reference drying temperature T2 as a result of measuring the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 using the temperature sensor 95, The third heater 83 is turned on / off to maintain the temperature in the drying cylinder 20 at the second reference drying temperature T2. Referring to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the temperature in the drying cylinder 20 is maintained at the second reference drying temperature T2 as the third heater 83 is repeatedly turned on / off.

If the elapsed time after the start of the second drying process reaches the second reference drying time t2 allocated to the second drying process, the controller 220 performs the cooling process. The cooling process can be performed by turning off the third heater 83 and activating the blowing fan 61.

8 is a flowchart illustrating a control process of the clothes dryer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

When the special material drying course is selected (S800), the control unit 220 turns on the third heater 83 to start the first drying process (S810).

When the third heater is turned on (S810), the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 is measured by the temperature sensor 95. The control unit 220 determines whether the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 95 has reached the first reference drying temperature T1 (S820).

If it is determined in step S820 that the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 has not reached the first reference drying temperature T1, the controller 220 continuously monitors the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 95. [

If the temperature of the inside of the drying cylinder 20 reaches the first reference drying temperature T1 as a result of the determination in step S820, the controller 220 repeatedly turns on / off the third heater 83, ) Is maintained at the first reference drying temperature T1 (S830). Specifically, if the predetermined time (toff) elapses after turning off the third heater 83, which was turned on in step S810, the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 becomes lower to some extent. Then, the controller 220 turns on the third heater 83 again. When a predetermined time (ton) passes after turning on the third heater 83, the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 is raised again. In this way, the controller 220 periodically turns on / off the third heater 83 to control the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 to be maintained at the first reference drying temperature T1. At this time, the time when the third heater 83 is turned on or off may be shorter than the time when the second heater 82 is turned on or off.

After step S830, the control unit 220 determines whether the drying degree of the dried material in the drying cylinder 200 has reached the target degree of drying based on the measurement result of the drying degree sensor 90 (S840).

If it is determined in step S840 that the degree of drying measured by the degree of drying sensor 90 does not reach the target degree of drying, the control unit 220 repeatedly turns on and off the third heater 83, To maintain the first reference drying temperature T1 (S830).

If it is determined in step S840 that the drying degree measured by the drying degree sensor 90 has reached the target drying degree, the control unit 220 determines that the time elapsed since the start of the first drying step is less than the first reference drying time t1 (Step S845).

If it is determined in step S845 that the elapsed time has not reached the first reference drying time t1 (NO in step S845), the controller 120 determines that the elapsed time has reached the first reference drying time t1 the internal temperature of the drying cylinder 200 is maintained at the first reference drying temperature T1 (S830) by repeating ON / OFF of the third heater 83 until the temperature reaches t1. The reason why the first reference drying time t1 allocated to the first drying process is satisfied even when the drying degree of the dried product reaches the target drying degree is to cover the case where the accuracy of the drying degree sensor is not high. That is, when the drying degree of the dried material is measured using the drying degree sensor, the accuracy of the measured value may be lowered. Therefore, even if the target drying degree is reached, the first reference drying time t 1, .

If it is determined in step S845 that the time elapsed since the start of the first drying process has reached the first reference drying time t1 (YES in step S845), the controller 220 increases the operating temperature of the third heater 83 (S850), and the second drying step is started. The reason for raising the third heater 83 at this time is to raise the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 from the first reference drying temperature T1 to the second reference drying temperature T2.

Thereafter, the control unit 220 determines whether the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 measured by the temperature sensor 95 has reached the second reference drying temperature T2 (S860).

If it is determined in step S860 that the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 has not reached the second reference drying temperature T2, the controller 220 continuously monitors the temperature measured by the temperature sensor 95. [

If the temperature inside the drying cylinder 20 reaches the second reference drying temperature T2 as a result of the determination in step S860, the controller 220 repeatedly turns on / off the third heater 83 to turn the drying cylinder 20 ) Is maintained at the second reference drying temperature T2 (S870).

After step S870, the control unit 220 determines whether the time elapsed after the start of the second drying process reaches the second reference drying time t2 allocated to the second drying process (S880).

If it is determined in step S880 that the elapsed time has not reached the second reference drying time t2, the controller 220 repeatedly turns on and off the third heater 83, (S870) so that the temperature inside the drying chamber 20 is maintained at the second reference drying temperature T2.

If it is determined in step S880 that the elapsed time has reached the second reference drying time t2, the control unit 220 controls the operation of the clothes dryer to perform the cooling process in operation S890. In the cooling process, the third heater 83 is turned off and only the blowing fan 61 can be driven. When only the blowing fan 61 is driven as described above, since the heat in the drying cylinder 20 is discharged to the outside of the clothes dryer, the temperature of air in the drying cylinder 20 can be lowered.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described above. In the above-described embodiments, a command for controlling the operation of the clothes dryer is inputted through the input unit 110 or 210. However, the clothes dryer may further include a receiving unit (not shown). At this time, the receiver can receive the remote control signal transmitted from the remote controller. The transmission / reception of control signals between the remote controller and the receiving unit may be performed by wireless communication or by wired communication. Further, the remote controller may be a separate device provided for controlling only the operation of the clothes dryer. As another example, the remote controller may be a device that controls the operation of each home appliance by being connected to electronic devices in the home, such as a power management device in a smart grid environment.

In addition to the embodiments described above, embodiments of the present invention may be embodied in a medium, such as a computer-readable medium, including computer readable code / instructions for controlling at least one processing element of the above described embodiments have. The medium may correspond to media / media enabling storage and / or transmission of the computer readable code.

The computer readable code may be recorded on a medium, such as, for example, a magnetic storage medium (e.g., ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, etc.) and an optical recording medium Or DVD). ≪ / RTI > Since the media may be a distributed network, the computer readable code may be stored / transmitted and executed in a distributed manner. Still further, by way of example only, processing elements may include a processor or a computer processor, and the processing elements may be distributed and / or contained within a single device.

While the present invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be practical exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be understood that the invention may be practiced. It is therefore to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative in all aspects and not restrictive.

1: Clothes dryer
20: drying tub
30: Driving device
61: blowing fan
70: Hot air duct
90; Dryness Sensor
95: Temperature sensor
110, 210:
120, 220:
130, and 230:
140 and 240:
150, 250:

Claims (19)

Performing a first drying process of drying the dried material to a first reference drying temperature if the dried material contained in the drying drum is a functional garment made of a special material; And
And a second drying step of drying the dried material to a second reference drying temperature higher than the first reference drying temperature. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the special material comprises at least one of a breathable water-repellent material and a stretch material. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the second drying step is performed during a second reference drying time and the second reference drying time is a time during which the shape deformation of the stretch material does not occur when the stretch material is exposed to the second reference drying temperature, / RTI > The method according to claim 1,
The step of performing the first drying step
Turning on one or more heaters; And
And maintaining the temperature inside the drying tub at the first reference drying temperature by repeating the on-off of the one or more heaters when the temperature inside the drying tub reaches the first reference drying temperature A method of controlling a dryer. 5. The method of claim 4,
Maintaining the temperature inside the drying tub at the first reference drying temperature
And repeating turning on and off of the second heater having a larger power capacity than the first heater while the first heater is turned on. The method according to claim 1,
The step of performing the second drying step
Further increasing the operating temperature of the one or more heaters when the drying degree of the dried material reaches the target degree of drying in the first drying step; And
And repeating the ON / OFF of the one or more heaters to maintain the temperature inside the drying tub at the second reference temperature when the temperature inside the drying tub reaches the second reference temperature Control method. The method according to claim 6,
The step of maintaining the temperature inside the drying cylinder at the second reference temperature
And repeating turning on and off of the second heater having a larger power capacity than the first heater while the first heater is turned on. A drying cylinder for containing the dried material; And
A first drying step of drying the dried material to a first reference drying temperature when the dried material is a functional material made of a special material and a second drying step of drying the dried material to a second reference drying temperature higher than the first reference drying temperature, And a control unit which sequentially carries out the process. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the special material comprises at least one of a breathable water-repellent material and a stretch material. 10. The method of claim 9,
Wherein the second drying step is performed during a second reference drying time and the second reference drying time is a time during which the shape deformation of the stretch material does not occur when the stretch material is exposed to the second reference drying temperature, . 9. The method of claim 8,
The control unit
One or more heaters are turned on,
And when the temperature inside the drying cylinder reaches the first reference drying temperature by the one or more heaters, the one or more heaters are repeatedly turned on and off to maintain the temperature inside the drying cylinder at the first reference drying temperature And performs the first drying step. 12. The method of claim 11,
The control unit
Wherein the first heater is turned on and off when the first heater is turned on and the second heater whose power capacity is higher than that of the first heater is repeated to maintain the temperature inside the drying cylinder at the first reference drying temperature. 9. The method of claim 8,
The control unit
Wherein when the degree of drying of the dried material reaches the target degree of drying in the first drying step, the operating temperature of the one or more heaters is further increased,
The second drying step is performed by repeating the ON / OFF of the one or more heaters to maintain the temperature inside the drying tub at the second reference temperature when the temperature inside the drying tub reaches the second reference temperature , Clothes dryer. 14. The method of claim 13,
The control unit
Wherein the second heater is turned on and off by repeating a second heater having a larger power capacity than the first heater while the first heater is turned on to maintain the temperature inside the drying cylinder at the second reference temperature. 9. The method of claim 8,
Further comprising a heater,
Wherein the controller increases the operating temperature of the heater when the drying degree of the dried article reaches the target drying degree in the first drying step and increases the operating temperature of the heater when the internal temperature of the drying drum reaches the second reference drying temperature, And the on / off is repeated to maintain the temperature inside the drying tub at the second reference drying temperature. 9. The method of claim 8,
The first reference drying temperature is 61 to 62 ° C,
Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > 67 C, < / RTI > 17. The method of claim 16,
Wherein the first drying step is performed during a first reference drying time,
The second drying process is performed during a second reference drying time,
Wherein the ratio of the first reference drying time to the second reference drying time is included in a ratio range of 2 to 3. < Desc / Clms Page number 19 > Drying the dried material at a first reference drying temperature for a first reference drying time if the dried product contained in the drying trough is a functional garment; And
Drying the dried material at a second reference drying temperature for a second reference drying time,
Wherein the second reference drying temperature is higher than the first reference drying temperature,
Wherein the second reference drying time is shorter than the first reference drying time. A drying cylinder for containing the dried material; And
A controller for drying the dried material at a first reference drying temperature for a first reference drying time and for drying the dried product at a second reference drying temperature for a second reference drying time when the dried product accommodated in the drying drum is a functional clothes, Including,
Wherein the second reference drying temperature is higher than the first reference drying temperature,
Wherein the second reference drying time is shorter than the first reference drying time.

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