KR20190057659A - Control method for drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, a method of controlling a drying machine comprises the steps of: allowing a drying command to be inputted; rotating a motor at a set speed to rotate a drying drum and a drying fan; primarily sensing a clothing amount of a drying object injected into the drying drum; sensing a load by performing a load sensing mode if the primarily sensed clothing amount is less than a first set clothing amount; performing a drying process after setting a minimum drying time if the load sensed in the load sensing mode is a general load; and stopping the motor if it is determined that the drying process is completed. Therefore, the method has an effect of enabling a small amount of the drying object to be dried.

Description

Control method for drying machine [0001]

The present invention relates to a method of controlling a dryer.

The dryer for drying the laundry is a kind of laundry processing apparatus that allows hot laundry to be heated by supplying hot air to the inside of the drying drum while the drying drum is rotated in one direction or both directions.

In general, any one of a gas combustion type, an electric heater type, and a heat pump cycle type may be employed in order to generate high temperature hot air supplied into the drying drum.

Particularly, the heat pump cycle type drier has a heat pump cycle including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, and an evaporator in a dryer. Then, when drying starts, the compressor is driven to cause the refrigerant to circulate through compression, condensation, expansion, and evaporation. In addition, the air introduced into the drying drum is heated to a high temperature by the heat radiated from the condenser, so that hot air of high temperature is supplied into the drying drum.

Such a dryer is disclosed in the following prior art documents.

1. Public number (public date): 10-2005-0042534 (2005.05.10.)

2. Name of invention: Load control method of dryer

This prior art document discloses a control method for detecting humidity and changing the drying time.

On the other hand, the user can put a large amount of laundry in the dryer, but a small amount of laundry can be put into the dryer as in a single towel.

In the conventional dryer, when a small amount of laundry is put into the dryer, a load sliding phenomenon occurs in which the laundry is rotated together with the drum in the drum of the dryer, or the drying is terminated without drying the laundry.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a dryer capable of drying a small amount of laundry by solving the above problems and a control method thereof.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a dryer for controlling the speed of a motor according to the amount of laundry and a control method thereof.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a dryer including: a drying command input step; Rotating the motor at a set speed such that the drying drum and the drying fan are rotated; Detecting a first quantity of the object to be dried charged into the drying drum; Detecting a load by performing a load detection mode if the first detected amount is less than the first set amount; Setting the minimum drying time of the load detected in the load sensing mode to a general high level and performing drying; And stopping the motor if it is determined that drying is completed.

In addition, in the step of sensing the primary discharge amount, the discharge amount is determined based on the magnitude of the current value input to the motor when the drying drum rotates.

In addition, the first set amount is 0.5 to 1 kg.

In addition, when the load sensed in the load sensing mode is high, the speed of the motor is reduced.

Also, in the load sensing step, the amount of the battery pack is determined based on a current value sensed by the drying degree sensor.

The load sensing mode may include: a timer being activated; Determining whether the measured electrode value measured by the electrode sensor is less than the set electrode value when the time of the timer is equal to or greater than the first set time and equal to or less than the second set time; And determining that the load is a general load when the measured electrode value is less than the set electrode value.

The load sensing mode may include a step of determining that the timer is no-load when the time of the timer is equal to or longer than the first set time and exceeds the second set time.

The load sensing mode may further determine whether the time of the timer has reached a second set time if the measured electrode value is greater than or equal to the preset electrode value.

Further, the method further includes a step of increasing the speed of the motor and performing drying when the first sensed amount is greater than or equal to the first predetermined amount and the second predetermined amount is exceeded.

The method further includes performing drying in a state in which the speed of the motor is maintained if the first sensed amount is equal to or higher than the first predetermined amount and equal to or less than the second predetermined amount.

When the sensed value of the drying degree sensor is equal to or higher than the set value or the drying time reaches the minimum drying time, it is determined that the drying is completed.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is an advantage in that a small amount of waste can be accurately determined by the first and second detection steps.

In addition, in the case of the first discharge, it is possible to shorten the judgment time because the second discharge is not carried out in the middle / large amount of discharge except the small discharge amount determined as the load of the motor.

In addition, there is an advantage in that a very small amount of drying object can not be dried and drying can be prevented from being terminated by sensitively sensing the amount of the very small amount by the drying degree detection sensor in the second discharge amount detection and setting the minimum drying time.

Further, when a small amount of the object to be dried is put into the drum, there is an advantage that the speed of the motor is reduced to prevent load sliding from occurring.

1 is a perspective view of a dryer in which a control method according to an embodiment of the present invention is implemented;
2 is a side view of the dryer
3 is a block diagram schematically showing a control structure of a dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a flowchart showing a drying process according to an embodiment of the present invention
5 is a flowchart showing a load sensing process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a method of controlling a dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dryer in which a control method according to an embodiment of the present invention is implemented, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the dryer.

An example of a dryer to which a control method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied will be described. Hereinafter, a heat pump type dryer will be described. It should be noted that the control method according to the embodiment of the present invention is applicable not only to a heat pump type dryer but also to a dryer that generates hot air using gas combustion or electric heater.

1 and 2, a dryer 10 to which a control method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied includes a drying drum 11 into which an object to be dried is put, A front cabinet 12 for supporting a front portion of the drying drum 11 and a blocking member 12 mounted on a bottom portion of the front cabinet 12, A rear cabinet 13 for supporting the rear portion of the drying drum 11 and a lint filter cleaning device 30 provided below the drying drum 11.

The drying degree sensor 42 may include an electrode sensor for sensing the degree of drying of the object to be dried by using a potential value generated in contact with a drying object rotating inside the drying drum 11. The drying degree sensor 42 may be installed on one side of the inner circumferential surface of the drying drum 11, which can contact the drying object. That is, the drying degree sensor 42 may be installed at any position of the front end portion, the rear portion, the inner circumferential surface of the body portion connecting the front end portion and the rear portion of the drum. The drying degree sensor 42 may be mounted on the inner surface of the door (not shown) of the dryer 10.

The dryer (10) may include a lifter (not shown) to help dry the object to be dried. The lifter may protrude longitudinally in the inner surface of the drying drum 11. Accordingly, when the drying drum 11 is rotated, the lifter rotates together to rotate the object to be dried upward, and then the object to be dried falls from the upper side. Therefore, drying of the object to be dried can be easily performed.

The dryer 10 includes a suction duct 21 for sucking air to be supplied to the drying drum 11 and an air inlet hole formed on the back surface of the suction duct 21 and the drying drum 11, A guide duct 15 connected to the bottom surface of the front cabinet 12 to guide the air discharged from the drying drum 11 and a guide duct 15 connected to the outlet of the guide duct 15, And an exhaust duct 20 connected to an outlet end of the air blowing device 16. The lint filter cleaning apparatus 30 is installed at a certain position of the exhaust duct 20 so that the lint contained in the air flowing along the exhaust duct 20 flows into the lint filter cleaning apparatus 30, Allow it to pass through the assembly.

A middle cabinet (not shown) is provided between the front cabinet 12 and the rear cabinet 13 to cover and protect various components disposed under the drying drum 11 and the drying drum 11 . The middle cabinet defines both sides and an upper surface of the dryer 10. A base plate 101 defining the bottom of the dryer 10 is provided on the bottom surface of the middle cabinet, The above components can be mounted.

The blocking member 14 is provided to prevent foreign matter such as a coin, a ballpoint pen or the like contained in the drying object in the drying process from being sucked into the guide duct 15 by a bulky and hard type do. Even if foreign substances such as lint are introduced into the guide duct 15, they are filtered by the lint filter assembly (described later) mounted on the lint filter cleaning apparatus 30, and other foreign substances, that is, Is blocked by the member (14) and remains on the drying drum (11). Since the air blowing device 16 may be broken or a rattle sound may be generated in the exhaust duct 20 when substances other than lint are sucked into the guide duct 15, It is necessary to prevent the foreign substances from escaping from the drying drum 11. [ In addition, the blocking member 14 may be detachably coupled to the front cabinet 12.

In addition, the washing water supply pipe 17 and the washing water drain pipe 18 are connected to the lint filter cleaning device 30. An inlet end of the washing water supply pipe 17 is connected to the rear cabinet 13 and a water supply pipe 2 connected to the external water supply source 1 is connected. The outlet end of the wash water supply pipe (17) is connected to the inlet port of the control valve (35) of the lint filter cleaning device (30). The inlet end of the wash water drain pipe 18 is connected to a drain pump assembly (not shown) of the lint filter cleaner 30.

The air blowing device 16 includes a driving motor 161 for rotating the drying drum 11 and a drying fan 162 connected to the rotating shaft of the driving motor 161. The drying fan 162 is disposed at an outlet end side of the guide duct 15 and guides air to the exhaust duct 20 through the drying drum 11 and guided to the guide duct 15. The drying drum 11 is rotated by a pulley (not shown) connected to the rotating shaft of the driving motor 161 and a belt wound around the pulley and the outer circumferential surface of the drying drum. That is, when the driving motor rotates, the pulley rotates, and when the pulley rotates, the belt rotates the drying drum 11. With this structure, when the driving motor 161 is operated, the drying drum 11 and the drying fan 162 rotate in the same direction.

On the other hand, in the case of the exhaust type dryer, a gas combustion device is provided at the inlet of the suction duct 21 to heat the air sucked into the suction duct 21 to a high temperature. In the case of the electric dryer, an electric heater is installed in the rear duct 19 so that the air flowing into the suction duct 21 is heated to a high temperature before flowing into the drying drum 11.

In the case of a heat pump type drier, a heat pump cycle (a cycle including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion member, and an evaporator) is provided in a cabinet. In detail, when the compressor is driven, the refrigerant is compressed into a gaseous refrigerant state at a high temperature and a high pressure and is sent to the condenser. In the condenser, the gaseous refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure is phase-changed into liquid refrigerant of high temperature and high pressure. At this time, the heat radiated from the condenser is introduced into the drying drum 11 through the suction duct 21 by the drying fan 162.

The drying process of the dryer 10 having the above-described structure will be briefly described. First, the drying object is introduced into the drying drum 11 through the injection holes 121 provided in the front cabinet 12. When the drying start command is inputted, the air blowing device 16 operates and the drying drum 11 rotates in one direction. The air introduced into the suction duct (21) is heated to a high temperature by a condenser, a gas combustion device, or an electric heater of a heat pump cycle. The air heated to a high temperature flows into the drying drum 11 through the rear surface of the drying drum 11 along the rear duct 19. The high temperature and dry air flowing into the drying drum 11 changes to a state of high temperature and high humidity while drying the object to be dried. The hot and humid air is guided to the guide duct (15) through the blocking member (14) in a state containing lint generated in the object to be dried. The high-temperature and high-humidity air guided to the guide duct 15 is guided to the exhaust duct 20 by the air blowing device 16. The high temperature and high humidity air guided to the exhaust duct 20 is filtered by the lint filter assembly while passing through the lint filter cleansing device 30. Then, the lint filter cleaning apparatus 30 operates to remove the lint attached to the lint filter assembly, and is discharged to the outside by the drain pump assembly together with the wash water.

3 is a block diagram illustrating a control configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3, the dryer 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a communication unit 41 that communicates with a wired / wireless remote controller (not shown) to receive an operation command of the dryer 10, A drying amount detection unit 42 for detecting a drying amount of the drying drum 11, a drying amount detection unit 44 for detecting a drying amount of the drying drum 11, and a timer 43 for time measurement. The dryer 10 receives the command of the communication unit 41 and receives the data of the drying degree detection sensor 42 and receives the quantity of the fluid amount detection unit 44, And a control unit 40 for controlling the operation of the display unit 161. [

The control unit 40 may control the motor 161 according to input values of the drying degree detection sensor 42 and the volume sensing unit 44. The control unit 40 may control the motor 161 according to the received operation control command from the communication unit 41.

Next, the control process of the dryer will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a drying process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, a drying command may be input through the communication unit 41 (S11).

When the drying command is input, the control unit 40 can rotate the motor 161 (S12). Meanwhile, the motor 161 may be rotated at a set speed. The set speed of the motor 161 may be 2950 RPM, but is not limited thereto.

Also, as the motor 161 rotates, the drying drum 11 and the drying fan 162 connected to the motor 161 will be rotated. Since the drying drum 11 is connected to the motor 161 by a pulley, the speed can be determined according to the speed ratio of the pulley, and is generally slower than the motor 161.

When the motor 161 rotates, the control unit 40 can calculate the amount of the object to be dried, which is charged into the drying drum 11 (S13).

The determination of the amount of waste can be determined by the current value sensed by the waste amount sensing unit 44. In detail, during the rotation of the drying drum 11, the pulse amount sensing unit 44 may sense a load acting on the motor 161. [ For example, when the drying drum 11 is controlled to rotate at a predetermined speed, the larger amount of current is applied to the motor 161, The current value applied to the motor 161 can be sensed. Therefore, the control unit 40 can calculate the amount of the battery based on the current value sensed by the battery amount sensing unit 44. This process can be referred to as "first-order mass detection".

In addition, the determination of the amount of the laundry is performed five times for the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the drying drum 11, and the pulse amount sensing unit 44 senses the current value applied to the motor 161 at each rotation . Then, the average of the eight data excluding the maximum value and the minimum value among the ten detected current values may be obtained, thereby improving the reliability of the amount of discharged electricity. In addition, various methods for detecting the amount of the laundry in the washing machine technology are well known, and the laundry detecting unit 43 may detect the laundry amount in such a known manner.

If the quantity is measured, it can be determined whether the quantity is equal to or larger than the first set quantity (S14).

The first set-up amount may be a criterion for determining whether the amount of the amount calculated by the control unit 40 is a small amount. The above-mentioned small amount of criteria may be, for example, 0.5 to 1 kg. Therefore, the first set amount may be a criterion for determining whether the object to be dried is 0.5 kg or less. Accordingly, when the amount of the laundry is equal to or larger than the first predetermined amount, it means that the amount of the object to be dried is not small, and when the amount is less than the first predetermined amount, it means that the object to be dried is a small amount.

If the quantity is equal to or larger than the first set quantity, the control unit 40 can determine whether the quantity exceeds the second set quantity (S15). The second set amount may be a criterion for determining whether the measured amount is a medium / large amount. For example, a weight of 0.5 to 1 kg or more and a weight of 5 to 7 kg or less may be referred to as a weight, and a quantity exceeding 5 to 7 kg may be considered as a weight, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Therefore, when the amount of the laundry exceeds the second predetermined amount, it is determined that the object to be dried is large. When the amount of the laundry is equal to or less than the second predetermined amount, it can be determined that the object to be dried is the weight.

If the amount is less than the second set amount, the control unit 40 can perform the drying mode (S16).

In detail, when a heavy object to be dried is put into the drying drum 11, drying can be performed without changing the speed of the motor 161. [ Accordingly, in the drying mode, the motor 161 can dry the object to be dried while rotating forward or backward at a predetermined speed. In the drying mode, several methods of drying a dried object are well known, so that the dried object may be dried in this known manner.

When the drying mode is performed, the controller 40 can determine whether drying is completed (S17). Completion of drying may be determined as an electrode value sensed by the drying degree sensor 42. For example, if the sensing value sensed by the drying degree sensor 44 exceeds 220, the moisture content remaining in the laundry may be close to zero.

Therefore, if the sensing value of the drying degree sensor 44 exceeds 220, the drying can be determined to be completed when the drying value is maintained for a predetermined time. Even if the drying time reaches the minimum drying time, it can be judged that the drying is completed.

If it is determined that drying has been completed, the controller 40 stops the motor 161 (S18) and ends the drying cycle. A cooling stroke may be added before the drying cycle is completed to cool the heated object to be dried.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S15 that the accumulated amount is greater than the second set amount, the control unit 40 may increase the speed of the motor 161 (S21). If the speed of the motor 161 is too high, the noise becomes large. Therefore, the RPM should be set within a range where the fan noise does not increase. Thus, the optimal speed of the motor 161 without increasing fan noise may be 3050 RPM. However, the optimum speed is not limited to this, and may be controlled by the performance of the motor, the arrangement of the drier, and the like.

Then, the control unit 40 increases the speed of the motor 161 and then performs a drying mode (S16). When the drying is completed (S17), the motor is stopped (S18) have.

On the other hand, in the step S14 of comparing the amount of the laundry with the first set amount of laundry, if the amount of the laundry is less than the first setting amount, the control unit 40 performs the load sensing mode to determine the presence of the dried matter in the drum, (S31). Therefore, the step of performing the load sensing mode determines whether there is a void or not.

In addition, the 'detection of the second batch' may be performed by the drying degree sensor 42, and the 'first batch detection' may be performed by the batch detecting unit 44. Accordingly, the 'secondary discharge detection' may be referred to as a 'load detection stage' because it senses and senses the load in a manner different from the 'primary discharge detection'.

The reason for carrying out the load detection according to the load sensing mode is that if only the 'first discharge detection' is performed, it may not be possible to detect a very small amount of the dried object as in the case of the first towel. Accordingly, there is an advantage that accurate sensing of a small amount of dried object can be performed through 'load detection' through the drying degree detection sensor 42 after 'first discharge amount detection' through the fluid amount detection unit 44.

The load sensing mode will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

Through the load sensing mode, the controller 40 can determine whether the load is a normal load state or an unloaded state (S32). The general load state refers to a case where the object to be dried is put into the drying drum 11. [ The no-load state refers to a case where the object to be dried is not put into the drying drum 11. [

If it is determined that the load is in the normal load state, the controller 40 may set the minimum drying time at step S33. The minimum drying time may be a minimum time for drying a dry matter having a first set amount. For example, the object to be dried may be a very small amount of the drying object corresponding to one wet towel, and the minimum drying time may be set to be equal to or slightly longer than 50 minutes required for complete drying of one towel.

In this way, if the minimum drying time is not set, a very small amount of dried material may not be sensed by the drying degree detection sensor 44. Accordingly, even if a very small amount of dried material is not completely dried, the controller 40 may determine that the drying is completed, and the drying may be terminated.

On the other hand, when the minimum drying time is set in the determination of the general load, there is an advantage that a very small amount of dried object can be completely dried.

Then, after the minimum drying time is set, the control unit 40 can reduce the speed of the motor 161 (S34).

When the object to be dried is a small amount, there is a problem that a load sliding phenomenon occurs in the drying drum. The load sliding means that the object to be dried which is put into the drying drum 11 is rotated and fixed to the inner side of the drying drum by the lifter without falling after rotating the drying drum 11 at a certain height when the drying drum 11 is rotated. Accordingly, by reducing the speed of the motor 161, load sliding is not generated, and the object to be laundered can be smoothly dried. The reduced speed may be, for example, 2550 RPM.

The control unit 40 may perform the drying mode after reducing the speed of the motor 161 and may terminate the drying cycle when the drying is completed (S17) and the motor is stopped (S18). At this time, it can be determined whether or not the minimum drying time is satisfied in the step S17 of judging whether the drying is completed or not.

On the other hand, if it is determined that the load is not a non-load (S32), the control unit 40 can stop the motor (S18). This is because it is not necessary to perform drying when the drying object is not present in the drying drum 11. [

5 is a flowchart illustrating a load sensing process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, when the load detection S31 is started, the controller 40 may activate the timer 43 (S311).

After the timer 43 is activated, the controller 40 may determine whether the time measured by the timer 43 has passed the first set time (S312). This is for judging the load after the drying drum 11 is operated for a predetermined time.

When the time of the timer 43 reaches the first set time, the controller 40 may determine whether the time of the timer 43 is equal to or less than the second set time at step S313. In this case, when the second set time is reached immediately after the second set time has elapsed, a normal result can not be obtained. Therefore, the first set time should be different from the second set time by at least 4 minutes will be.

If the time of the timer 43 is equal to or less than the second set time, the controller 40 may determine whether the measured electrode value measured by the drying degree sensor 42 is less than the set electrode value ). The set electrode value may be 220, for example. If the measurement electrode value is less than the set electrode value, it can be considered that the drying object is put in the drying drum 11. This is because, when a dried object to be dried is put into the drying drum 11, the electrode value falls.

Therefore, when the measured electrode value is less than the set electrode value, the controller 40 can determine that the load is a general load (S315).

If the measured electrode value is equal to or greater than the preset electrode value, the controller 40 may determine whether the timer 43 is less than the second predetermined time (S313).

If the timer 43 exceeds the second set time, the controller 40 may determine that the timer 43 is no-load (S316).

Accordingly, the control process of step S32 may be performed according to the general load or the no load determined by the above process.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention.

Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are intended to illustrate rather than limit the scope of the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments.

The scope of protection of the present invention should be construed according to the following claims, and all technical ideas within the scope of equivalents should be construed as falling within the scope of the present invention.

Claims (11)

A step of inputting a drying command;
Rotating the motor at a set speed such that the drying drum and the drying fan are rotated;
Detecting a first quantity of the object to be dried charged into the drying drum;
Detecting a load by performing a load detection mode if the first detected amount is less than the first set amount;
Setting the minimum drying time of the load detected in the load sensing mode to a general high level and performing drying;
And stopping the motor when it is determined that drying is completed. The method according to claim 1,
In the step of detecting the primary discharging amount,
Wherein the amount of the discharged laundry is determined based on a magnitude of a current value input to the motor when the drying drum rotates. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the first set amount is 0.5 to 1 kg. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the speed of the motor is reduced when the load sensed in the load sensing mode is high. The method according to claim 1,
In the load sensing step,
Wherein the determining means determines the amount of the laundry to be drained based on a current value detected by the drying degree detecting sensor. The method according to claim 1,
In the load sensing mode,
A step in which the timer is activated;
Determining whether the measured electrode value measured by the electrode sensor is less than the set electrode value when the time of the timer is equal to or greater than the first set time and equal to or less than the second set time; And
And determining that the load is a general load when the measured electrode value is less than the set electrode value The method according to claim 6,
In the load sensing mode,
And determining that the timer is no-load when the time of the timer is equal to or greater than the first set time and exceeds the second set time. 8. The method of claim 7,
In the load sensing mode,
If the measured electrode value is equal to or greater than the set electrode value,
Wherein the controller determines again whether the time of the timer has reached the second set time. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising the step of increasing the speed of the motor and then drying if the first sensed amount is greater than or equal to the first predetermined amount and the second predetermined amount is exceeded. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising the step of performing drying in a state in which the speed of the motor is maintained if the first sensed amount is equal to or greater than the first predetermined amount and equal to or less than the second predetermined amount. The method according to claim 1,
When the sensed value of the drying degree sensor is equal to or higher than the set value or when the drying time reaches the minimum drying time, it is determined that the drying is completed.

Images