WO2024066813A1 - Control method for clothes care machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of clothes treating apparatuses. Particularly provided is a control method for a clothes care machine, which aims to solve the problem easily occurring in the prior art of steam condensing on an inner wall of a cabinet body due to excessively low temperature in the cabinet body. In order to achieve the aim, the clothes care machine of the present invention comprises a cabinet body and a box body arranged below the cabinet body, wherein a circulating air duct and a steam generator are provided in the box body; the box body is in communication with the cabinet body by means of an air inlet and an air return port of the circulating air duct and a steam outlet of the steam generator; and a fan, a rapid auxiliary heating device and a slow drying device are provided in the circulating air duct. The control method for the clothes care machine comprises: before a steam generator is started, measuring the temperature in a cabinet body; and according to the measured temperature, selectively first starting a rapid auxiliary heating device and a fan to preheat the cabinet body. When the temperature in the cabinet body is excessively low, the fan can drive air, which is heated by the rapid auxiliary heating device, into the cabinet body to circulate so as to raise the temperature in the cabinet body, thereby preventing the steam from condensing on the inner wall of the cabinet body.

Description

Control method of clothing care machine

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to Chinese patent application CN 202211216619.7, filed on September 30, 2022, with the invention name “Control method for clothing care machine”. The entire contents of the above Chinese patent application are incorporated into this application by reference.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of clothing processing equipment, and specifically provides a control method for a clothing care machine.

Background technique

With the improvement of the quality of life, people's requirements for clothing care are getting higher and higher. Therefore, many people begin to use clothing care machines to care for their clothes. In general, the existing clothing care machines start the steam generator to transport steam into the cabinet. However, when the temperature inside the cabinet is low, the steam enters the cabinet and encounters the cold inner wall of the cabinet and the inner wall of the door. Under the influence of the temperature difference, it will condense into water droplets and adhere to the inner wall of the cabinet, the inner wall of the door and the gaps of various components. This part of the steam does not participate in the process of ironing and caring for clothes, thus causing energy waste.

Accordingly, the art needs a new control method for a clothing care machine to solve the problem in the prior art that steam condenses on the inner wall of the cabinet due to the low temperature inside the cabinet.

Summary of the invention

The present invention aims to solve the above technical problem, that is, to solve the problem in the prior art that steam condenses on the inner wall of the cabinet due to the low temperature inside the cabinet.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a control method for a clothing care machine, wherein the clothing care machine comprises a cabinet and a box disposed under the cabinet, wherein a A circulating air duct and a steam generator, the box body is connected to the cabinet body through the air inlet and return air outlet of the circulating air duct and the steam outlet of the steam generator, and a fan, a rapid auxiliary heating device and a slow drying device are arranged in the circulating air duct; the control method comprises: before starting the steam generator, detecting the temperature in the cabinet body; and selectively starting the rapid auxiliary heating device and the fan to preheat the cabinet body according to the detected temperature.

In the preferred technical solution of the control method of the above-mentioned clothing care machine, the step of "selectively starting the rapid auxiliary heating device and the fan to preheat the cabinet according to the detected temperature" further includes: when the detected temperature is lower than a first preset value, starting the rapid auxiliary heating device and the fan to introduce hot air into the cabinet and thereby preheating the cabinet; and/or, when the detected temperature is greater than or equal to the first preset value, directly starting the steam generator to introduce steam into the cabinet.

In the preferred technical solution of the control method of the above-mentioned clothing care machine, the control method further includes: after preheating the cabinet for T1 time, controlling the rapid auxiliary heating device to stop running, and starting the steam generator to introduce steam into the cabinet.

In the preferred technical solution of the control method of the above-mentioned clothing care machine, the control method also includes: while preheating the cabinet, real-time detection of the temperature inside the cabinet; when the temperature inside the cabinet is greater than or equal to the first preset value, controlling the rapid auxiliary heating device to stop running, and starting the steam generator to introduce steam into the cabinet.

In the preferred technical solution of the control method of the above-mentioned clothing care machine, the control method also includes: detecting the temperature in the circulating air duct after steam is introduced into the cabinet for T2 time; when the temperature in the circulating air duct is greater than or equal to a second preset value, directly starting the slow drying device to execute the drying mode.

In the preferred technical solution of the control method of the above-mentioned clothing care machine, the control method also includes: when the temperature in the circulating air duct is lower than the second preset value, the fast auxiliary heating device is first started to preheat the slow drying device, and the slow drying device is not started until the temperature in the circulating air duct is greater than or equal to the second preset value to execute the drying mode.

In the preferred technical solution of the control method of the above-mentioned clothing care machine, a humidity sensor is provided in the circulating air duct, and the control method further comprises: in the process of executing the drying mode, real-time detection of the humidity in the circulating air duct; when the humidity in the circulating air duct When it is less than a third preset value, the slow drying device is controlled to stop running and the drying mode is ended.

In the preferred technical solution of the control method of the above-mentioned clothing care machine, the control method further includes: after the drying mode is executed for T3 time, controlling the slow drying device to stop running and ending the drying mode.

The present invention also provides another control method for a clothing care machine, which includes a cabinet and a box body arranged under the cabinet body, a circulating air duct and a steam generator are arranged in the box body, the box body is connected to the cabinet body through the air inlet and return air outlet of the circulating air duct and the steam outlet of the steam generator, and a fan, a fast auxiliary heating device and a slow drying device are arranged in the circulating air duct; the control method includes: before starting the slow drying device, detecting the temperature in the circulating air duct; and selectively starting the fast auxiliary heating device first to preheat the slow drying device according to the detected temperature.

In the preferred technical solution of the control method of the above-mentioned clothing care machine, the step of "selectively starting the fast auxiliary heating device to preheat the slow drying device according to the detected temperature" further includes: when the temperature in the circulating air duct is greater than or equal to a second preset value, directly starting the slow drying device to execute the drying mode; and/or, when the temperature in the circulating air duct is less than the second preset value, first starting the fast auxiliary heating device to preheat the slow drying device, and only starting the slow drying device to execute the drying mode when the temperature in the circulating air duct is greater than or equal to the second preset value.

In the case of adopting the above technical solution, the present invention can detect the temperature in the cabinet before starting the steam generator. When the temperature in the cabinet is low, the rapid auxiliary heating device and the fan are started first, and the air heated by the rapid auxiliary heating device is brought into the cabinet for circulation through the fan to increase the temperature in the cabinet. When the temperature in the cabinet reaches the set value, the rapid auxiliary heating device is turned off, and the steam generator is started to perform steam care on the clothes in the cabinet. The above arrangement can prevent steam from condensing on the inner wall of the cabinet with a lower temperature. In addition, regardless of whether steam has been introduced before, before the slow drying device is started, the temperature of the circulating air duct in the box can be detected first. When the temperature is too low, the rapid auxiliary heating device is started first to achieve preheating of the slow drying device, so as to avoid the slow drying device starting at too low a temperature, resulting in low working efficiency, energy waste, and even abnormal operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a clothing care machine of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Fig. 1;

3 is a flow chart of the main steps before the steam care operation of the control method of the clothing care machine of the present invention;

FIG4 is a flowchart of specific steps before the steam care operation of the control method of the clothing care machine of the present invention;

FIG5 is a complete flow chart of the control method of the clothing care machine of the present invention;

6 is a flow chart of the main steps before the drying operation of the control method of the clothing care machine of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the specific steps before the drying operation of the control method of the clothing care machine of the present invention.

List of reference numerals:
1. Clothing care machine; 11. Cabinet; 12. Box; 120. Circulation duct; 1201.
Air inlet; 1202, air return outlet; 121, fan; 122, rapid auxiliary heating device; 123, slow drying device; 124, steam outlet; 13, door body.

Detailed ways

The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are only used to explain the technical principles of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make adjustments to them as needed to adapt to specific application scenarios.

It should be noted that in the description of the present invention, the terms "upper", "lower", "inner", "outer" and the like indicating directions or positional relationships are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, which are only for the convenience of description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

In addition, it should be noted that in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the term "connection" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, It can also be a detachable connection or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection. For those skilled in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

As shown in Fig. 1-2, in order to solve the problem that the temperature in the cabinet 11 is too low and the steam condenses on the inner wall of the cabinet 11, the clothing care machine 1 of the present invention includes a cabinet 11 and a box 12 arranged below the cabinet 11, and a circulating air duct 120 and a steam generator (not shown in the figure) are arranged in the box 12. The box 12 is connected with the cabinet 11 through the air inlet 1201 and the return air outlet 1202 of the circulating air duct 120 and the steam outlet 124 of the steam generator. The circulating air duct 120 is provided with a fan 121, a fast auxiliary heating device 122 and a slow drying device 123. Furthermore, the clothing care machine 1 of the present invention also includes a door 13, which is buckled on the front side of the cabinet 11 and the box 12. In the state shown in Fig. 1, the door 13 is in an open state so as to more clearly show the internal structure of the cabinet 11 and the box 12. The clothing care machine 1 in the following steps is operated with reference to the structure of the clothing care machine 1 in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2.

As shown in FIG3 , the clothing care machine 1 needs to detect the temperature inside the cabinet 11 before performing steam care for clothing, which specifically includes the following steps:

Step S100: Before starting the steam generator, detecting the temperature inside the cabinet 11;

Step S200: selectively start the rapid auxiliary heating device 122 and the fan 121 to preheat the cabinet 11 according to the detected temperature.

The clothing care machine 1 generally generates steam through an internal steam generator to perform steam care on the clothes in the cabinet 11. The steam enters the cabinet 11 from the box 12 through the steam outlet 124. After a period of steam care, the clothes are dried. The steam generator can be in various forms, including but not limited to heat pipe steam generators, ultrasonic steam generators, etc., and the present application does not limit this. The traditional clothing care machine 1 directly starts the steam generator to perform steam care on the clothes in the cabinet 11, but when the initial temperature in the cabinet 11 is low, the steam enters the cabinet 11 and encounters the colder inner wall of the cabinet 11, liquefying into water droplets and adhering to the inner wall of the cabinet 11, which wastes energy and reduces the care efficiency. Therefore, the present invention detects the temperature in the cabinet 11 before performing steam care work, and performs subsequent operations according to the detected temperature.

As shown in FIG. 4 , another method for the clothing care machine 1 to detect the temperature inside the cabinet 11 before performing steam care for clothing is shown, which specifically includes the following steps:

Step S100: Before starting the steam generator, detecting the temperature inside the cabinet 11;

Step S210: determining whether the temperature in the cabinet 11 is less than a first preset value;

Step S2101: when the detected temperature is less than a first preset value, the rapid auxiliary heating device 122 and the fan 121 are started to introduce hot air into the cabinet 11 and thus preheat the cabinet 11;

Step S2102 : when the detected temperature is greater than or equal to a first preset value, directly start the steam generator to introduce steam into the cabinet 11 .

Before caring for the clothes, the temperature inside the cabinet 11 is first detected. When the temperature inside the cabinet 11 is lower than the first preset value, it proves that the temperature inside the cabinet 11 is relatively low. At this time, directly conveying steam into the cabinet 11 can easily cause the steam to condense on the inner wall of the cabinet 11. Therefore, it is necessary to start the rapid auxiliary heating device 122 and the fan 121. The fan 121 drives the air heated by the rapid auxiliary heating device 122 to be conveyed into the cabinet 11. At the same time, the cold air in the cabinet 11 moves into the circulating air duct 120 through the return air port 1202. The cold air moves to the rapid auxiliary heating device 122 and is heated by the rapid auxiliary heating device 122. The heated air is brought back to the cabinet 11 by the fan 121 again, thereby achieving an increase in the temperature inside the cabinet 11, thereby increasing the temperature of the inner wall of the cabinet 11 and preventing the hot air from condensing on the inner wall of the cabinet 11.

It should be noted that after the quick auxiliary heating device 122 is started, the temperature in the cabinet 11 can be detected in real time. When the temperature in the cabinet 11 is detected to be greater than or equal to the first preset value, the quick auxiliary heating device 122 is controlled to stop running, and the steam generator is started to perform steam care operations. The quick auxiliary heating device 122 can also be turned off at a fixed time, that is, after the cabinet 11 is preheated for T1 time, the quick auxiliary heating device 122 is directly controlled to stop running, and then the steam generator is started to pass steam into the cabinet 11. The above operations are not restrictive, and therefore, they are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

It should also be noted that in the above step S2102, when the temperature in the cabinet 11 is greater than or equal to the first preset value, the steam generator is directly started to pass steam into the cabinet 11. Since the first preset value is a limit value, the first preset value can also be included in step S2101 as a judgment condition for starting the rapid auxiliary heating device 122, that is, when the temperature in the cabinet 11 is less than or equal to the first preset value, the rapid auxiliary heating device 122 and the fan 121 are started to pass hot air into the cabinet 11 and thus preheat the cabinet 11. The above is not restrictive and is therefore within the scope of protection of the present invention. The second preset value and the third preset value mentioned below are both limit values. Therefore, the definition of the second preset value and the third preset value is the same as that of the first preset value, and will not be repeated here.

As shown in FIG5 , the entire working process of the steam care machine includes the following steps:

Step S100: Before starting the steam generator, detecting the temperature inside the cabinet 11;

Step S210: determining whether the temperature in the cabinet 11 is less than a first preset value;

Step S2101: when the detected temperature is less than a first preset value, the rapid auxiliary heating device 122 and the fan 121 are started to introduce hot air into the cabinet 11 and thus preheat the cabinet 11;

Step S2102: when the detected temperature is greater than or equal to a first preset value, directly start the steam generator to introduce steam into the cabinet 11;

Step S300: After the steam is introduced into the cabinet 11 for a period of time T2, the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 is detected;

Step S310: determining whether the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 is less than a second preset value;

Step S3101: when the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 is greater than or equal to the second preset value, directly start the slow drying device 123 to execute the drying mode;

Step S3102: when the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 is lower than the second preset value, the fast auxiliary heating device 122 is first started to preheat the slow drying device 123, and the slow drying device 123 is started until the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 is greater than or equal to the second preset value, and the drying mode is executed;

Step S400: During the drying mode, the humidity in the circulating air duct 120 is detected in real time;

Step S410: determining whether the humidity in the circulating air duct 120 is less than a third preset value;

Step S4101: When the humidity in the circulating air duct 120 is less than the third preset value, the slow drying device 123 is controlled to stop running, thereby ending the drying mode.

After the steam care work for the clothes in the cabinet 11 is completed, the steam generator is turned off and the clothes are subsequently dried. In order to avoid the slow drying device 123 from reducing the efficiency of drying clothes at a low temperature, the slow drying device 123 is checked before the drying operation. The temperature in the clothing care machine 1 is measured. At this time, the ambient temperature of the slow drying device 123 can be determined by detecting the temperature in the circulating air duct 120. When the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 is lower than the second preset value, the working efficiency of the slow drying device 123 will be reduced. At this time, the clothing care machine 1 needs to be heated to increase the ambient temperature of the slow drying device 123. Therefore, the rapid auxiliary heating device 122 and the fan 121 are started to heat the clothing care machine 1. When it is detected that the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 is greater than or equal to the second preset value, the ambient temperature at this time does not affect the operation of the slow drying device 123. Therefore, the rapid auxiliary heating device 122 is turned off and the slow drying device 123 is started to dry the clothes in the cabinet 11. During the process of drying the clothes, the humidity in the circulating air duct 120 is detected. When the detected humidity is lower than the third preset value, it proves that the clothes have been dried. At this time, the slow drying device 123 is turned off, and the drying mode is ended. At this point, the clothing care work is completed.

The detection of the humidity in the circulating air duct 120 can be performed in real time or at a scheduled time, that is, the humidity in the circulating air duct 120 can be detected after the cabinet 11 is dried for a period of time, and whether to continue the drying operation can be determined according to the detected humidity value; the humidity in the circulating air duct 120 can also be detected in real time, and when the humidity in the cabinet 11 is detected to be greater than or equal to the third preset value, the slow drying device 123 is turned off to end the drying mode. The above operations are not restrictive and therefore are within the protection scope of the present invention.

As shown in FIG6 , in the present invention, when the clothes do not need steam care and only need to be dried, the clothes can be directly dried using the clothes care machine 1. In order to ensure the working efficiency of the slow drying device 123, it is necessary to perform a test before the drying operation, which specifically includes the following steps:

Step S1: Before starting the slow drying device 123, detecting the temperature in the circulating air duct 120;

Step S2: selectively starting the fast auxiliary heating device 122 to preheat the slow drying device 123 according to the detected temperature.

As shown in FIG. 7 , an implementation method of detecting the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 before performing the drying operation specifically includes the following steps:

Step S1: Before starting the slow drying device 123, detecting the temperature in the circulating air duct 120;

Step S21: determining whether the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 is less than a second preset value;

Step S211: when the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 is greater than or equal to the second preset value, directly start the slow drying device 123 to execute the drying mode;

Step S212: When the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 is lower than the second preset value, the fast auxiliary heating device 122 is started first to preheat the slow drying device 123, and the slow drying device 123 is started to execute the drying mode until the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 is greater than or equal to the second preset value.

The working principle of detecting the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 before the drying operation described here is the same as the working principle of detecting the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 in the above steps S310, S3101, and S3102, and will not be repeated here.

In addition, it should be noted that the slow drying device 123 in the present application can be a heat pump drying device, which includes an evaporator, a condenser and a compressor, and in actual applications, the heat pump drying device actually also includes a four-way valve, an expansion valve and other components for refrigerant circulation, but because these are common knowledge in the relevant field, they are not described in detail in this application. In addition, although the slow drying device 123 is described as a heat pump drying device in this application, this is not restrictive, and those skilled in the art can also choose other forms of drying devices as needed, as long as the drying efficiency is lower than that of the fast auxiliary heating device 122.

To summarize, a rapid auxiliary heating device 122 is provided in the cabinet 12 of the clothing care machine 1. To prevent steam from entering the cabinet 11 and condensing on the inner wall of the cabinet 11, thereby wasting energy, the temperature in the cabinet 11 is first detected before starting the steam generator. When the temperature in the cabinet 11 is lower than a first preset value, the rapid auxiliary heating device 122 and the fan 121 are started to heat the air in the cabinet 11 to increase the temperature in the cabinet 11. When the temperature in the cabinet 11 is greater than or equal to the first preset value, the rapid auxiliary heating device 122 is turned off, and the steam generator is started to perform steam care for the clothes. After the steam care work is completed, the clothes need to be subsequently dried. In order to ensure that the slow drying device 123 can work efficiently, the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 is first detected before the drying operation, so as to determine whether the current temperature can ensure the working efficiency of the slow drying device 123. When the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 is lower than the second preset value, it is not conducive to the slow drying device 123 to work. It is necessary to start the fast auxiliary heating device 122 and the fan 121 to heat the clothing care machine 1 until the temperature in the circulating air duct 120 is greater than or equal to the second preset value, and then start the slow drying device 123 to dry the clothes. The present invention performs subsequent operations based on the temperature judgment before steam care or drying operation, which not only reduces energy waste but also improves work efficiency.

So far, the technical solutions of the present invention have been described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, it is easy for those skilled in the art to understand that the protection scope of the present invention is obviously not limited to these specific embodiments. Without departing from the principle of the present invention, those skilled in the art can make equivalent changes or substitutions to the relevant technical features, and the technical solutions after these changes or substitutions will fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. A control method for a clothing care machine, characterized in that the clothing care machine comprises a cabinet and a box body arranged below the cabinet body, a circulating air duct and a steam generator are arranged in the box body, the box body is connected to the cabinet body through an air inlet and an air return port of the circulating air duct and a steam outlet of the steam generator, and a fan, a fast auxiliary heating device and a slow drying device are arranged in the circulating air duct;

   The control method comprises:

   Before starting the steam generator, detecting the temperature inside the cabinet;

   The rapid auxiliary heating device and the fan are selectively started first to preheat the cabinet according to the detected temperature.
2. The control method of the clothing care machine according to claim 1 is characterized in that the step of "selectively starting the rapid auxiliary heating device and the fan to preheat the cabinet according to the detected temperature" further comprises:

   When the detected temperature is less than a first preset value, the rapid auxiliary heating device and the fan are started to introduce hot air into the cabinet and thus preheat the cabinet; and/or,

   When the detected temperature is greater than or equal to the first preset value, the steam generator is directly started to introduce steam into the cabinet.
3. The control method of the clothing care machine according to claim 2, characterized in that the control method further comprises:

   After the cabinet is preheated for T1 time, the rapid auxiliary heating device is controlled to stop running, and the steam generator is started to pass steam into the cabinet.
4. The control method of the clothing care machine according to claim 2, characterized in that the control method further comprises:

   While preheating the cabinet, detecting the temperature inside the cabinet in real time;

   When the temperature in the cabinet is greater than or equal to the first preset value, the rapid auxiliary heating device is controlled to stop running, and the steam generator is started to introduce steam into the cabinet.
5. The control method of the clothing care machine according to any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the control method further comprises:

   After the steam is introduced into the cabinet for a period of time T2, the temperature in the circulating air duct is detected;

   When the temperature in the circulating air duct is greater than or equal to a second preset value, the slow drying device is directly started to execute the drying mode.
6. The control method of the clothing care machine according to claim 5, characterized in that the control method further comprises:

   When the temperature in the circulating air duct is lower than the second preset value, the fast auxiliary heating device is started first to preheat the slow drying device. The slow drying device is not started until the temperature in the circulating air duct is greater than or equal to the second preset value, and the drying mode is executed.
7. The control method of the clothing care machine according to claim 6 is characterized in that a humidity sensor is provided in the circulating air duct, and the control method further comprises:

   During the execution of the drying mode, the humidity in the circulating air duct is detected in real time;

   When the humidity in the circulating air duct is less than a third preset value, the slow drying device is controlled to stop running, thereby terminating the drying mode.
8. The control method of the clothing care machine according to claim 6, characterized in that the control method further comprises:

   After the drying mode is executed for T3 time, the slow drying device is controlled to stop running, thus ending the drying mode.
9. A control method for a clothing care machine, characterized in that the clothing care machine comprises a cabinet and a box body arranged below the cabinet body, a circulating air duct and a steam generator are arranged in the box body, the box body is connected to the cabinet body through an air inlet and an air return port of the circulating air duct and a steam outlet of the steam generator, and a fan, a fast auxiliary heating device and a slow drying device are arranged in the circulating air duct;

   The control method comprises:

   Before starting the slow drying device, detecting the temperature in the circulating air duct;

   The fast auxiliary heating device is selectively started first to preheat the slow drying device according to the detected temperature.
10. The control method of the clothing care machine according to claim 9 is characterized in that the step of "selectively starting the fast auxiliary heating device to preheat the slow drying device according to the detected temperature" further comprises:

    When the temperature in the circulating air duct is greater than or equal to a second preset value, the slow drying device is directly started to execute a drying mode; and/or,

    When the temperature in the circulating air duct is lower than the second preset value, the fast auxiliary heating device is started first to preheat the slow drying device. The slow drying device is not started until the temperature in the circulating air duct is greater than or equal to the second preset value, and the drying mode is executed.