JP3490282B2 - Clothes dryer - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a clothes dryer having a function of judging the cloth quality of a material to be dried contained in a drum.

[0002]

Conventionally, in a drum type clothes dryer, a pair of electrodes are provided so as to face the inside of a drum rotated by a motor, and the drum is rotated and the electrodes are attached to the electrodes. It has been considered that the number of times of contact of the article to be dried is measured over a predetermined time, for example, 2 minutes, and the amount of cloth is divided into, for example, four ranks based on the number of times of contact. Regarding the cloth quality, in the latter half of the drying process, the temperature inside the drum is measured by a temperature sensor provided at the rear part of the drum, and the cloth quality is judged based on the degree of increase in temperature, and based on the judgment result. The finishing time is controlled.

However, in the case of the above-mentioned conventional structure, although the quality of the cloth is judged, it can be carried out only in the latter half of the drying process. Therefore, in reality, the control of the drying operation according to the quality of the material to be dried is not actually performed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to make it possible to determine the quality of cloth at an early stage of the drying process, and accordingly control the drying operation according to the quality of cloth. To provide a possible clothes dryer.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 detects a drum for containing an object to be dried, a motor for rotating the drum, and a rotation speed of the motor. The rotation speed detection means, an electrode provided so that the material to be dried contained in the drum comes into contact with the rotation of the drum, the number of times the material to be dried contacts the electrode, And a cloth quality judging means for judging the cloth quality of the material to be dried based on the starting rotation characteristics based on the rotation speed at the time of starting, and the inertial rotation characteristics when the motor is cut off. It is characterized in that the quality judgment is performed in the initial stage of the drying process.

The present inventors have found the following through experiments. That is, when the starting rotation characteristics based on the rotation speed of the motor when starting the motor for rotating the drum are examined, even if the weight of the material to be dried in the drum is the same,
Differences were recognized depending on the cloth quality. Moreover, when the inertial rotation characteristics when the rotating motor was cut off were examined, a difference was found depending on the cloth quality even if the weight of the material to be dried in the drum was the same. On the other hand, the weight of the material to be dried can be roughly determined by measuring the number of times the material to be dried contacts the electrode.

Therefore, in the present invention, based on the respective data of the number of contacts of the object to be dried with the electrode, the starting rotation characteristic when the motor is started, and the inertia rotation characteristic when the motor is cut off. The quality of the material to be dried is determined. This determination of the cloth quality can be performed at the beginning of the drying process, and by performing the judgment at the initial stage, it becomes possible to control the drying operation according to the cloth quality.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the cloth quality of the material to be dried is determined based on the data on the number of times the material to be dried contacts the electrode and the starting rotation characteristics when the motor is started. Is.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the cloth quality of the material to be dried is determined based on the data on the number of times the material to be dried contacts the electrode and the inertial rotation characteristics when the motor is cut off. It was done like this.

In this case, the determination of the cloth quality can be made more accurately by performing the determination of the cloth quality a plurality of times in the first half of the drying process (the invention of claim 4). Then, as the control of the drying operation according to the cloth quality, it is possible to change the set temperature in the drum, change the rotation speed of the drum, and change the rotation speed of the fan that supplies the wind into the drum. (Claims 5 to 12).

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, FIG.
Shows a schematic configuration of the entire clothes dryer.
In FIG. 2, an inlet / outlet 2 for inserting and removing the material to be dried is formed in a substantially central portion of the front surface of the outer box 1. The inlet / outlet 2 is opened and closed by a door 3. It has become. A drum 4 is arranged inside the outer box 1. The drum 4 is in a horizontal axis state in which the axial direction is the front-rear direction, and the peripheral edge of the circular opening 4a in the front part is supported by the drum front support 5 fixed to the front part of the outer box 1 via the bearing 6. While being rotatably supported, the shaft 7 provided at the rear part is rotatably supported by a fan casing 8 fixed to the rear part inside the outer box 1.

A fan 10 which is rotated around a shaft 9 is rotatably arranged in the fan casing 8. The fan 10 has a double-blade shape having a front blade portion 10a and a rear blade portion 10b, and also functions as a heat exchanger and a dehumidifier as described later. A motor 11 shown in FIG. 3 is arranged at the bottom of the outer box 1 outside the drum 4. The motor 11 is, for example, an induction motor.

The rotary shaft 12 of the motor 11 projects rearward, the first drive pulley 13 is attached to an intermediate portion of the rotary shaft 12 in the axial direction, and the second drive pulley 14 is attached to a tip end portion thereof. Has been. A first belt 15 is hung between the first drive pulley 13 and the outer peripheral portion of the drum 4, and a second drive pulley 14 and a driven pulley integrally provided on the fan 10. A second belt 17 is hung between the belt 16 and the belt 16.

Therefore, the drum 4 is adapted to be rotationally driven by the motor 11 via the first drive pulley 13 and the first belt 15, and the fan 10 is also provided.
Is rotated by the motor 11 via the second drive pulley 14, the second belt 17, and the driven pulley 16. A tension pulley 19 provided on a tension arm 18 is pressed against the first belt 15.
A predetermined tension is given by 9.

Further, the motor 11 is provided with a rotation sensor 20 which constitutes a rotation speed detecting means for detecting the rotation speed of the motor 11. In detail, the rotation sensor 20 is composed of a permanent magnet 21 attached to the rotary shaft 12 and a reed switch 23 attached to a support base 22 of the motor 11 so as to correspond to the rotation locus of the permanent magnet 21. The reed switch 23 outputs one pulse signal each time the rotary shaft 12 makes one rotation.

In this case, the cycle of the pulse signal output from the reed switch 23 corresponds to the rotation speed of the motor 11, and therefore, the reed switch 23.
It is possible to detect the rotation speed of the motor 11 based on the detection of the pulse signal output from the motor. Instead of the reed switch 23, a Hall IC may be used. Further, a plurality of permanent magnets 21 are attached to the rotary shaft 12 to fix the rotary shaft 1 of the motor 11.
A plurality of pulse signals may be output every time 2 rotates once.

The open portion of the back surface of the fan casing 8 is closed by a back plate 24 of the outer box 1.
4, an outside air intake port 25 is formed corresponding to the fan 10, and an outside air discharge port is formed in a portion not shown. On the front surface of the fan casing 8, the drum 4
Corresponding to the inside air suction port 26, and the drum 4
At the rear portion, an inside air passage port 27 is formed corresponding to the inside air suction port 26. A filter 28 is detachably attached to the rear portion of the drum 4 so as to cover the inside air passage port 27 from the front.

Therefore, when the fan 9 is rotated, as shown by the arrow in FIG. 2, the drum 4 is moved by the front blade portion 10a.
The air inside is sucked into the front part inside the fan casing 8 through the filter 28, the inside air vent 27 and the inside air suction port 26, and the outside air outside the outer box 1 is discharged from the outside air intake port 25 by the rear blade portion 10b. It is sucked into the rear portion of the fan casing 8.

The respective air sucked into the front and rear parts of the fan casing 8 is heat-exchanged through the fan 9 in the fan casing 8, and the air in the drum 4 is cooled by the outside air. , Drum 4
The air inside will be dehumidified. The dehumidified air flows from the fan casing 7 to the fan casing 7
Through a duct 29 connected to the drum front end, and is fed into the drum 4 from an air supply port 30 formed in the lower portion of the drum front support 5, and a heater 31 is arranged near the air supply port 30. ing. Therefore, the air sent from the air supply port 30 into the drum 4 becomes hot air by being heated by the heater 31, and the hot air is supplied into the drum 4.

The hot air supplied into the drum 4 as described above is circulated from the drum 4 through the filter 28, the inside air passage port 27 and the inside air intake port 26 into the fan casing 8. become. In this case, the heater 31 is composed of a PTC heater, and more specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, it is composed of a first PTC heater 31a and a second PTC heater 31b.

Below the drum front support 5, a pair of electrodes 32 are provided so as to face the inside of the drum 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the detection circuit 3 is provided on the pair of electrodes 32.
3 is connected. The detection circuit 33 detects the contact detection signal S when the object to be dried contacts the pair of electrodes 32.
When the object to be dried comes into contact with the pair of electrodes 32, the resistance value between the electrodes 32 changes, so that the dryness detection signal Sk is output.

Inside air intake port 26 at the front of the fan casing 8
A temperature sensor 34 including, for example, a thermistor is provided in the vicinity of the temperature sensor 34. The temperature sensor 34 serves as temperature detecting means for detecting the temperature of the air (exhaust gas) discharged from the drum 4 to the fan casing 8 side. It works.

FIG. 4 schematically shows the electrical structure. In FIG. 4, the control device 35 constituting the control means is composed of a microcomputer, and includes a power supply 36 which is an AC power supply and a DC power supply circuit 37.
The necessary power is supplied via the.

The control device 35 includes a switch signal from a switch input section 38 provided on an operation panel (not shown), detection signals from the rotation sensor 20 and the temperature sensor 34, and a detection circuit 33 connected to the electrode 32. A signal is input. Then, the control device 35
According to the operation program stored in advance, the motor 11 and the heater 3 are driven through the drive circuit 39 based on those input signals.
1 and the buzzer 40, and also controls a display unit (not shown) provided on the operation panel. In addition, from the power source 36 to the heater 31, the motor 1
A power switch 41 is provided in the circuit leading to 1 and the buzzer 40.

Here, the control device 35 includes, in addition to the control means,
It also has the following functions. First, a contact amount detection signal Ss from the detection circuit 33 is counted for a fixed time (for example, 2 minutes), and a cloth amount detecting means for detecting the weight (cloth amount) of the material to be dried based on the count value, that is, the number of times of contact. Also works as.

FIG. 5 shows the amount of cloth for each type of cloth (kind of cloth),
The experimental result which investigated the relationship with the electrode contact frequency per 2 minutes is shown. In this case, the solid line indicates a round neck shirt (cotton, dehydration rate 57%), and the broken line is a towel (cotton, dehydration rate 55%).
%), And the alternate long and short dash line is the Y-shirt (made of synthetic fiber, dehydration rate 75
%) Is shown. The following can be seen from FIG.

When the amount of cloth is small, the number of times of electrode contact is small, and as the amount of cloth is large, the number of times of electrode contact is large. Therefore, the amount of cloth (weight of the material to be dried) can be divided into five ranks, for example, maximum, large, medium, small, and minimum, based on the number of contact with the electrode. It should be noted that even with the same amount of cloth (weight), it is recognized that the number of times of contact with the electrodes varies depending on the cloth quality.

Further, the results shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 were obtained by the experiments conducted by the present inventors. Of these, in FIG. 7, when the motor 11 is started from the stopped state and the rotation of the drum 4 is started, the arrival time t1 (which is required until the rotation speed of the motor 11 reaches the set rotation speed (for example, 1000 rpm)) (See FIG. 6) shows the results of measuring what happens depending on the cloth quality and the amount of cloth. In FIG.
Each of the three types of line has the same cloth quality (cloth type) as in the case of Fig. 5.
Is shown. The following can be seen from FIG.

When the amount of cloth is small, the time t1 for reaching the set rotational speed is short, and as the amount of cloth is large, the time t1 for reaching it is long. In addition, even with the same cloth amount (weight),
It is recognized that the arrival time t1 varies depending on the cloth quality. In this case, a relatively flexible Y-shirt (dashed line)
Shows that the arrival time t1 tends to be shorter than that of a relatively stiff towel (dotted line). Here, after the motor 11 is started, the motor 11 is set to the set rotation speed (in this case, 1
Reaching time t1 required to reach (000 rpm)
In the present invention, the starting rotation characteristic of the motor 11 is used.

On the contrary, in FIG. 9, the set rotational speed (for example, 1
When the motor 11 rotating at 000 rpm) is cut off, the inertia rotation time t2 (see FIG. 8) from the time when the cutoff occurs until the motor 11 stops depends on the cloth quality and the cloth amount. It shows the result of measuring whether or not. In FIG. 9, each of the three types of lines shows the same cloth quality (cloth type) as in the case of FIG. From this FIG.
You can see the following.

When the amount of cloth is small, the inertia rotation time t2
Is relatively long, and the inertia rotation time t2 becomes shorter as the amount of cloth increases. Further, it is recognized that the inertia rotation time t2 is different depending on the cloth quality even with the same cloth amount (weight). In this case, a relatively flexible Y-shirt (dashed line) tends to have a longer inertia rotation time t2 than a relatively stiff towel (dotted line). Here, the inertial rotation time t2 from when the rotating motor 11 is cut off to when the motor 11 is stopped is the motor 11 in the present invention.
It has the inertial rotation characteristic of.

FIG. 10 shows a subdivided relationship between the cloth amount rank obtained from the result of the number of electrode contact times shown in FIG. 5 and the arrival time t1 required to reach the set rotation speed shown in FIG. There is. In this case, when the cloth amount rank is “maximum”, the arrival time t1 is divided into 6 stages of A1 to A6 according to the arrival time t1.
It is divided into 6 stages from B1 to B6, and the cloth amount rank is "medium".
6 to 6 in accordance with the arrival time t1 and all of the cloth amount ranks “small” and “extremely small” are C6 regardless of the arrival time t1.

Further, in FIG. 11, the cloth amount rank obtained from the result of the number of times of electrode contact in FIG. 5 and the inertia rotation time t in FIG.
2 shows a subdivision of the relationship with 2. in this case,
When the cloth amount rank is "maximum", the inertia rotation time t
2 is divided into 6 stages of a1 to a6, and when the cloth amount rank is “large”, b1 to b1 are set according to the inertia rotation time t2.
It is divided into 6 stages of b6, and the amount of cloth rank is "medium". It is divided into 6 stages of c1 to c6 by inertia rotation time t2. All are set to c6 regardless of time t2.

FIG. 12 shows the data of FIG. 10 and FIG.
The data of No. 1 is combined and further subdivided so that the quality of the cloth can be determined into three types, "supple", "standard" and "stiff". That is, in this case, when the motor starts, the arrival time t1 required to reach the set rotation speed is short, and the inertia rotation time t2 is large when the motor is cut off, it is determined to be “flexible”, On the contrary, as the arrival time t1 is longer and the inertial rotation time t2 is shorter, it is determined as "stiff".

Further, FIG. 12 shows the set temperature in the drum 4, the rotation speed of the drum 4, and the rotation speed of the fan 10 during the drying operation according to the cloth quality. Generally, since supple clothing is delicate and easily damaged, the temperature inside the drum 4 is low, and
The rotation speed of the fan 10 and the fan 10 are preferably low, while the opposite is preferable for rough clothes.

In FIG. 12, only the "maximum" cloth amount ranks (A1 to A6, a1 to a6) are shown, but the "large" ones (B1 to B6, b1 to b).
6) and those below "medium" (C1 to C6, c1 to c)
As for 6), a table similar to that of FIG. 12 is created and similar control is performed.

The storage means of the control device 35 is stored in FIGS.
0, data having the contents shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 are stored in advance. Then, the control device 35, as described later, receives the contact number detection signal Sk obtained from the detection circuit 33.
And an arrival time t1 required for the rotation speed of the motor 11 to reach the set rotation speed when the motor 11 is started,
When the motor 11 is cut off, the cloth quality is determined based on the inertia rotation time t2 from the time when the power is cut off until the motor 11 is stopped, and the drying operation according to the determined cloth quality is executed. It is supposed to do. Therefore, the control device 35 also functions as a cloth quality determination unit that determines the cloth quality.

FIG. 1 shows the control contents of the control device 35, which will be described below together with the operation. When the start switch in the switch input section 38 is operated, the control device 35 first causes the motor 11 to operate.
And the heater 31 is energized (step S1). Among these, the motor 11 is started by energizing the motor 11, and the motor 11 drives the drum 4 to rotate and the fan 10 to rotate. As the drum 4 rotates, the material to be dried contained in the drum 4 is agitated, and the fan 3 and the heater 3 rotate as the fan 10 rotates.
Due to the heat generation effect of No. 1, the hot air is supplied into the drum 4 as described above, so that the drying operation is started.

The control device 35 measures the arrival time t1 from when the motor 11 is started until the rotation speed of the motor 11 reaches a preset rotation speed, for example, 1000 rpm, and stores it (step 1). S2). At this time, the rotation speed of the motor 11 is detected based on the detection signal output from the rotation sensor 20.

After step S2, the controller 35 measures the number of times the object to be dried contacts the electrode 32 for 2 minutes and stores the measured value (step S3).
The measurement of the number of times of electrode contact is performed based on the contact detection signal Ss output from the detection circuit 33. Then, the control device 35 determines the rank of the cloth amount based on the measured number of times of electrode contact and the data stored in advance (step S4).

Next, the control device 35 controls the rotating motor 1
1 is cut off (step S5), the inertia rotation time t2 from the time of the cutoff until the motor 11 stops is measured,
This measured value is stored (step S6). Then, the control device 35 re-energizes the motor 11 (step S
7) After that, the cloth quality is determined (step S8). The determination of the cloth quality is performed by determining the rank of the cloth amount determined based on the number of electrode contact times in step S4, the arrival time t1 (starting rotation characteristic) measured in step S2, and the inertia rotation time t2 (measured in step S6). Based on the inertial rotation characteristic) and data stored in advance (data in FIG. 10, FIG. 11, FIG. 12, etc.), “suppleness”, “standard”, and “stiff” are determined.

Then, the control device 35 performs a drying operation according to the amount and quality of the cloth based on the result of the judgment in step S8 (step S9). As the drying operation in this case,
Control is performed so that the set temperature in the drum 4, the rotation speed of the drum 4, and the rotation speed of the fan 10 have the contents shown in FIG. 12, for example. Then, although not shown in detail in the control content of FIG.
In 9, the dryness of the material to be dried is detected based on the dryness detection signal Sk from the detection circuit 33, and when the dryness reaches a preset value according to the cloth quality, a predetermined finishing process is executed. After finishing the drying operation, the buzzer 4
Sounds 0 to notify that the drying is completed.

According to the first embodiment described above, the following operational effects can be obtained. First, the material to be dried is the electrode 3.
2, the number of times the electrodes contact each other, the arrival time t1 required for the rotation speed of the motor 11 to reach the set rotation speed at the time of starting the motor 11, and when the rotating motor 11 is cut off, the power is cut off. Since the cloth quality is determined based on the inertial rotation time t2 from the time point until the motor 11 stops, this cloth quality determination can be performed in the initial stage of the drying process.

By performing the cloth quality judgment in the initial stage of the drying process, the drying operation can be controlled according to the cloth quality. Specifically, since supple clothes are generally delicate and easily damaged, the temperature inside the drum 4 is low, and the rotation speed of the drum 4 and the fan 10 is preferably low. On the other hand, the opposite is preferable for the rough clothes, and good drying can be performed by controlling according to the cloth quality.

FIG. 13 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. This second embodiment differs from the above-mentioned first embodiment in the following points. That is, in the second embodiment, first, in step S0, initialization is performed. In this case, the flag F is set to "0". Then, as in the first embodiment, after the motor 11 and the heater 31 are energized, the arrival time t1 until the motor 11 reaches the set rotation speed is measured, and the number of electrode contact times when the material to be dried contacts the electrode 32 is measured. The inertial rotation time t2 from when the motor 11 is cut off to when it is stopped is measured, and then the motor 11 is energized (steps S1 to S7).

Thereafter, in step S11, the flag F
"1" is added to, and it is determined in step S12 whether the flag F is "3". If "NO",
Return to step S2. When the flag F becomes "3" in step S12, the process proceeds to step S8 according to "YES", and the cloth quality is determined here.

Therefore, in this case, the measurement operation (steps S1 to S7) for determining the cloth quality is performed three times, and in step S8, each data is averaged, and the cloth quality is determined based on the average.

According to the second embodiment as described above, it becomes possible to more accurately determine the cloth quality, and accordingly, it becomes possible to perform the control more suitable for the cloth quality.

Further, the above-mentioned first embodiment can be modified as follows. That is, step S1
The cloth quality determination operation of S8 is performed, and the drying operation corresponding to the determined cloth quality is being performed. Therefore, after a predetermined time from the start of the drying process, the same cloth quality determination operation (step S1 to S8) are performed, and based on the second determination result, the control content set for the first time (drum 4
The set temperature, the rotation speed of the drum 4, and the rotation speed of the fan 10 are corrected, and thereafter, the drying operation is executed with the corrected control contents. In this case, it becomes possible to perform a drying operation more suitable for the cloth quality.

Further, after the first cloth quality determination operation, the cloth quality determination operation is performed a plurality of times two or more times, and the control contents (set temperature in the drum 4, rotation speed of the drum 4, rotation speed of the fan 10) are controlled. It is also possible to carry out the correction for the above multiple times.

14 and 15 show a third embodiment of the present invention. This third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the following points. The third embodiment corresponds to the invention of claim 2. In other words, in the third embodiment, the arrival time t1 (the starting rotation characteristic of the motor) until the motor 11 reaches the set rotation speed and the number of electrode contacts with which the material to be dried contacts the electrode 32 are I try to make a decision.

Specifically, after the motor 11 and the heater 31 are energized (step S1), the arrival time t1 until the motor 11 reaches the set rotation speed is measured (step S1).
2) Then, the number of times of contact of the electrode with which the material to be dried comes into contact with the electrode 32 is measured for 2 minutes (step S3), and then the cloth amount rank is determined based on the measured number of contact of the electrode (step S4). Based on the cloth amount rank, the arrival time t1 measured in step S2, the data of the relationship between the cloth amount rank and the arrival time t1 (FIG. 10), and the data of FIG.
The cloth quality is determined (step S8), and the drying operation is performed according to the amount and quality of the cloth based on the result of the determination (step S9).

FIG. 15 shows the cloth amount rank, which is "maximum".
Although only the items (A1 to A6) are shown,
For the “large” ones (B1 to B6) and the “medium” and smaller ones (C1 to C6), make a table similar to FIG.
Perform similar control.

FIG. 16 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. This fourth embodiment differs from the above-mentioned third embodiment in the following points. That is, in the fourth embodiment, first, similarly to the second embodiment, initialization is performed (the flag F is set to "0") in step S0. After this, similarly to the third embodiment, after the motor 11 and the heater 31 are energized (step S1), the arrival time t1 until the motor 11 reaches the set rotation speed is measured (step S1).
2) The number of times of contact of the dried object with the electrode 32 is measured for 2 minutes (step S3), the cloth amount rank is determined (step S4), and the motor 11 is once turned off (step S5). Then, it stands by until the motor 11 stops (step S13), and after the motor 11 stops, the motor 11 is energized again (step S14).

Then, in step S11, the flag F is set.
"1" is added to, and it is determined in step S12 whether the flag F is "3". If "NO",
Return to step S2. When the flag F becomes "3" in step S12, the process proceeds to step S8 according to "YES", and the cloth quality is determined here.

Therefore, also in this case, the measurement operation for judging the cloth quality is performed three times, and in step S8, the respective data are averaged, and the cloth quality is judged based on this.

FIGS. 17 and 18 show a fifth embodiment of the present invention, which is different from the first embodiment in the following points. The fifth embodiment corresponds to the invention of claim 3. That is, in the fifth embodiment, the number of electrode contacts in which the object to be dried contacts the electrode 32 and the inertial rotation time t2 from when the rotating motor 11 is cut off to when it is stopped (inertia rotation characteristic of the motor). The quality of the cloth is judged by and.

Specifically, after energizing the motor 11 and the heater 31 (step S1), the process stands by until the motor 11 reaches the set rotational speed (step S15). And
When the motor 11 reaches the set rotation speed, the number of electrode contacts with which the material to be dried contacts the electrode 32 is measured for 2 minutes (step S3), and the cloth amount rank is determined based on the measured number of electrode contacts (step S4). . After that, the motor 11 is turned off (step S5), and the inertia rotation time t2 from the time when the motor 11 is stopped until the motor 11 is stopped is measured (step S5).
6) Then, the motor 11 is energized (step S
7).

Then, the cloth amount rank determined in step S4, the inertial rotation time t2 measured in step S6, and the relationship data between the cloth amount rank and the inertial rotation time t2 (FIG. 1).
1) and the data of FIG. 18 to determine the cloth quality (step S8), and based on the result of the determination, the drying operation corresponding to the amount and quality of the cloth is performed (step S9).

Similar to FIG. 15, FIG. 18 shows only the "maximum" cloth amount ranks (a1 to a6), but the "large" ones (b1 to b6) and the "maximum". During"
For the following (c1 to c6), the same table as in FIG. 18 is created and the same control is performed.

FIG. 19 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention. This sixth embodiment differs from the above-mentioned fifth embodiment in the following points. That is, in the sixth embodiment, first, as in the second and fourth embodiments, step S0
At, initialization is performed (the flag F is set to "0").
After this, as in the fifth embodiment, the motor 11 and the heater 3
After energizing 1 (step S1), the process stands by until the motor 11 reaches the set rotation speed (step S15). Then, when the motor 11 reaches the set rotation speed, the number of electrode contacts with which the material to be dried contacts the electrode 32 is measured for 2 minutes (step S3), and the cloth amount rank is determined based on the measured number of electrode contacts (step S3). S4). After this, the motor 1
1 is cut off (step S5), and the motor 11 is cut off.
The inertial rotation time t2 until the motor stops (step S6), and then the motor 11 is energized (step S6).
7).

Thereafter, the flag F is set in step S11.
"1" is added to, and it is determined in step S12 whether the flag F is "3". If "NO",
Return to step S2. When the flag F becomes "3" in step S12, the process proceeds to step S8 according to "YES", and the cloth quality is determined here.

Therefore, also in this case, the measurement operation for judging the cloth quality is performed three times, the respective data are averaged in step S8, and the cloth quality is judged based on this.

Here, also in the above-mentioned third and fifth embodiments, the same modifications as in the first embodiment can be made as follows. That is, during the drying operation after the first cloth quality determination operation, the second cloth quality determination operation is performed, and based on the second determination result, the control content set for the first time (drum 4 The set temperature, the rotation speed of the drum 4, and the rotation speed of the fan 10 are corrected, and thereafter, the drying operation is executed with the corrected control contents. In addition, after the first cloth quality determination operation, the cloth quality determination operation may be performed twice or more times, and the control content may be corrected multiple times.

On the other hand, FIG. 20 shows a seventh embodiment of the present invention, which is different from the first embodiment in the following points. The same components and parts as those in the first embodiment (see FIG. 2) are designated by the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment, and description thereof will be omitted. Different parts will be described.

That is, the drum 4 is provided at the bottom of the outer box 1.
The drum motor 51 for rotating the fan and the fan 10
And a fan motor 52 for rotating the motor. The drum 4 is rotatably driven by the drum motor 51 via the first drive pulley 13 and the first belt 15.
Is driven by the fan motor 52 to drive the second drive pulley 1
4, the second belt 17 and the driven pulley 16 are rotatably driven.

In the seventh embodiment as described above, since the rotation speed of the drum 4 and the rotation speed of the fan 10 can be independently controlled, it is possible to perform better control in the drying operation. Become.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but can be modified or expanded as follows. An optical sensor may be used as a means for detecting the rotation speed of the motor 11.

[0069]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. According to the clothes dryer of claims 1, 2 and 3, the determination of the cloth quality can be performed in the early stage of the drying process, and the determination of the fabric quality can be performed in the early stage of the drying process, so that the cloth quality can be changed. It is possible to control the dry operation.

According to the clothes dryer of claim 4, the cloth quality can be judged more accurately by performing the cloth quality judgment a plurality of times. According to the clothes dryer of claim 5, the set temperature in the drum is controlled based on the determination result of the cloth quality, so that the drying operation suitable for the cloth quality can be performed.

According to the clothes dryer of claims 6 and 7, the set temperature in the drum can be made more suitable for the cloth quality, and thus the drying operation more suitable for the cloth quality can be performed. Like According to the clothes dryer of the eighth aspect, by controlling the rotation speed of the drum based on the determination result of the cloth quality, the drying operation suitable for the cloth quality can be performed.

According to the clothes dryer of claims 9 and 10, the rotation speed of the drum can be made more suitable for the cloth quality, and thus the drying operation more suitable for the cloth quality can be performed. become. According to the clothes dryer of claim 11,
By controlling the rotation speed of the fan based on the determination result of the cloth quality, the drying operation suitable for the cloth quality can be performed.

According to the clothes dryer of claim 12, the set temperature in the drum, the rotation speed of the drum, and the rotation speed of the fan are controlled based on the determination result of the cloth quality. The drying operation suitable for the quality can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the control contents of a control device in a first embodiment of the present invention.

[Figure 2] Vertical side view of the entire dryer

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical side view of a motor part.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount of cloth and the number of contact with electrodes according to the cloth quality.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a method for measuring a set rotation speed arrival time from when the motor is started to when the motor reaches the set rotation speed.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the amount of cloth and the time required for the motor to reach the set rotation speed according to the cloth quality.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a method for measuring the inertial rotation time from when the rotating motor is cut off to when the motor is stopped.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the cloth amount and the inertial rotation time of the motor according to the cloth quality.

FIG. 10 is a diagram in which the relationship between the cloth amount rank and the set rotation speed arrival time of the motor is subdivided.

FIG. 11 is a diagram in which the relationship between the cloth amount rank and the inertial rotation time of the motor is subdivided.

FIG. 12 is a criterion for cloth quality and a set temperature in a drum,
Diagram showing the relationship between drum rotation speed and fan rotation speed

FIG. 13 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a view corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 16 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a view corresponding to FIG.

FIG. 19 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 showing a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 is a drum, 10 is a fan, 11 is a motor, 20 is a rotation sensor (rotation speed detecting means), 31 is a heater, 32 is an electrode, 34 is a temperature sensor, 35 is a control device (cloth quality determination means, control means), 51 is a drum motor (motor), 5
Reference numeral 2 indicates a fan motor.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshiya Nakamura 991, Anada-cho, Seto-shi, Aichi Toshiba Abu E. Co., Ltd. Nagoya office (56) Reference JP-A-9-38390 (JP, A) ) JP-A-6-47187 (JP, A) JP-A-63-222795 (JP, A) JP-A-4-193298 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) D06F 58/28

Claims (12)

(57) [Claims] 1. A drum for containing a material to be dried, a motor for rotating the drum, a rotation speed detecting means for detecting a rotation speed of the motor, an electrode provided so as to face the inside of the drum, The number of times the object to be dried contacts the electrode, the starting rotation characteristic based on the rotation speed at the time of starting the motor,
And a cloth quality judging means for judging the cloth quality of the material to be dried based on inertial rotation characteristics when the motor is cut off, and the cloth quality judgment by the cloth quality judging means is performed in the initial stage of the drying process. A clothes dryer characterized by. 2. A drum for containing a material to be dried, a motor for rotating the drum, a rotation speed detecting means for detecting a rotation speed of the motor, an electrode provided so as to face the inside of the drum, A cloth quality determining means for determining the cloth quality of the material to be dried based on the number of contact times of the material to be dried with the electrode, and the starting rotation characteristic based on the rotation speed at the time of starting the motor; A clothes dryer, characterized in that the determination of the cloth quality is performed at the beginning of the drying process. 3. A drum for containing a material to be dried, a motor for rotating the drum, a rotation speed detecting means for detecting a rotation speed of the motor, an electrode provided so as to face the inside of the drum, A cloth quality determining means for determining the cloth quality of the material to be dried based on the number of contacts of the material to be dried with the electrodes and the inertial rotation characteristic when the motor is cut off; A clothes dryer characterized in that the determination of the cloth quality is performed at the beginning of the drying process. 4. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the cloth quality judgment by the cloth quality judgment means is performed a plurality of times in the first half of the drying process. 5. The control means for controlling the set temperature in the drum is provided, and the control means changes the set temperature based on the judgment result by the cloth quality judging means. The clothes dryer according to. 6. The cloth quality judgment means performs the cloth quality judgment even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the drying process, and the control means corrects the set temperature in the drum based on the judgment result by the cloth quality judgment means. The clothes dryer according to claim 5, wherein 7. The cloth quality judgment means performs the cloth quality judgment a plurality of times during the drying process, and the control means corrects the set temperature in the drum a plurality of times based on the judgment result by the cloth quality judgment means. The clothes dryer according to claim 6. 8. The control means for controlling the rotation speed of the drum is provided, and the control means changes the rotation speed of the drum based on the determination result by the cloth quality determination means. The clothes dryer described in Crab. 9. The cloth quality judgment means performs the cloth quality judgment even after a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of the drying process, and the control means corrects the rotation speed of the drum based on the judgment result by the cloth quality judgment means. Claim 8 characterized by
The described clothes dryer. 10. The cloth quality judgment means performs the cloth quality judgment a plurality of times during the drying process, and the control means corrects the rotation speed of the drum a plurality of times based on the judgment result by the cloth quality judgment means. The clothes dryer according to claim 9. 11. A control means for controlling a rotation speed of a fan for supplying air into the drum is provided, and the control means changes the rotation speed of the fan based on a judgment result by the cloth quality judging means. The clothes dryer according to claim 1. 12. A control means for controlling a set temperature in the drum, a rotation speed of the drum, and a rotation speed of a fan for supplying air into the drum, wherein the control means is a determination result by the cloth quality determination means. 4. The clothes dryer according to claim 1, wherein the set temperature in the drum, the rotation speed of the drum, and the rotation speed of the fan are changed based on the above.