JPH055519B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a clothes dryer, and particularly to a clothes dryer having a configuration suitable for achieving a sterilizing effect on clothes to be dried and drying them cleanly. [Background of the Invention] In conventional clothes dryers, the temperature inside the drying chamber increases near the end of drying, and in some cases reaches the killing temperature for sterilization as shown in Table 1 below. There was no guarantee that the operation would continue for a sufficient period of time, and the sterilization effect could not be fully expected.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention is operated at a temperature (e.g., 60°C or higher) and for a period of time (e.g., 30 minutes or more) necessary to kill bacteria, in order to dry the clothes and fully sterilize the clothes. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a clothes dryer that can perform the following functions. [Summary of the Invention] The above object is to provide a drying chamber for drying clothes in an outer box, a blower fan for blowing air into the drying chamber,
It is equipped with a heat source for heating the air and a means for detecting the temperature inside the drying chamber, and during the drying operation (A) detects completion of drying of the material to be dried (B) detects when the temperature inside the drying chamber is such that bacteria are killed. Temperature or higher (C) This can be achieved by providing an operation control means that completes the operation by satisfying all three conditions: the operation time is longer than sufficient to kill bacteria. [Embodiment of the Invention] An embodiment of a clothes dryer according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the electrical configuration of a clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention. That is, 1 is a temperature detection unit that detects the temperature in a drying chamber (both not shown) provided in the outer box, and outputs a temperature signal 1a according to the detected temperature; , a dryness detection section that detects the dryness of the object to be dried, and outputs a dryness signal 2a corresponding to the dryness. Therefore, the drying chamber is formed as a rotating drum or a non-rotating box, and a temperature detecting section 1 such as a thermistor is provided in the exhaust air path from the drum or directly inside the box. Further, the dryness detection section 2 includes a pair of electrodes provided in the drying chamber to detect the electrical resistance of the cloth, or a humidity sensor to detect the humidity of the exhaust air from the drying chamber. The following explanation relates to the drum type. 4 is a temperature control unit for heating the air blown into the drying chamber in response to the temperature signal 1a;
This controls the output of the heater 9, which is a heat source provided in the air path to the drying chamber. 7 is a sterilization control unit which receives the temperature signal 1a;
When the temperature in the drying chamber is higher than the bacteria-killing temperature, for example, 60°C, a sterilization temperature signal 7b is outputted, and this sterilization temperature signal 7b is input to the clock section 5, which outputs a clock signal 5a. Sterilization control section 7
This is what is output to. In addition, the sterilization control unit 7 inputs the temperature signal 1a and the clock signal 5a, and the temperature in the drying chamber is determined as above.
When it is determined that the temperature has been maintained at 60° C. for a sufficient operating time to kill bacteria, for example, 30 minutes or more, a sterilization end signal 7a is output. Reference numeral 6 denotes a drying control section which receives the above-mentioned dryness level signal 2a, determines that the object to be dried has been dried, and outputs a drying end signal 6a. Reference numeral 8 denotes a heater/motor control unit which inputs a drying end signal 6a and a bacteria end signal 7a under microcomputer control, determines the end of operation, and controls the heater 9 related to the heat source and the blower fan (not shown).
Also, the power supply to the motor 10 associated with the drive means provided at any location within the outer box for driving the drum constituting the drying chamber is stopped. Further, 3 surrounded by a broken line is an operation control device related to an operation control means, which is constituted by the temperature control section 4, time measurement section 5, drying control section 6, sterilization control section 7, and heater/motor control section 8. This can be installed at any location inside the outer box. Next, the functions and effects of the above structure will be explained with reference to FIG. 2, which is a temperature rise curve diagram during drying. Now, if the output of the heater 9 is kept almost constant, the temperature inside the drying chamber during operation will change due to changes in the outside air temperature. The temperature inside the drying room also decreases. In Figure 2, the curve showing the relationship between drying time and drying room temperature when the outside air temperature is high is L1, and the curve showing the relationship when the outside air temperature is low is L3.
In addition, L2 indicates the case where the outside temperature is between that period, and P1 to 3 indicate the case where the drying room temperature is 60℃.
It shows the point where it exceeds. First, when the outside air temperature is high, the temperature inside the drying chamber becomes 60° C. or more after T1 minutes have passed after starting the drying operation. At this time, the temperature signal 1a from the temperature detection section 1
The sterilization control unit 7 that receives the information determines that the temperature inside the drying chamber is 60°C or higher and outputs a sterilization temperature signal 7b to the clock unit 5, which starts measuring time. A signal 5a is output to the sterilization control section 7. Then, in the sterilization control section 7, the temperature signal 1a and the clock signal 5a described above are received, and the temperature inside the drying chamber is
It determines that the temperature has been maintained at 60°C or higher for 30 minutes and outputs a bacteria end signal 7a. At this time, since the clothes to be dried have not yet been dried, the drying control section 6, which receives the dryness signal 2a from the dryness detection section 2, does not determine that drying has ended, and therefore sends a drying end signal. 6a is not output. As a result, although the bacteria end signal 7a is inputted to the heater/motor control section 8, the drying end signal 6a is not inputted, so the operation continues without determining that the operation has ended. When the clothes to be dried are dried, a drying end signal 6a is output, and the drying end signal 6a and the bacteria end signal 7a are inputted to the heater/motor control section 8, and it is determined that the operation has ended, and the heater is turned off. 9
and stops the motor 10. Also, as shown by the curves L2 and L3 in Figure 2,
When the outside temperature is lower than in the L1 curve, if the temperature inside the drying chamber is above 60℃ but it has not been 30 minutes yet, or when the temperature inside the drying chamber has not reached 60℃ or above, the clothes will dry. Even if the drying end signal 6a is input to the heater/motor control unit 8, the bacteria end signal 7a is not input, so the operation continues, the inside of the drying chamber is kept at 60°C or higher for 30 minutes, and the bacteria end signal 7a is input. After that, operation stops (T2,
(see T3). At this time, if the machine is operated after the clothes have dried, the temperature will rise and could have a negative effect on the equipment and clothes, so set an upper limit for the temperature, and if the upper limit is reached, proceed immediately. The temperature control unit 4 described in 1 lowers the output of the heater 9 to maintain the temperature within a constant range. As described above, according to this embodiment, since the clothes are completely dried and kept at 60°C or higher, which is the temperature that kills bacteria, for 30 minutes or more, the clothes can definitely be sterilized. . Therefore, in the above example, the operating time was set to be 30 minutes or more, which is sufficient to kill bacteria, and the temperature to kill bacteria was set to 60°C or more, but this is an example and is not limited to these. For example, when sterilizing only those related to legal infectious diseases such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Vibrio cholerae, and Shigella, the temperature should be 60°C or higher and the operating time should be 15 minutes or more. It does not prevent [Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to provide a clothes dryer that can be operated at a temperature and time necessary to kill bacteria so that the clothes can be thoroughly sterilized while drying the clothes. This invention can be said to have excellent practical effects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the electrical configuration of a clothes dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a temperature rise curve diagram during drying. 1...Temperature detection section, 2...Dryness detection section, 3...
...Operation control device, 4...Temperature control section, 5...Time measurement section, 6...Drying control section, 7...Sterilization control section, 8...
...Heater/motor control section, 9...Heater, 10...
…motor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A drying chamber for drying clothes in an outer box, a blower fan for blowing air into the drying chamber, a heat source for heating the air, and means for detecting the temperature inside the drying chamber. In addition, during the drying operation, the following three conditions are met: (A) Detection of completion of drying of the material to be dried (B) The temperature inside the drying chamber is higher than the temperature that kills bacteria (C) The operating time is longer than enough to kill bacteria. A clothes dryer characterized by comprising an operation control means for ending operation when all of the above conditions are satisfied. 2. In the clothes dryer as set forth in claim 1, the operation control means is controlled so that the temperature inside the drying chamber is adjusted to kill bacteria by at least receiving a temperature signal corresponding to the detected temperature from the means for detecting the temperature inside the drying chamber. When the temperature is higher than the temperature, a sterilization temperature signal is output to the clock section, and the clock signal from the clock section is received, and the temperature inside the drying chamber is at or above the bacteria killing temperature and the operating time is longer than enough to kill the bacteria. a sterilization control unit that outputs a sterilization end signal after determining that the object has been dried; and a sterilization control section that outputs a sterilization end signal after determining that the object to be dried has dried after receiving a dryness signal from a means for detecting dryness of the object to be dried. These sterilization end signals and drying end signals are input to determine the end of operation, and drive the heater related to the heat source for heating the air, the drum and blower fan that make up the drying room. A clothes dryer comprising a heater/motor control section that controls to stop energizing a motor associated with a drive means.