Classifications

• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F58/00—Domestic laundry dryers
  • D06F58/32—Control of operations performed in domestic laundry dryers 
  • D06F58/34—Control of operations performed in domestic laundry dryers  characterised by the purpose or target of the control
  • D06F58/36—Control of operational steps, e.g. for optimisation or improvement of operational steps depending on the condition of the laundry
  • D06F58/38—Control of operational steps, e.g. for optimisation or improvement of operational steps depending on the condition of the laundry of drying, e.g. to achieve the target humidity
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F2101/00—User input for the control of domestic laundry washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F2103/00—Parameters monitored or detected for the control of domestic laundry washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
  • D06F2103/02—Characteristics of laundry or load
  • D06F2103/08—Humidity
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F2103/00—Parameters monitored or detected for the control of domestic laundry washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
  • D06F2103/28—Air properties
  • D06F2103/34—Humidity
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F2103/00—Parameters monitored or detected for the control of domestic laundry washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
  • D06F2103/44—Current or voltage
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F2105/00—Systems or parameters controlled or affected by the control systems of washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
  • D06F2105/46—Drum speed; Actuation of motors, e.g. starting or interrupting
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F2105/00—Systems or parameters controlled or affected by the control systems of washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
  • D06F2105/52—Changing sequence of operational steps; Carrying out additional operational steps; Modifying operational steps, e.g. by extending duration of steps
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F2105/00—Systems or parameters controlled or affected by the control systems of washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
  • D06F2105/58—Indications or alarms to the control system or to the user
• • D—TEXTILES; PAPER
  • D06—TREATMENT OF TEXTILES OR THE LIKE; LAUNDERING; FLEXIBLE MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • D06F—LAUNDERING, DRYING, IRONING, PRESSING OR FOLDING TEXTILE ARTICLES
  • D06F2105/00—Systems or parameters controlled or affected by the control systems of washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
  • D06F2105/58—Indications or alarms to the control system or to the user
  • D06F2105/60—Audible signals

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a laundry dryer, in particular a domestic laundry dryer in which the clothes are dried by conveying heated process air through a laundry drum.
• the present invention more particularly relates to a laundry dryer which senses entanglement of the clothes inside the drum and to a method for controlling such a laundry dryer.
• ventless laundry dryers such as heat-pump type laundry dryers and condenser type laundry dryers are well known in the art.
• the heat-pump technology constitutes a relatively energy-efficient method of drying laundry.
• the heat pump type laundry dryer typically consists of a process air circuit and a refrigerant circuit which are arranged so as to mutually exchange heat.
• the process air circuit includes a duct for circulating process air through a laundry drum by means of a fan.
• the refrigerant circuit includes an evaporator, a compressor, a condenser, and an expansion valve such as a capillary in serial connection for circulating a refrigerant.
• the evaporator and the condenser are particularly arranged in heat exchange with the process air within the circulation duct for respectively dehumidifying and subsequently heating the process air.
• the process air which is heated by the condenser strikes the clothes inside the drum, the heat of the process air is partly transferred to the wet clothes, and, in turn, the humidity in the clothes diffuses into the process air and is subsequently drawn out of the drum into the duct.
• the heat in the humid process air is absorbed by the evaporator.
• the process air is dehumidified by condensation.
• the heat absorbed by the evaporator is subsequently partly transferred back to the process air by means of the condenser. Thereby, a drying performance of the laundry dryer is increased.
• a problem with the drying process is that the clothes inside the drum may get from time to time entangled as they are aerated by rotation.
• the drying performance of the laundry dryer degrades when the clothes get entangled.
• the total running time of the drying program prolongs, the energy consumption increases.
• WO 2012/120851 A1 discloses a clothes dryer comprising electrodes which are arranged to contact the clothes inside the rotating drum. In this clothes dryer, the resistance values across the electrodes are measured and utilized to determine whether the clothes inside the drum are entangled.
• An objective of the present invention is to provide a laundry dryer and a method of controlling the laundry dryer which overcomes the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art and which enables a quick and reliable detection of entanglement of the clothes, and which also initiates effective countermeasures for disentangling the clothes.
• the control method of the present invention comprises a step of monitoring a rate of change in the relative humidity of the process air and a step of interrupting a drying mode and initiating a disentangling mode if it is judged that the clothes are entangled based on a monitoring result.
• the disentangling mode is terminated and the drying mode is resumed.
• one or more than one countermeasures are sequentially initiated to disentangle the clothes.
• one or more than one of the following actions are performed in a predetermined sequence in order to disentangle the clothes: stopping the motor, reversing rotation direction of the motor, rotating the motor at an irregular speed and irregularly accelerating/decelerating the motor.
• the disentangling mode is forcedly terminated and the user is audibly and/or visually informed via the user interface and prompted to disentangle the clothes manually.
• the drying mode is resumed after the user has disentangled the clothes manually. This is checked by way of detecting opening/closing of the door and/or an elapse of a predetermined duration, or a user confirmation to be input via the user interface. Thereafter, the drying mode is resumed.
• the drying mode is resumed after the user has disentangled the clothes manually. This is checked similarly as before by way of detecting opening/closing of the door and/or an elapse of a predetermined duration, or a user confirmation to be input via the user interface. Thereafter, the drying mode is resumed.
• the method of the present invention can be applied to a laundry dryer of a heat-pump type, a condenser type, or a vented type.
• the method of the present invention is not limited to a particular technology.
• a laundry dryer has been provided that enables quick and reliable sensing of entanglement of clothes.
• the laundry dryer initiates countermeasures to disentangle the clothes by applying a different rotation regime to the motor and resumes the drying mode upon detection of successful disentanglement.
• a user is audibly and/or visually informed about the entanglement and prompted to manually disentangle the clothes.
• a disentanglement management of the clothes has been improved.
• the drying process has been prevented from prolonging and the energy efficiency of the laundry dryer has been enhanced.
• Figure 1 – is a schematic view of a laundry dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• Figure 2 – is a flowchart showing a method for controlling the laundry dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention.
• the laundry dryer (1) comprises a drum (2) for receiving clothes to be dried, a motor (not shown) for rotating the drum (2) and a process air circuit (3) for conveying heated process air through the drum (2) in order to dry the clothes (Fig. 1).
• the laundry dryer (1) of the present invention comprises a control unit (4) for controlling the motor and the process air circuit (3), wherein the control unit (4) has a normal drying mode for drying the clothes and a disentangling mode for disentangling the entangled clothes, a user interface (5) for receiving user inputs and outputting information and a sensor unit (6) adapted to measure relative humidity of the process air and to output a signal to the control unit (4), the signal being indicative of the measured relative humidity (Fig. 1).
• the control method of the present invention comprises a step (S1a-S1d, S3a-S3d) of monitoring a rate of change in the relative humidity ⁇ RH/ ⁇ t of the process air and a step (S2) of interrupting the drying mode and initiating the disentangling mode if it is judged that the clothes are entangled based on a monitoring result (Fig. 2).
• t designates time (seconds) and RH designates the relative humidity (%) of the process air.
• ⁇ designates a corresponding change in these quantities.
• the sensor unit (6) utilizes a wet bulb thermometer (not shown) and a dry bulb thermometer (not shown).
• the method comprises a step (S4) of terminating the disentangling mode and resuming the drying mode if it is judged that the clothes have been disentangled based on the monitoring result (Fig. 2).
• the method comprises a step of forcedly terminating the disentangling mode when the clothes have not been disentangled even after elapse of a predetermined time and a step of informing the user audibly and/or visually via the user interface (5) about the entanglement of the clothes and prompting the user to disentangle the clothes manually.
• the drying mode is resumed after the user has disentangled the clothes manually. This is checked by way of detecting of opening/closing of the door and/or an elapse of a predetermined duration, or a user confirmation to be input via the user interface (5). Thereafter, the drying mode is resumed.
• the monitoring step (S1a-S1d, S3a-S3d) includes a step (S1a, S3a) of measuring the relative humidity of the process air, a step (S1b, S3b) of calculating a rate of change in the relative humidity based on the measured relative humidity, a step (S1c, S3c) of comparing the calculated rate of change in the relative humidity with a threshold rate of change in the relative humidity, a step (S1d, S3d) of determining whether the clothes are entangled/disentangled based on the comparison result.
• the control unit (4) has a memory means (not shown) for storing the measured relative humidity values.
• the control unit (4) also has a micro processing means (not shown) for performing arithmetic and logical operations.
• one or more than one of the following actions are performed in a predetermined sequence in order to disentangle the clothes: a step of stopping the motor, a step of reversing rotation direction of the motor, a step of rotating the motor at an irregular speed and a step of irregularly accelerating/decelerating the motor.
• the term irregular should be conceived in the sense that it designates settings which are different than those settings which are normally applied in the drying mode.
• the control unit (4) has a memory means for storing the settings for the above-mentioned actions.
• the method comprises a step of dispensing with initiating the disentangling mode when it is judged that the clothes are entangled based on a monitoring result if the disentangling mode has already been initiated and terminated for more than a predetermined number of times.
• the method further comprises a step of informing a user via the interface (5) about the judgment that the clothes are entangled and prompting the user to disentangle the clothes manually.
• said predetermined number is not limited to a specific number of entanglement events previously encountered throughout the same drying course.
• the user is informed when it is judged that the clothes are entangled for the second time.
• the user is enabled to set said predetermined number via the user interface (5).
• the method further comprises a step of resuming the drying mode after the user has disentangled the clothes manually. This is checked by way of detecting of opening/closing of the door and/or an elapse of a predetermined duration, or a user confirmation to be input via the user interface (5). Thereafter, the drying mode is resumed.
• the laundry dryer (1) to which the method of the present invention has been applied is not limited to a particular technology.
• the method of the present invention can be applied to a laundry dryer (1) of a heat-pump type, a condenser type, or a vented type.
• the laundry dryer (1) is a heat-pump type laundry dryer (1) (Fig. 1).
• the process air circuit (3) comprises a duct (3a) which is arranged to discharge the process air into the drum (2) and to draw the process air out of the drum (2) and a fan (3b) which is arranged to circulate the process air in the duct (3a) through the drum (2).
• the laundry dryer (1) further comprises a refrigerant circuit (7) which includes an evaporator (7a), a compressor (7b), a condenser (7c), and an expansion valve (7c) such as a capillary connected in series to circulate a refrigerant.
• the evaporator (7a) is arranged to dehumidify the process air in the duct (3a).
• the condenser (7c) is arranged to heat the dehumidified process air in the duct (3a).
• the control unit (6) is further adapted to operate the refrigerant circuit.
• the laundry dryer (1) is a condenser type (not shown).
• the laundry dryer (1) comprises an electrical heater (not shown) for heating the process air and a heat exchanger (not shown) in which the humidity in the process air is condensed by the ambient air.
• the present invention also provides a program which has a computer-readable code suitable for causing the laundry dryer (1) to execute the method steps of the present invention.
• the control unit (5) has memory means (not shown) for storing the program code and a micro processing means (not shown) for performing arithmetic and logical operations.
• the present invention also provides a computer-readable recording medium which stores the program of the present invention.
• the recording medium is not limited to any particular type of storage medium.
• a laundry dryer (1) that enables quick and reliable sensing of entanglement of clothes.
• the laundry dryer (1) initiates countermeasures to disentangle the clothes by applying a different rotation regime to the motor, and resumes the drying mode upon successful disentanglement.
• a forced termination of the disentangling mode or after several repetitions of the entangling mode a user is audibly and/or visually informed about the entanglement and prompted to manually disentangle the clothes.
• a disentanglement management of the clothes has been improved.
• the drying process has been prevented from prolonging and the energy efficiency of the laundry dryer (1) has been enhanced.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Textile Engineering (AREA)
• Control Of Washing Machine And Dryer (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

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ID=50190451

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Families Citing this family (4)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 2014
  • 2014-02-28 EP EP14707397.7A patent/EP3111002A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2014-02-28 WO PCT/EP2014/053989 patent/WO2015127995A1/en not_active Ceased

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