JPH03280999A - Drying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make elimination possible of clogging before starting operation so as to contrive efficient drying of clothes or the like by making decision possible of a filter clogging condition in a stop condition of operation based on a signal output corresponding to a quantity of light received by a light receiving element. CONSTITUTION:Heated air by a heater 19 is circulatively supplied to a rotary drum 3 by a blower means 17 while providing the rotary drum 3 rotatably in an outer case 2. A filter 9 is provided in an opening for discharging air heated passing in the drum 3. Light of passing through the filter 9 is received by a light receiving element 23, consisting of a CdS cell, while irradiating the filter 9 at the time of stopping operation by an LED light source 24. Further, a clogging condition of the filter 9 is decided based on a signal, output corresponding to a quantity of light received by the light receiving element 23, by a decision means 25 consisting of a microcomputer, and the degree of filter clogging is informed based on a decision result of the decision means 25 by information means 28, 29 consisting of an LED.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application This invention relates to a dryer having a filter provided to prevent lint from drying items such as clothes from being discharged outside the machine. In particular, it relates to means for detecting clogging of the filter.

(b) Conventional technology Dryers that dry laundry such as clothes and sheets by heating air with a heater and circulating the heated air into a rotating drum are designed to prevent lint from being discharged outside the machine. To,
It is well known that a filter is provided at the exhaust port. When the temperature near the heater rises due to a decrease in the amount of airflow to the heater, the thermostat detects this temperature and detects that the filter is clogged by emitting a buzzer or lamp connected in parallel to the thermostat. , notifying that the filter is clogged.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the dryer with the above configuration, clogging of the filter is detected by the temperature rise near the heater.
Clogging could not be detected until drying operation was performed.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and is intended to provide a dryer that allows the user to know whether the filter is clogged even when the dryer is not in operation.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems This invention includes a rotating drum that is rotatably installed in an outer box, a heater that heats air, and an air blower that circulates and supplies the air heated by the heater into the rotating drum. and a filter provided at an opening for discharging heated air that has passed through a rotating drum, a light source that irradiates the filter with light when the operation is stopped, and a light receiver that receives the light that has passed through the filter. an element, a determining means for determining the clogging state of the filter based on a signal outputted in response to the amount of light received by the light receiving element, and a notification for notifying the degree of clogging of the filter based on the result determined by the determining means. A dryer characterized by comprising: means.

(e) Operation When the operation is stopped, the light irradiated from the light source to the filter passes through the filter and enters the light receiving element. The light receiving element outputs a signal corresponding to the amount of light received to the determining means. The determination means determines the clogging state of the filter by comparing the level of the input signal with a reference value. The notifying means notifies the degree of clogging of the filter based on the determination result from the determining means.

Therefore, the user can check the clogging state of the filter when the operation is stopped, and can determine whether or not the filter needs to be cleaned before operation.

(F) EXAMPLES Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

The dryer 1 houses a rotating drum 3 rotatably supported around a horizontal axis in an outer box 2, and the front of the rotating drum 3 is slidable on a drum front plate 4 attached to the outer box 2. , and the rear is supported by a shaft 6. This shaft 6 is pivotally supported by a shaft support plate 5. The center of the drum front plate 4 has an opening for putting in clothes, which communicates with the opening of the outer box 2, and the opening is opened and closed by a door 7.

A filter 9 is removably attached to the center of the drum rear wall 8 and protected by a filter cover 10. A large number of ventilation holes 11 and 12 are provided in the filter cover IQ and the drum rear wall 8 facing the filter 9 to allow ventilation.

There is a fan casing 13 on the outside thereof, and the space between the fan casing 13 and the drum rear wall 8 is kept airtight by an annular felt seal packing 14. A casing suction port 15 is provided in the center of the fan casing 13 to allow ventilation.

This fan casing 13 communicates with a circulation duct 16 which is a circulation path for dry air. A double-sided fan 17 functioning as a heat exchanger is rotatably supported on the inside of the fan casing 13 around a shaft 6, and allows the dry air to be circulated through the circulation duct 16 (in the direction of the arrow λ). The double-sided fan 17 is rotationally driven by a motor 18 together with the rotating drum 3 . A heater 19 is provided near the drum air supply port 21 of the circulation duct 16.

A cooling intake hole 20 for heat exchange air of the double-sided fan 17 is provided on the rear surface of the outer box 2 facing the double-sided fan 17. The air from this cooling intake hole 20 cools the double-sided fan 17 and causes moisture contained in the drying air to condense. The air taken in through the cooling intake holes 20 comes into contact with the double-sided fan 17, and then passes through the cooling duct 22 and is exhausted to the outside.

23 is a Cds cell which is a light receiving element, and is attached to the surface of the fan casing 13 on the rotating drum 3 side. Correspondingly, an LED 24 as a light source is provided below the seal packing 14.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the electric control circuit of this dryer I. As shown in FIG.

In the same figure, 25 is a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as microcomputer), 26 is a D/A conversion circuit, and COMI is a Cd
A comparator that compares the output voltage of the s cell 23 and the reference voltage output from the D/A conversion circuit 26, and C0M2 compares the output voltage of the Cds cell 27 for external light detection, which will be described later, and the reference output from the D/A conversion circuit 26. This is a comparator that compares the voltage. 28 and 29 are LEDs that indicate the clogging state of the filter 9, and are turned on by a signal from the microcomputer 25.

FIG. 3 is an electrical circuit diagram of the display device of this dryer I.

The display device includes a fluorescent display tube Kl, a segment decoder driver 30, a digit decoder driver 31. It is mainly composed of a filament transformer 32.

Segment data is input from the microcomputer 25 to the segment decoder driver 30, and scan data is input from the microcomputer 25 to the digit decoder driver 31.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing the characteristics of the Cds cell 23.

When the filter 9 becomes clogged, the amount of light received by the Cds cell 23 decreases, and therefore the Cds cell 23 exhibits a high resistance value.

In FIG. 5, first, when the power switch SW is turned on (step sB, the LED 24 lights up and irradiates the filter 9 with light. In this state, since the operation has not started, the motor 18 and the heater 19 are energized. The light from the LED 24 reaches the filter 9 through the ventilation hole 11, and the light transmitted through the filter 9 reaches the Cds cell 23 through the ventilation hole 12.

The Cds cell 23 changes its resistance value as shown in FIG. 4 in response to the amount of incident light. The output voltage V cd output by the Cds cell 23 in response to the change in resistance value
s is measured (step S2).

The comparator COMI compares the output voltage V cds with the reference voltage Vc, which is output after data from the microcomputer 25 is converted by the D/A conversion circuit 26 (step S3).

The microcomputer 25 determines the result of the comparison in step S3, and if the output voltage V cds is equal to or lower than the reference voltage Vc,
The start switch is in a state where it can be turned on, and when the start switch is turned on (step S4), drying operation is started (step S5).

In step S3, if the output voltage Vcds is higher than the reference voltage VC, the microcomputer 25 outputs data having a voltage 1.5 times the reference voltage Vc to the D/A conversion circuit 26. The comparator COMI compares the output voltage Vcds with a voltage 1.5 times the reference voltage Vc output from the D/A conversion circuit 26. In step S6), the microcomputer 25
Output the results to .

As a result, the output voltage V cds is 1.5 of the reference voltage Vc.
If the voltage is less than double the voltage, it is assumed that the filter 9 is slightly clogged and the LED 2B is turned on (step S7).

Similarly, the output voltage V cds is compared with a voltage twice the reference voltage Vc (step S8), and as a result, the output voltage V
If the cds is less than twice the above voltage, it is assumed that there is a clogging condition and the LED 29 is turned on (Step S9), and if it is higher than the above twice the voltage, it is judged that the condition is severely clogged and the LED 28.29 is turned on (Step 5IO). ).

After step SlO, the clogging state is also notified by sound at step 5ll) where the buzzer Bz is sounded. Then, the drying operation is prohibited (step 512), the signal from the start switch is not received (step 513), and the process returns to step S2 to enter a standby state. In this case filter 9
Drying operation cannot be started unless the clogging is cleared by cleaning.

In this embodiment, the Cds cell 27 is used to detect the brightness of the location where the dryer I is placed and adjust the brightness of the display device.

That is, the Cds cell 27 outputs an output signal V in response to the surrounding brightness. Output. This output signal v0 is compared with a reference voltage Vref by a comparator C0M2. Based on the comparison result, the microcomputer 25 controls the scan speed and duty cycle of one scan data on the fluorescent display tube. As a result, the brightness of the fluorescent display tube Kl is lowered in a dim place, and conversely, the brightness is increased in a bright place. By adjusting the brightness in this manner, the display becomes easier to see and the power consumption of the fluorescent display tube can be reduced. Furthermore, since the duty cycle of the scan data is controlled, it is possible to vary the brightness even once in a row.

(G) Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether the filter is clogged while the operation is stopped, so that the clogging can be cleared before starting the operation, and it is possible to efficiently remove clothes, etc. Can be dried.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 3 is an electric circuit diagram showing the configuration of the control circuit of the example, Figure 3 is an electric circuit diagram showing the configuration of the display device of the example, Figure 4 is a graph showing the electrical characteristics of the Cds cell, and Figure 5 is the implementation example. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example operation. 2...Outer box, 3...Rotating drum, 9.
...Filter, 17...Double-sided fan, 1
8... Motor, 19... Heater, 23
...Cds cell, 24...LED. 25...Microcomputer, 28.29.
...LED. COM 1... Comparator.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rotating drum rotatably provided in an outer box, a heater for heating air, a blowing means for circulating the air heated by the heater into the rotating drum, and In a dryer equipped with a filter provided in an opening for discharging heated air that has passed through, the dryer is equipped with a light source that irradiates the filter with light when the operation is stopped, a light receiving element that receives the light that has passed through the filter, and a light receiving element that receives the light. The present invention further comprises a determining means for determining the clogging state of the filter based on a signal outputted in response to the amount of light that has been detected, and a notifying means for notifying the degree of clogging of the filter based on the result determined by the determining means. A dryer featuring: