JPS6366559B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dryer that detects whether or not clothes are dry and automatically ends the drying operation.

Conventional structure and its problems Conventionally, when drying clothes with a dryer,
It is common to set the timer to an appropriate time and run the dryer. In this case, there is a problem that if the time is set incorrectly, the drying may not be sufficient or the clothes may be damaged due to overdrying.

Although various dryness detection devices have been proposed and implemented to solve this inconvenience, each of these devices still has major problems. For example, there is a method of detecting the drying state based on the temperature difference between the outside air temperature and the exhaust temperature of the dryer, but in this method, when there is only a small amount of clothes to be dried, the heated outside air is directly exhausted and the clothes are still completely dry. There is a problem in that the temperature difference between the outside air and the exhaust air reaches a predetermined value even though the dryer is not completely dry, and the dryer stops.

There is also a method of detecting dryness of clothes by installing a pair of electrodes inside the storage and detecting the average resistance value of the clothes that come into contact with these electrodes, but this method also has some problems. be. The first problem is safety because the electrodes are exposed inside the housing. Second, as clothing dries, it becomes very high in resistance, reaching over 10MΩ, so when measuring resistance, the influence of leakage current in the circuit itself increases.

Purpose of the Invention In order to solve the above-mentioned inconveniences and problems, the present invention uses an induction noise detection method that is completely different from the dryness detection method that uses exhaust temperature and resistance value detection to accurately detect the dryness of clothes and automatically detect the dryness of the clothes. The purpose of this is to stop the operation of the dryer.

Structure of the Invention In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following features:
A storage for storing clothes, a drying means for drying the clothes, a drying operation control section for controlling the operation of the drying means, an outer conductor plate that can directly contact the clothes in the storage, and the outer conductor plate. an inductive noise detection sensor that is connected to the inner conductor plate of the inductive noise detection sensor and that is connected to the inner conductor plate of the inductive noise detection sensor and that is connected to the inner conductor plate of the inductive noise detection sensor that detects inductive noise from the power supply when it comes into contact with clothing. an inductive noise detecting section that outputs an output signal when the average value of the inductive noise from the power source detected by the inductive noise detecting sensor becomes a predetermined level or less; The apparatus is configured to include a timer section that outputs an output signal after a predetermined time after receiving the output signal of the induced noise detection section, and a drying operation control section that terminates the drying operation upon receiving the output signal of the timer section. Accordingly, the dryness of the clothes is detected based on the magnitude of the induced noise, which changes depending on the degree of moisture of the clothes in the storage.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the basic configuration of the present invention, in which 1 is a storage for storing clothes, 2 is a drying means for drying the clothes in the storage 1, and 3 is a drying operation control for controlling the operation of the drying means 2. Department. Reference numeral 4 indicates an induced noise detection sensor provided in the storage 1, and 5 indicates an induced noise detection section.

Generally, high-impedance circuit elements are susceptible to induced noise from the power supply, but the present invention takes advantage of this phenomenon and detects this induced noise as a large amount when the clothes in the storage compartment are damp, and as small when the clothes are dry. It is becoming more and more common. That is, dryness of the clothes is detected based on the magnitude of the detected induced noise.

The induced noise from the power supply detected by the induced noise detection sensor 4 is input to the induced noise detection section 5, and when the average level becomes below a predetermined level, the induced noise detection section 5 outputs an output signal. .
The average magnitude of this induced noise varies somewhat depending on the amount of clothing in the storage 1, so it needs to be corrected.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a tire section, and an induced noise detection section 5 outputs an output signal when the magnitude of the induced noise decreases to a level that can be considered to indicate that the clothes are almost dry (drying rate is about 95%). It is assumed that the timer section 6 outputs an output signal after a predetermined period of time (the time from when the drying rate is 95% to when complete drying is reached) has elapsed since the output signal is output.

In this way, by detecting the point when the drying rate reaches approximately 95% and delaying the end of drying for a certain period of time from that point, the above-mentioned correction can be made for the quality and quantity of any clothing, and dryness can be detected. can work effectively. When the timer section 6 issues an output signal, the drying operation control section 3 operates to stop the operation of the drying means 2.

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram in one embodiment. 7 is an exterior casing of the entire dryer made of a conductor. 8 is a rotating drum for physically stirring the clothes to be dried, and constitutes a storage. Reference numeral 9 indicates a door for taking out and taking out clothes to be dried, and reference numeral 10 indicates a fixed wall. The storage 1 is constituted by the rotating drum 8, the door 9, and the fixed wall 10. Numeral 11 is a heater for heating outside air, and 12 is a fan for causing dry outside air heated by heater 11 to flow into storage 1 and discharging humid air in storage 1 to the outside of the machine. 13 is a rotating drum 8 and a fan 12
Motors 14 and 15 for rotating are belts that transmit the rotational movement of motor 13 to rotating drum 8 and fan 12, respectively. Further, 4 is the above-mentioned inductive noise detection sensor.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of the inductive noise detection sensor 4, where 17 is an inner conductor plate connected to the inductive noise detector 5, and 18 is a resin layer provided to electrically insulate the inner conductor plate 17. It is. Reference numeral 19 denotes an outer conductor plate, and the outer conductor plate 19 is made to come into direct contact with clothing. The inductive noise detection sensor 4 is constituted by the inner conductor plate 17, the resin layer 18, and the outer conductor plate 19.

If the input impedance of the induced noise detector 5 is set high, the induced noise detector 5 can detect the induced noise from the power source using the inner conductor plate 17 as a kind of antenna.

When wet clothing comes into contact with the outer conductive plate 19, the entire clothing becomes a kind of antenna, and very large induced noise is induced to the outer conductive plate 19, causing the resin layer 18
Large inductive noise is also induced in the inner conductor plate due to capacitive coupling through the inner conductor plate. As the clothes dry, the resistance value of the clothes increases, so even if the clothes come into contact with the outer conductor plate 19, the effect of the clothes as an antenna becomes weaker. Therefore, the induced noise from the power source induced in the inner conductor plate 17 is also reduced.

In this way, the present invention utilizes the fact that the effect of clothing as an antenna changes depending on the drying rate of the clothing.

FIG. 4 shows a specific electrical circuit diagram, in which 20 is a power plug, 21 is a power switch, 22 is a power transformer, and 23 is an inductive noise detection section 5 and a timer section 6.
This is a power supply circuit that supplies power to the The commercial AC power source is stepped down by a power transformer 22, rectified and smoothed by a power supply circuit 23, and generates a DC voltage with a positive potential at a positive output terminal 24 of the power supply circuit 23 and a negative potential at a ground terminal 25.

The induced noise detection section 5 is the induced noise detection sensor 4
is connected to the inner conductor plate 17 of
It is also connected to the exterior casing 7 in order to have a potential of .

When the clothes are dry and the average level of induced noise detected by the induced noise detection section 5 becomes smaller than a predetermined level, the timer section 6 sends an output signal to the drying operation control section 3 through the process described above.

Reference numerals 26 and 27 are switching elements, which respectively control the supply of electricity to the motor 13 and the heater 11, and are kept conductive during drying operation. Reference numeral 28 denotes an air blowing time delay section, which connects these switching elements 26 and 2.
7 and the blowing time delay section 28 constitute the drying operation control section 3.

When the timer section 6 outputs an output signal, the switching element 27 becomes non-conductive, and at the same time, the blowing time delay section 28 starts operating. At this point, the power supply to the heater is stopped, but in order to lower the temperature inside the storage warehouse 1, only the motor is supplied with power for a certain period of time, and when a certain air blowing time has elapsed, the air blowing time delay section 28
outputs an output signal, the switching element 26 becomes non-conductive, the power supply to the motor is also stopped, and the dryer completely stops operating.

Next, the operation of the induced noise detection section 5 will be explained. FIG. 5 is an electrical circuit diagram of the inductive noise detection section 5, in which 29 is a terminal connected to the inner conductor plate 17 of the inductive noise detection sensor 4, 30 is a terminal connected to the exterior housing 7, and 31 is a power source. A terminal connected to the positive output side terminal 24 of the circuit 23, 32 is the power supply circuit 23
A terminal 33 is an output terminal of the induced noise detection section 5 connected to the timer section 6.

34 is a resistor, and the exterior casing 7 is connected to the ground side terminal 25 of the power supply circuit 23 through the resistor 34, so the standard of the potential on the non-power side of the power transformer 22 is set to the exterior casing 7. .

35 is an operational amplifier whose positive input terminal is connected to the inner conductor plate 17 of the inductive noise detection sensor 4, and whose negative input terminal and output terminal are short-circuited.

36 is a Zener diode, 37 is a capacitor, and 38 is a resistor. These Zener diode 36, capacitor 37, and resistor 38 are connected to the operational amplifier 3.
It is connected in parallel between the positive input terminal of No. 5 and the ground side of the power supply.

A resistor 39 is connected between the positive input terminal of the operational amplifier 35 and the positive potential side of the power supply. Resistors 38 and 39 are several MΩ to measure induced noise.
It is necessary to use high resistance. The Zener diode 36 and the capacitor 37 are used to protect the operational amplifier 35 from the effects of static electricity on clothing.

Inductive noise from a power source having a commercial AC frequency is superimposed with a DC voltage determined by resistors 38 and 39, and the impedance is lowered by the operational amplifier 35 and appears at the output terminal of the operational amplifier 35.

40 is an operational amplifier, 41 is an electrolytic capacitor, 4
2 is a resistor, and 43 is a diode. The positive potential terminal of the electrolytic capacitor 41 is connected to the output terminal of the operational amplifier 35, and the negative potential terminal is connected to the positive input terminal of the operational amplifier 40. Resistor 42 and diode 4
3 is connected in parallel between the positive input terminal of the operational amplifier 40 and the ground side of the power supply. 44 and 45
are resistors, and the resistor 44 is connected between the negative input terminal of the operational amplifier 40 and the ground side of the power supply, and the resistor 45 is connected between the negative input terminal and the output terminal of the operational amplifier 40. and operational amplifier 40 constitute a common-mode amplifier circuit.

Since the induced noise whose impedance is lowered is superimposed with the DC voltage determined by the resistors 38 and 39, only the AC component of the induced noise having the frequency of commercial AC is transferred to the electrolytic capacitor 41 and the resistor 42.
It is extracted by a differentiator circuit consisting of. The AC component of this induced noise is half-wave rectified by the diode 43 and input to the positive input terminal of the operational amplifier 40. Further, this half-wave rectified induced noise signal is in-phase amplified and appears at the output terminal of the operational amplifier 40.

46 is a diode, 47 and 48 are resistors, 4
9 is an electrolytic capacitor. The diode 46 and the resistors 47 and 48 are connected in series to the operational amplifier 4.
It is inserted between the output terminal of 0 and the ground side of the power supply. Electrolytic capacitor 49 is connected in parallel with resistor 48 . The output signal of the operational amplifier 40 is temporally averaged by a charging/discharging circuit composed of a diode 46, resistors 47 and 48, and an electrolytic capacitor 49, and the average voltage is generated across the electrolytic capacitor 49. 50 is a comparator, 51, 52
and 53 is a resistance. Resistors 51 and 52 are connected in series and inserted between the positive potential side of the power source and the ground side. The non-inverting input terminal of the comparator 50 is connected to the intermediate connection point between the resistors 51 and 52, the inverting input terminal is connected to the non-grounding side of the capacitor 49, and the output terminal is connected to the power supply via the output terminal 33 of the inductive noise detection section 5 and the resistor 53. connected to the positive potential side of

The potential of electrolytic capacitor 49 is
2, the voltage at the output terminal of the comparator 50 is almost zero, but when this potential relationship is reversed, the voltage at the output terminal of the comparator 50 rises to near the power supply voltage. In other words, when the induced noise detected by the induced noise detection sensor 4 is large when the clothes to be dried are damp, the potential of the output terminal of the comparator 50, that is, the output terminal 33 of the induced noise detection section 5, is almost zero, but when the clothes are dry As a result, the average value of this induced noise decreases,
The electrolytic capacitor 49 is lower than the potential of the non-inverting input terminal of the comparator 50 determined by the resistors 51 and 52.
When the potential of is lower, this induced noise detection section 5
The voltage at the output terminal 33 rises.

Thereafter, the timer unit 6 starts operating, and the dryer stops operating after the above-described process.

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, the clothes to be dried act as a kind of antenna and the induced noise from the power source is detected. That is, this method takes advantage of the fact that the size decreases according to the degree of dryness. Moreover, the present invention can detect dryness without contacting the clothes to be dried, and compared to the conventional method of directly detecting the resistance value of clothes, which have extremely high resistance, using electrodes, it is safer and more effective. It is also extremely advantageous in terms of countermeasures against leakage current in the circuit itself. Furthermore, compared to the conventional method of detecting exhaust gas temperature, the present invention is essentially equivalent to detecting the resistance value of clothes, so it works effectively even if there are very few clothes to be dried.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of the present invention.
Figure 2 shows a schematic structure of a dryer according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure A is a front view, Figure B is a sectional view, Figure 3 shows the structure of an inductive noise detection sensor, A is a front view, B is a sectional view taken along line X-X' of A, FIG. 4 is an electric circuit diagram, and FIG. 5 is an electric circuit diagram of the induced noise detection section. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Accommodation storage, 2...Drying means, 3...Drying operation control unit, 4...Inductive noise detection sensor, 5...
Inductive noise detection section, 6... Timer section, 17...
Inner conductor plate, 18... Resin layer, 19... Outer conductor plate, 23... Power supply circuit, 26, 27... Switching element, 28... Air blowing time delay section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A storage for storing clothes, a drying means for drying the clothes, a drying operation control section for controlling the operation of the drying means, an outer conductor plate that can directly contact the clothes in the storage, and this outer conductor. An inductive noise detection sensor consisting of an inner conductor plate covered with a resin layer attached to a plate and detecting inductive noise from a power supply when clothing comes into contact with the sensor; an inductive noise detection section that outputs an output signal when the average value of inductive noise from the power source detected by the inductive noise detection sensor becomes equal to or less than a predetermined level due to drying; A dryer comprising: a timer section that outputs an output signal after a predetermined time after receiving the output signal of the induced noise detection section; and a drying operation control section that terminates the drying operation upon receiving the output signal of the timer section.