Method for determining blockage of filter mesh of clothes dryer, determining apparatus, and clothes dryer

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12442129-B2
Application number	US-202218264723-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 27, 2022
Priority date	Feb 9, 2021
Publication date	Oct 14, 2025
Grant date	Oct 14, 2025

Abstract

Provided are a method and apparatus for determining a blockage of a filter of a clothes dryer and a clothes dryer. The clothes dryer includes a motor. The method includes following steps. An actual rotational speed of the motor is acquired, and an electrical parameter corresponding to a rotational speed range to which the actual rotational speed belongs is determined as a first threshold corresponding to the actual rotational speed; an actual clothes volume in the clothes dryer is acquired, and the first threshold is corrected according to a correction coefficient corresponding to a clothes volume range to which the actual clothes volume belongs so that a second threshold is obtained; and an actual electrical parameter of the motor is acquired, and when it is detected that the actual electrical parameter is less than the second threshold, it is determined that the filter of the clothes dryer is blocked.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for determining a blockage of a filter of a clothes dryer, wherein the clothes dryer comprises a motor, and the method comprises:
acquiring an actual rotational speed of the motor, and determining an electrical parameter corresponding to a rotational speed range as a first threshold corresponding to the actual rotational speed, wherein the actual rotational speed belongs to the rotational speed range;
acquiring an actual clothes volume in the clothes dryer, and correcting the first threshold according to a correction coefficient corresponding to a clothes volume range to obtain a second threshold, wherein the actual clothes volume belongs to clothes volume range; and
acquiring an actual electrical parameter of the motor, and in response to detecting that the actual electrical parameter is less than the second threshold, determining that the filter of the clothes dryer is blocked.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the actual electrical parameter of
the motor comprises an actual phase current; or
the actual electrical parameter of the motor comprises actual power calculated according to an actual phase current of the motor.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein before acquiring the actual rotational speed of the motor, the method further comprise:
setting N clothes volume ranges from a first clothes volume range to an N-th clothes volume range, wherein N is an integer greater than 1, and a clothes volume within a front level of clothes volume range is smaller than a clothes volume within a rear level of clothes volume range; and
setting that each clothes volume range from the first clothes volume range to the N-th clothes volume range corresponds to a correction coefficient k.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the second threshold is equal to the first threshold multiplied by the correction coefficient, wherein k is greater than or equal to 0 and is less than or equal to 1, and a correction coefficient corresponding to the front level of clothes volume range is greater than a correction coefficient corresponding to the rear level of clothes volume range.

5. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the second threshold is equal to a sum of the first threshold and the correction coefficient, wherein k is less than or equal to 0, and a correction coefficient corresponding to the front level of clothes volume range is greater than a correction coefficient corresponding to the rear level of clothes volume range.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein acquiring the actual clothes volume in the clothes dryer comprises:
collecting a clothes water content and a clothes weight in the clothes dryer; and
determining the actual clothes volume in the clothes dryer according to the clothes water content and the clothes weight.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein before acquiring the actual rotational speed of the motor, the method further comprises:
setting M first rotational speed ranges from a first rotational speed range to an M-th rotational speed range, wherein M is an integer greater than 1, and a rotational speed within a front level of rotational speed range is less than a rotational speed within a rear level of rotational speed range; and
setting that each rotational speed range from the first rotational speed range to the M-th rotational speed range corresponds to an electrical parameter, and an electrical parameter corresponding to the front level of rotational speed range is less than an electrical parameter corresponding to the rear level of rotational speed range.

8. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the second threshold is greater than a first reference electrical parameter and less than a second reference electrical parameter, the first reference electrical parameter is an electrical parameter of the motor when the clothes dryer operates in the rotational speed range with full load, and the second reference electrical parameter is an electrical parameter of the motor when the clothes dryer operates in the rotational speed range with no load.

9. The method according to claim 1 , wherein after detecting that the actual electrical parameter is less than the second threshold, the method further comprises:
switching the actual rotational speed of the motor to a rear level of rotational speed range, determining an electrical parameter corresponding to the rear level of rotational speed range as a new first threshold, and correcting the new first threshold to obtain a new second threshold;
counting a total number of times that the actual electrical parameter is less than the second threshold; and
in a case where the total number of times is greater than a number threshold of times within set time duration, determining that the filter of the clothes dryer is blocked.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein after determining that the filter of the clothes dryer is blocked, the method further comprises: sending a filter blockage alarm.

11. An apparatus for determining a blockage of a filter of a clothes dryer, wherein the clothes dryer comprises a motor, and the apparatus comprises a control module, a drive module and a clothes detection module; wherein
the drive module is electrically connected to the motor, and the drive module is configured to acquire an actual rotational speed of the motor and an actual electrical parameter of the motor,
the clothes detection module is electrically connected to the control module, and the clothes detection module is configured to acquire an actual clothes volume in the clothes dryer, and send the actual clothes volume to the control module; and
the control module is electrically connected to the drive module, and the control module is configured to acquire the actual rotational speed of the motor and the actual electrical parameter of the motor which are sent by the drive module, determine an electrical parameter corresponding to a rotational speed range to which the actual rotational speed belongs as a first threshold corresponding to the actual rotational speed, acquire the actual clothes volume in the clothes dryer sent by the clothes detection module, correct the first threshold according to a correction coefficient corresponding to a clothes volume range to which the actual clothes volume belongs to obtain a second threshold, and determine that the filter of the clothes dryer is blocked in response to detecting that the actual electrical parameter is less than the second threshold.

12. A clothes dryer, comprising a motor and the apparatus according to claim 11 .

13. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program which, when executed by a processor, implements the method for determining a blockage of a filter of a clothes dryer, the method comprising:
acquiring an actual rotational speed of the motor, and determining an electrical parameter corresponding to a rotational speed range as a first threshold corresponding to the actual rotational speed, wherein the actual rotational speed belongs to the rotational speed range;
acquiring an actual clothes volume in the clothes dryer, and correcting the first threshold according to a correction coefficient corresponding to a clothes volume range to obtain a second threshold, wherein the actual clothes volume belongs to clothes volume range; and
acquiring an actual electrical parameter of the motor, and in response to detecting that the actual electrical parameter is less than the second threshold, determining that the filter of the clothes dryer is blocked.

Assignees

• Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
• Qingdao Haier Washing Mach Co

Inventors

• Song Yijun
• Yao Longping
• Du Zhaobin
• Ma Hongbiao
• Xia Jun
• Zhao Xinfeng

Classifications

• D06F58/22

  Lint collecting arrangements · CPC title

• D06F2103/24

  Spin speed; Drum movements · CPC title

• D06F34/18

  Condition of the laundry, e.g. nature or weight · CPC title

• D06F34/20

  Parameters relating to constructional components, e.g. door sensors · CPC title

• D06F2103/46

  of the motor driving the drum · CPC title