Dryer and control method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016160431-A1
Application number	US-201514962699-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 8, 2015
Priority date	Dec 9, 2014
Publication date	Jun 9, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method of controlling a dryer includes rotating a drum within the dryer in a first direction, detecting at least one of temperature or relative humidity of air discharged from the drum while the drum is rotating in the first direction, and sensing occurrence of entanglement inside the drum by comparing a variation rate of at least one of the detected temperature or the detected relative humidity with a corresponding reference value. The method also includes, based on sensing that the entanglement has occurred, reversing a rotation direction of the drum by rotating the drum in a second direction that is opposite the first direction, and further, based on reversing the rotation direction of the drum upon sensing that the entanglement has occurred, maintaining the second direction of rotation of the drum for a preset time.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of controlling a dryer, the method comprising:
rotating a drum within the dryer in a first direction; detecting at least one of temperature or relative humidity of air discharged from the drum while the drum is rotating in the first direction; sensing occurrence of entanglement inside the drum by comparing a variation rate of at least one of the detected temperature or the detected relative humidity with a corresponding reference value; based on sensing that the entanglement has occurred, reversing a rotation direction of the drum by rotating the drum in a second direction that is opposite the first direction; and based on reversing the rotation direction of the drum upon sensing that the entanglement has occurred, maintaining the second direction of rotation of the drum for a preset time.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein maintaining the second direction of rotation of the drum comprises, based on passing of the preset time:
detecting at least one of temperature or relative humidity of air discharged from the drum while the drum is rotating in the second direction; and comparing a variation rate of at least one of the detected temperature or relative humidity of the drum rotating in the second direction with the corresponding reference value.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the detecting of at least one of the temperature and the relative humidity of the air comprises measuring the relative humidity of the air; and the corresponding reference value is between 1.3%/min and 1.7%/min.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein:
the detecting of at least one of the temperature and the relative humidity of the air comprises measuring the temperature of the air; and the corresponding reference value is between 0.4 k/min and 0.6 k/min.

5 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising detecting weight of condensed water per unit time that is discharged from the drum while the drum is rotating in the first direction,
wherein the sensing of the occurrence of the entanglement comprises comparing a variation rate of the detected weight of the condensed water per unit time with a reference value to thereby determine the occurrence of the entanglement inside the drum.

6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising, based on sensing of the occurrence of the entanglement inside the drum:
detecting the other of the temperature or the relative humidity of the air discharged from the drum; and comparing a variation rate of the detected other of the temperature or the relative humidity with a reference value to thereby additionally determine the occurrence of the entanglement inside the drum.

7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the sensing of the occurrence of the entanglement inside the drum comprises:
sensing the occurrence of the entanglement inside the drum based on the variation rate of the detected weight of the condensed water per unit time; and additionally sensing the occurrence of the entanglement inside the drum based on the variation rate of the detected at least one of the temperature and the relative humidity after the occurrence of the entanglement inside the drum is sensed based on the variation rate of the weight of the condensed water.

8 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the reference value is set according to a variation rate of at least one of the temperature of the air, the relative humidity of the air, or the weight of the condensed water per unit time up to the current time.

9 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
maintaining the rotational direction of the drum in the first direction for a first preset time before the sensing of the occurrence of the entanglement inside the drum; and maintaining the rotational direction of the drum in the second direction for a second preset time after the sensing of the occurrence of the entanglement inside the drum, wherein the second preset time is longer than the first preset time.

10 . A dryer comprising a drum positioned therein, a motor configured to rotate the drum, a sensor configured to detect at least one of temperature or relative humidity of air discharged from the drum, and a controller configured to control the dryer, the controller being configured to:
rotate the drum in a first direction; detect at least one of temperature or relative humidity of air discharged from the drum rotating in the first direction; sense occurrence of entanglement inside the drum by comparing a variation rate of the detected at least one of the temperature or the relative humidity with a reference value; based on sensing that the entanglement has occurred, rotate the drum in a second direction that is opposite the first direction; and maintain the second direction of rotation of the drum for a preset time.

11 . The dryer of claim 10 , further comprising:
a condenser configured to condense moisture in the air discharged from the drum and passing through the condenser; and a condensed water sensor configured to detect weight of the condensed water per unit time condensed by the condenser.

12 . The dryer of claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to sense the occurrence of the entanglement inside the drum by comparing a variation rate of the weight of the condensed water per unit time detected by the condensed water sensor with a reference value.

13 . The dryer of claim 10 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
maintain the rotational direction of the drum in the first direction during a first preset time before the sensing of the occurrence of the entanglement inside the drum; and maintain the rotational direction of the drum in the second direction during a second preset time after the sensing of the occurrence of the entanglement inside the drum, wherein the second preset time is longer than the first time.

14 . The dryer of claim 12 , wherein the controller is configured to set the reference value based on information regarding a variation rate of at least one of the temperature of the air, the relative humidity of the air, or the weight of the condensed water per unit time up to the current time.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Lee Sunki
• Ryoo Byeongjo
• Kim Jongseok
• Lee Yongju

Classifications

• D06F2105/46

  Drum speed; Actuation of motors, e.g. starting or interrupting · CPC title

• D06F2103/10

  expressed as capacitance or resistance · CPC title

• D06F2103/02

  Characteristics of laundry or load · CPC title

• D06F2103/34

  Humidity · CPC title

• D06F2103/44

  Current or voltage · CPC title