Clothes dryer and control method thereof

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9285167-B2
Application number	US-201213728210-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 27, 2012
Priority date	Dec 30, 2011
Publication date	Mar 15, 2016
Grant date	Mar 15, 2016

Abstract

A clothes dryer capable of providing a dry course suitable for functional clothes, and a control method thereof, the control method including selecting functional clothes as a substance accommodated in a dry tub to be dried; performing a first dry process to dry the functional clothes at a first dry temperature; and performing a second dry process to dry the functional clothes at a second dry temperature higher than the first dry temperature.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of controlling a clothes dryer, the method comprising:
selecting functional clothes as a substance accommodated in a dry tub to be dried, the functional clothes comprising at least one of a moisture penetrating and water repellant material and a stretchy material;
performing a first dry process to dry the functional clothes at a first dry temperature; and
performing a second dry process to dry the functional clothes at a second dry temperature higher than the first dry temperature,
wherein the first dry temperature is a temperature that recovers a water repellant function of the moisture penetrating and water repellant material,
wherein the first dry process is performed during a first dry time, and
wherein the second dry process is performed during a second dry time, and the second dry time is a period of time that prevents the stretchy material from being deformed when the stretch material is exposed to the second dry temperature.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the performing of the first dry process comprises:
turning on more than one heater; and
maintaining a temperature at an inside of the dry tub at the first dry temperature by repeating turning on and off the more than one heater, if the temperature at the inside of the dry tub reaches the first dry temperature.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the maintaining of the temperature at the inside of the dry tub at the first dry temperature comprises:
repeating turning on and off a second heater having a power capacity larger than a first heater in a state that the first heater is being turned on.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the performing of the second dry process comprises:
raising an operation temperature of more than one heater, if a degree of dryness of the substance reaches a target degree of dryness in the first dry process; and
maintaining a temperature at an inside of the dry tub at the second dry temperature by repeating turning on and off the more than one heater, if the temperature at the inside of the dry tub reaches the second dry temperature.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the maintaining of the temperature at the inside of the dry tub at the second dry temperature comprises:
repeating turning on and off a second heater having a power capacity larger than a first heater in a state that the first heater is being turned on.

6. A clothes dryer comprising:
a body;
a dry tub configured to accommodate a substance to be dried, the substance including functional clothes, the functional clothes comprising at least one of a moisture penetrating and water repellant material and a stretchy material; and
a control unit to control clothes dryer,
wherein the control unit is configured to dry functional clothes by sequentially performing a first dry process to dry the substance at a first dry temperature and a second dry process to dry the substance at a second dry temperature higher than the first dry temperature,
wherein the first dry temperature is a temperature that recovers a water repellant function of the moisture penetrating and water repellant material, and
wherein the control unit is further configured to perform the first dry process during a first dry time, and to perform the second dry process during a second dry time, the second dry time being a period of time configured to prevent the stretchy material from being deformed when the stretch material is exposed to the second dry temperature.

7. The clothes dryer of claim 6 , wherein the heating unit comprises more than one heater, and
wherein the control unit is further configured to turn on the more than one heater, and if a temperature at the inside of the dry tub reaches the first dry temperature by the more than one heater, maintain the temperature at an inside of the dry tub at the first dry temperature by repeating turning on and off the more than one heater.

8. The clothes dryer of claim 7 , wherein the more than heater comprises a first heater and a second heater, and
wherein the control unit maintains the temperature at the inside of the dry tub at the first dry temperature by repeating turning on and off the second heater having a power capacity larger than the first heater in a state that the first heater is being turned on.

9. The clothes dryer of claim 6 , wherein the control unit is configured to raise an operation temperature of the more than one heater if a degree of dryness of the substance reaches a target degree of dryness in the first dry process, and if the temperature at the inside of the dry tub reaches the second dry temperature, maintain the temperature at an inside of the dry tub at the second dry temperature by repeating turning on and off the more than one heater.

10. The clothes dryer of claim 9 , wherein the more than heater comprises a first heater and a second heater, and
wherein the control unit maintains the temperature at the inside of the dry tub at the second temperature by repeating turning on and off the second heater having a power capacity larger than the first heater in a state that the first heater is being turned on.

11. The clothes dryer of claim 6 , wherein the heating unit comprises a single heater,
wherein the control unit is configured to raise an operation temperature of the single heater if a degree of dryness of the substance reaches a target degree of dryness in the first dry process, and if the temperature at the inside of the dry tub reaches the second dry temperature, maintain the temperature at an inside of the dry tub at the second dry temperature by repeating turning on and off the single heater.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Lee Bo Ram
• Kim Hyun Sook
• Yu So Jung

Classifications

• D06F2103/38

  Time, e.g. duration · CPC title

• D06F2103/08

  Humidity · CPC title

• D06F2105/28

  Electric heating · CPC title

• D06F2103/10

  expressed as capacitance or resistance · CPC title

• D06F58/28

  Textiles & Paper · mapped topic