Multi-outlet electrical device water control method, multi-outlet electrical device, and storage medium

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a method for controlling drainage in a dual-function electrical appliance, a dual-function electrical appliance, and a storage medium. The dual-function electrical appliance includes a first electrical appliance and a second electrical appliance stacked on top of the first electrical appliance. The first electrical appliance includes a drain pipe and a drain pump mounted on the drain pipe. The second electrical appliance includes a water storage box connected to the drain pipe. The method includes: continuously monitoring the water storage status of the water storage box; determining whether to shut down the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the water storage status; and controlling the operation of the drain pump in response to determining whether to shut down the drainage function of the first electrical appliance. The technical solution of this disclosure monitors the water storage status of the water storage box in the second electrical appliance and determines the shutdown status of the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the water storage status to control the operation of the drain pump. Thus, by combining the water storage status of the second electrical appliance's water storage box with the control of the drainage of the first electrical appliance, the control of the drainage of the first electrical appliance is enriched, and safety hazards are avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of household appliance technology, and in particular to a method for controlling drainage of a duplex appliance, a duplex appliance, and a storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] With the increase in income, enhanced privacy awareness, and growing demand for healthy washing and drying among the younger generation of consumers, traditional balcony drying is no longer sufficient to meet user needs, and washer-dryer combos will become the standard for laundry.

[0003] Currently, there are washer-dryer combos on the market, also known as washer-dryer sets. In these combos, the dryer is stacked on top of the washing machine. Both the dryer and washing machine have their own drain hoses, and the dryer has a water tank that monitors the condensate level. When the tank is full, the water needs to be pumped into a drawer, which the user then has to empty. This process is not only labor-intensive but also increases the cost of the appliance.

[0004] To address the aforementioned issues, existing technologies use a shared drain pipe for both the washing machine and dryer, saving space and costs while improving user satisfaction. However, the washing machine still drains continuously throughout the entire process, resulting in a single drainage control method and potential safety hazards. Furthermore, similar multi-unit appliances, such as those consisting of a first and a second appliance stacked vertically, with the second appliance containing a water storage tank that shares a drain pipe with the first appliance, also suffer from single drainage control and pose certain safety risks. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the aforementioned technical problems, this disclosure provides a method for controlling drainage in a dual-function electrical system, a dual-function electrical system, and a storage medium. The method monitors the water storage status of the water tank in the second electrical system and determines the shutdown state of the drainage function of the first electrical system based on the water storage status, thereby controlling the drainage function of the drainage pump. Thus, by combining the water storage status of the water tank in the second electrical system with the control of the drainage of the first electrical system, the method enriches the control over the drainage of the first electrical system and avoids potential safety hazards.

[0006] In a first aspect, embodiments of this disclosure provide a method for controlling drainage in a complex electrical appliance, the complex electrical appliance including a first electrical appliance and a second electrical appliance stacked on top of the first electrical appliance, the first electrical appliance including a drain pipe and a drain pump mounted on the drain pipe, the second electrical appliance including a water storage box, the water storage box being connected to the drain pipe, comprising:

[0007] The water storage status of the water storage box is continuously monitored, and the water storage status is used to characterize the water storage volume of the water storage box;

[0008] Determine whether to shut down the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the water storage status;

[0009] In response to determining whether to shut down the drainage function of the first electrical appliance, the drainage function of the drainage pump is controlled.

[0010] In some embodiments, determining whether to shut off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the water storage status includes:

[0011] Based on the water storage status, it is determined that the water storage box is full, and the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is turned off.

[0012] In some embodiments, after determining that the water storage box is full based on the water storage state and turning off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance, the method further includes:

[0013] If the duration for which the water storage box is full is less than or equal to a first preset duration, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is restored.

[0014] In some embodiments, it also includes:

[0015] If the water storage box remains full for more than the first preset time, a drainage abnormality warning will be issued.

[0016] In some embodiments, after restoring the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the continuous duration of the water storage box being full being less than or equal to a first preset duration, the method further includes:

[0017] Based on the fact that the continuous duration during which the water storage box is not full is less than a second preset duration, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is turned off, and a preset process is executed, the preset process including:

[0018] If the duration for which the water storage box is full is less than or equal to a first preset duration, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is restored.

[0019] If the water storage box remains full for more than the first preset time, a drainage abnormality warning will be issued.

[0020] In some embodiments, it also includes:

[0021] If the water storage box is not full for a continuous period of time, reaching a second preset duration, the water storage status of the water storage box will continue to be continuously monitored in order to control the drainage function of the drainage pump.

[0022] In some embodiments, the water storage status is obtained by taking the average value of the water storage volume of the water storage box by multiple samplings of the water storage volume by a sensor.

[0023] Secondly, this disclosure also provides a method for controlling drainage of a complex electrical appliance, wherein the complex electrical appliance includes a first electrical appliance and a second electrical appliance stacked on top of the first electrical appliance, the first electrical appliance includes a drain pipe and a drain pump mounted on the drain pipe, and the second electrical appliance includes a water storage box, the water storage box being connected to the drain pipe, comprising:

[0024] The water storage status of the water storage box is continuously monitored, and the water storage status is used to characterize the water storage volume of the water storage box;

[0025] Based on the water storage status and the duration of the water storage status, determine whether to turn off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance, and send the determination result to the first electrical appliance.

[0026] Thirdly, this disclosure also provides a method for controlling drainage of a complex electrical appliance, wherein the complex electrical appliance includes a first electrical appliance and a second electrical appliance stacked on top of the first electrical appliance, the first electrical appliance includes a drain pipe and a drain pump mounted on the drain pipe, and the second electrical appliance includes a water storage box, the water storage box being connected to the drain pipe, comprising:

[0027] Receive the result from the second electrical appliance indicating whether to turn off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance;

[0028] In response to the determined result, the drainage function of the drainage pump is controlled.

[0029] Fourthly, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a duplex electrical appliance, including:

[0030] The processor and memory, wherein the processor executes the steps of the dual-function electrical drainage control method as described in the first aspect, or the steps of the dual-function electrical drainage control method as described in the second aspect, or the steps of the dual-function electrical drainage control method as described in the third aspect, by calling programs or instructions stored in the memory.

[0031] Fifthly, embodiments of this disclosure also provide a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor, implements the steps of the dual-function electrical drainage control method as described in the first aspect, or the steps of the dual-function electrical drainage control method as described in the second aspect, or the steps of the dual-function electrical drainage control method as described in the third aspect.

[0032] The technical solution provided in this disclosure has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0033] The drainage control method for dual-function appliances provided in this disclosure is applied to dual-function appliances (such as washer-dryer sets) where the first and second appliances share a drain pipe. The method includes continuously monitoring the water storage status of the water tank, which characterizes the amount of water stored in the tank; determining whether to shut off the drainage function of the first appliance based on the water storage status; and controlling the drainage function of the drain pump in response to determining whether to shut off the drainage function of the first appliance. Therefore, this technical solution considers the water storage status of the water tank in the second appliance when controlling the drainage of the first appliance. It can determine whether to shut off the drainage function of the first appliance based on the water storage status, and then control the drainage pump in response to the shutdown status, thereby allowing or prohibiting drainage from the first appliance, improving the flexibility and enriching the control of the first appliance's drainage. Simultaneously, it can shut off the drainage function of the first appliance when the water tank is full, thus avoiding safety hazards caused by overflowing water from the water tank. Attached Figure Description

[0034] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments consistent with this disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of this disclosure.

[0035] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this disclosure or the prior art, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0036] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a washer-dryer set provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0037] Figure 2 A schematic flowchart of a dual-type electrical drainage control method provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0038] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a duplex electrical drainage control device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0039] Figure 4 A schematic flowchart of another dual-type electrical drainage control method provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0040] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of another duplex electrical drainage control device provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0041] Figure 6 A schematic flowchart illustrating another method for controlling drainage of a complex electrical system provided in this embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0042] Figure 7A schematic diagram of the structure of another duplex electrical drainage control device provided in an embodiment of this disclosure;

[0043] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a duplex electrical appliance provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure. Detailed Implementation

[0044] To better understand the above-mentioned objectives, features, and advantages of this disclosure, the solutions disclosed herein will be further described below. It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described herein can be combined with each other.

[0045] Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a full understanding of this disclosure, but this disclosure may also be implemented in other ways different from those described herein; obviously, the embodiments in the specification are only some, and not all, of the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0046] Figure 1 The structure of a duplex electrical appliance is shown, such as Figure 1 As shown, the dual-function appliance is a washer-dryer set, consisting of a dryer and a washing machine stacked on top of each other. The dryer has a water storage tank, and the washing machine has a drain pipe and a drain pump (not shown in the figure) located on the drain pipe. The water storage tank is connected to the drain pipe, so that after condensation occurs in the water storage tank, the condensate is discharged through the drain pipe under gravity. However, the washing machine's drainage is still a conventional drainage method, meaning the drain pump runs continuously throughout the drainage process. This single drainage method means that if the drain pipe becomes blocked, the washing machine will continue to drain, causing water to enter the dryer's water storage tank and overflow, posing a safety hazard.

[0047] To address the technical problems existing in related technologies, this disclosure provides a method for controlling the drainage of a dual-function electrical appliance. By continuously monitoring the water storage state of the water tank, which characterizes the amount of water stored in the tank, the method determines whether to shut down the drainage function of a first electrical appliance based on the water storage state. In response to determining whether to shut down the drainage function of the first electrical appliance, the method controls the drainage function of the drainage pump. This allows for the control of the drainage pump's drainage function based on the water storage state of the tank, enabling or disabling drainage, thus diversifying the drainage control methods. Furthermore, it enables the drainage pump to be stopped when the water tank is full, avoiding safety hazards.

[0048] It should be noted that the dual-function electrical appliance involved in this disclosure only needs to include a first appliance and a second appliance, with the second appliance placed above the first appliance. The first appliance is equipped with a drain pipe and a drain pump located on the drain pipe, and the second appliance is equipped with a water storage box. The water storage box shares the drain pipe with the first appliance. The specific structure and function of the dual-function electrical appliance are not limited. For example, the first appliance can be an appliance with drainage function, such as a washing machine or a sweeper, and the second appliance can be an appliance with a water storage box, such as a dryer or an air conditioner, which needs to drain the water in the water storage box.

[0049] In one example, in a combination appliance (such as a washer-dryer set), the first appliance (such as a washing machine) and the second appliance (such as a dryer) may have their own controllers, that is, the combination appliance includes a first appliance controller (such as a washing machine controller) and a second appliance controller (such as a dryer controller).

[0050] In this case, the aforementioned dual-function electrical appliance drainage control method can be implemented through the interaction of the first electrical appliance controller and the second electrical appliance controller. For example, the first electrical appliance controller is communicatively connected to the second electrical appliance controller via a signal line. The second electrical appliance continuously monitors the water storage status of the water tank, determines whether to shut down the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the water storage status, and transmits the result of confirming whether to shut down the drainage function of the first electrical appliance to the first electrical appliance controller via the signal line. In response to determining whether to shut down the drainage function of the first electrical appliance, the first electrical appliance controller controls the drainage function of the drainage pump. Alternatively, the second electrical appliance continuously monitors the water storage status of the water tank and transmits the water storage status to the first electrical appliance controller via a signal line. The first electrical appliance controller determines whether to shut down the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the water storage status, and in response to determining whether to shut down the drainage function of the first electrical appliance, controls the drainage function of the drainage pump. In another example, the dual-function electrical appliance includes only one integrated controller that integrates the functions of the first and second electrical appliance controllers, and the aforementioned dual-function electrical appliance drainage control method is implemented solely by this integrated controller.

[0051] The following description, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, provides an exemplary illustration of the drain control method for a complex electrical appliance, the complex electrical appliance itself, and the storage medium provided in the embodiments of this disclosure.

[0052] Figure 2 This is a flowchart illustrating a method for controlling drainage in a complex electrical appliance system, as provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. This method is applicable to situations where the first appliance in a complex electrical appliance system is draining water. This method can be executed by a drainage control device for a complex electrical appliance system provided in this embodiment, which can be implemented using software and / or hardware. Figure 2 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0053] S101. Continuously monitor the water storage status of the water storage box.

[0054] The water storage status is used to characterize the water volume in the water storage box, that is, the water level in the storage box can be determined based on the water storage status. The water storage status determines whether the water storage box is full or not, where not full includes being empty. In one example, a water level detection sensor is installed inside the water storage box, and a dual-function electrical appliance (specifically, a second electrical controller or an integrated controller) continuously monitors the water storage status of the water storage box through the sensor. It should be noted that when the sensor detects that the water volume in the water storage box has reached 80% of its capacity, it is considered that the water storage box is full; otherwise, it is considered that the water storage box is not full. In some embodiments, the water storage status is obtained by averaging the water volume of the water storage box multiple times using the sensor. Therefore, averaging multiple samples can remove noise and glitches, improving the accuracy of water storage status detection.

[0055] In some embodiments, the water storage status of the water storage box is continuously monitored when the duplex appliance is turned on.

[0056] Specifically, after the dual-function appliance is turned on, it continuously and periodically checks the water storage status of the water tank, and can determine the duration of the water storage status (for non-full water states, different water volumes can be distinguished and a uniform time can be used). The detection cycle can be determined based on the shortest possible time during which a blockage in the drain pipe can be identified. For example, when the drain pipe is not blocked, once water (such as condensate) is generated in the water tank, it will be drawn into the drain pipe by gravity and discharged through it, meaning the water tank will be essentially empty. However, when the drain pipe is blocked, if the first appliance is draining water, since the water tank is connected to the drain pipe, water will enter the water tank once the drain pipe is full, causing the water level in the water tank to rise continuously until it is full and overflows.

[0057] To rule out special cases (excluding drain pipe blockage) causing the water tank to be full, the duration of the water tank remaining full can be monitored to ensure it reaches a set time. If the set time is reached, the drain pipe is considered blocked. In this embodiment, the set time is 3 seconds. Accordingly, the detection cycle is 3 seconds, meaning the appliance continuously monitors the water tank's water level for 3 seconds. After the 3-second monitoring period, if the water tank is not consistently full within that monitoring cycle, the monitoring continues for another 3 seconds until the water tank remains consistently full throughout a monitoring cycle, at which point the continuous monitoring stops.

[0058] In some embodiments, considering that water overflows from the water storage tank only when the first appliance drains water when the drain pipe is blocked, the dual appliance only begins to continuously monitor the water storage status of the water storage tank when the first appliance starts its drainage program (such as the drain and spin-dry programs of a washing machine). This reduces power consumption. In this embodiment, when the drainage program of the first appliance is triggered (including manual and automatic triggering), the dual appliance is simultaneously triggered to continuously monitor the water storage status of the water storage tank.

[0059] S102. Determine whether to shut off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the water storage status.

[0060] For example, based on the water storage status, if it is determined that the water storage box is full, the drainage function of the first appliance is turned off. Generally, the water storage box is located above the first appliance. Due to gravity, the water in the storage box will naturally drain out if the drain pipe is not blocked, and the storage box will not be full. Usually, the storage box will only be full when the drain pipe is blocked. Therefore, by determining that the water storage box is full based on the water storage status, the drainage function of the first appliance is turned off, thereby preventing water in the storage box from overflowing onto the outside of the duplex appliance. In particular, based on the example of S101, while continuously detecting the water storage status of the storage box, the duration of the water storage status can also be obtained, thereby eliminating the possibility that the water storage box is full due to reasons other than drain pipe blockage, and preventing misjudgment of drain pipe blockage.

[0061] Based on the example of S101, this step can be performed in real time during each detection cycle, or at the end of each detection cycle.

[0062] Specifically, based on the water storage status, once the water storage box is determined to be full and the full state persists for a set duration, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is shut off. The set duration can be the aforementioned detection cycle. When the full state persists for the set duration, it indicates a blockage in the drain pipe, and drainage cannot continue. Otherwise, water overflowing from the water storage box may damage the structure of the multi-functional appliance (such as circuit boards) or even cause water accumulation in the house. In this case, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance should be shut off to prevent the drain pump from continuing to operate.

[0063] Additionally, based on the water storage status, if it is determined that the water storage box is not full, or if the water storage box is full but the duration of the full state has not reached the set duration, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is activated, and the water storage status of the water storage box continues to be monitored. If the water storage box is not full or the duration of the full state has not reached the first preset duration, it is considered that the drain pipe is not blocked (it is also possible that it is blocked but the blockage is not serious, or it is blocked but the water storage box is not full, and there is no safety hazard, all of which are confirmed as not blocked). At this time, the first electrical appliance can still continue to drain water, thus determining that the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is activated. Afterwards, the above-mentioned dual electrical appliance drainage control method is executed again, and S101 and S102 are executed in a loop until it is determined that the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is deactivated.

[0064] S103. In response to determining whether to shut down the drainage function of the first electrical appliance, control the drainage function of the drainage pump.

[0065] Specifically, when it is determined that the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is turned off, the drainage pump is prohibited from operating; when it is determined that the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is turned on, the drainage pump is allowed to operate. Thus, when the first electrical appliance is in the drainage stage, the secondary electrical appliance can, depending on whether the drainage pump is allowed to operate, start the drainage pump to drain water, and stop the drainage pump to drain water when the drainage pump is prohibited from operating.

[0066] In summary, the dual-function electrical system can control the drainage pump's drainage function based on the water storage status of the water tank in the second electrical unit. Thus, during the drainage phase of the first electrical unit, if the drain pipe becomes blocked, the drainage pump stops to prevent excessive water overflow from the water tank and avoid safety hazards. If the drain pipe is not blocked, the drainage pump starts to drain water, enabling the first electrical unit to perform its normal drainage function.

[0067] Based on the above technical solution, considering that, on the one hand, blockages in the drain pipe will be removed by water pressure or human intervention, and on the other hand, if the drain pipe is not completely blocked, the water in the storage box will slowly flow away due to gravity. Therefore, after determining that the storage box is full based on the water storage status and turning off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance, in order to ensure that the first electrical appliance drains as much wastewater as possible, the water storage status of the storage box can be continuously monitored to determine whether the drainage function of the first electrical appliance should be restored.

[0068] Specifically, after determining that the water storage box is full based on the water storage status and turning off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance, the process further includes: restoring the drainage function of the first electrical appliance if the continuous duration of the water storage box being full is less than or equal to a first preset duration. In this embodiment, the continuous duration of the water storage box being full being less than or equal to the first preset duration indicates that the time the water storage box remains full does not exceed the first preset duration, meaning that within the first preset duration, the water storage box changes from being full to not being full. This indicates that the water in the water storage box is slowly draining away, the blockage problem is beginning to ease, and it is possible to try controlling the drain pump to drain water, at which point the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is restored. Correspondingly, in response to restoring the drainage function of the first electrical appliance, the drain pump is allowed to operate, so that the drain pump is activated when the first electrical appliance is in the drainage stage. In this embodiment, the first preset duration can be determined based on the rate of water drop in the water storage box when the drain pipe is not completely blocked, so as to determine that the drain pipe is not completely blocked, and can be set according to the actual situation. Optionally, the first preset duration can be 30 seconds.

[0069] In some embodiments, the method further includes: issuing a drainage abnormality warning based on the fact that the water tank has been in a full state for a continuous period exceeding a first preset time. In this embodiment, if the water tank remains full for a continuous period of time reaching the first preset time, and the water tank is still detected to be full at the next detection time after reaching the first preset time, then the continuous period of time the water tank remains full must exceed the first preset time. This indicates that the drain pipe is blocked and drainage is temporarily impossible, and the drainage function of the first appliance remains off. Considering that a blocked drain pipe will affect the drainage function of the first appliance, causing programs containing drainage functions (such as dehydration) in the first appliance to fail to run, if the continuous period of time the water tank remains full exceeds the first preset time, manual unblocking is required. At this time, the duplex appliance (such as the first appliance in the duplex appliance) can be controlled to issue a drainage abnormality warning at the next detection time, such as a light and / or sound alarm, to notify the user to promptly clear the blockage.

[0070] Based on the above technical solution, in a specific example, after determining that the water storage box is full based on the water storage status and turning off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance, the duration of the water storage box being full is timed. Once it is detected that the water storage box is not full, the timing stops, and the time remaining after the timing stops is taken as the continuous duration of the water storage box being full. This time is then reset to zero so that the time of the water storage box being full can be timed again when the water storage box is full again. In this way, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance can be restored or a drainage abnormality warning can be issued based on the time the water storage box is full. For example, if the time is less than or equal to a first preset time, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is restored; if the time is greater than the first preset time, a drainage abnormality warning is issued.

[0071] In some embodiments, after restoring the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the continuous duration of the water storage box being full being less than or equal to a first preset duration, the method further includes: turning off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the continuous duration of the water storage box not being full being less than a second preset duration, and executing a preset process, the preset process including: restoring the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the continuous duration of the water storage box being full being less than or equal to the first preset duration; and issuing a drainage abnormality prompt based on the continuous duration of the water storage box being full being more than the first preset duration.

[0072] In this embodiment, if the duration for which the water storage box is not full is less than the second preset duration, it means that the duration for which the water storage box is not full has not reached the second preset duration. That is, within the second preset duration, the water storage box changes from being not full to being full. This indicates that the water in the storage box gradually increases during the drainage process through the drain pipe, and the blockage problem in the drain pipe remains unresolved. To prevent water from overflowing the storage box, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance should be turned off again. Correspondingly, in response to turning off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance, the drainage pump is prohibited from operating, so that the drainage pump stops draining while the first electrical appliance is in the drainage stage, preventing water from overflowing the storage box. In this embodiment, the second preset duration is determined based on the shortest time required to determine if the drain pipe blockage problem has been resolved. Optionally, the second preset duration can be 1 minute. In addition, when the water tank is full again, the duration of the water tank being full is monitored again. This allows the first appliance to resume its drainage function if the drain pipe is not completely blocked, enabling the first appliance to attempt to drain water. If the drain pipe is completely blocked, a drainage abnormality warning is issued to notify the user to remove the blockage in time to restore the normal drainage of the first appliance.

[0073] In some embodiments, the method further includes: continuously detecting the water storage status of the water storage box based on the continuous duration of the water storage box not being full for a second preset duration, so as to control the drainage function of the drain pump. Specifically, if all the water in the water storage box has drained out, the water storage box is in an empty state, and the duration of the empty state reaches the second preset duration, then it is considered that the blockage problem of the drain pipe has been resolved, and the drain pipe can drain normally. Since the drainage function of the first electrical appliance has been restored, the process can return to the initial detection step and execute S101 to S103 to control the drainage function of the drain pump in real time.

[0074] Similar to timing the duration the water tank is full, based on the above technical solution, in a specific example, after restoring the drainage function of the first appliance based on the continuous duration of the water tank being full being less than or equal to a first preset duration, timing begins for the duration the water tank is not full. Once the water tank is detected to be full, timing stops, and the duration after timing stops is taken as the continuous duration the water tank is not full. This timing duration is then reset to zero so that when the water tank is not full again, the timing for the duration the water tank is not full can be restarted. In this way, the drainage function of the first appliance can be turned off or the water storage status of the water tank can be continuously monitored based on the timing duration of the water tank not being full. For example, if the timing duration is less than a second preset duration, the drainage function of the first appliance is turned off; if the timing duration is equal to the first preset duration, the water storage status of the water tank is continuously monitored, i.e., returning to execution S101.

[0075] In a specific example, following the above embodiments, after the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is turned off, the water storage box is continuously monitored to determine if it is full. If the drain pipe is not completely blocked, the water in the storage box will flow away due to gravity. When the storage box is not full, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is restored. Subsequently, if the water in the storage box runs out, it is detected that the storage box is empty. If the empty state lasts for 1 minute, it indicates that the drain pipe blockage problem has been resolved, and the dual-function electrical appliance drainage control method of this disclosure is re-executed. If the empty state lasts for less than 1 minute, the water storage box is monitored to determine if it is full. Once the water storage box is detected to be full, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is turned off. Subsequently, if the drain pipe is not completely blocked, the water in the water tank will flow away due to gravity. In this case, the duration of the full water state will be less than or equal to 30 seconds. Then, the drainage function of the first appliance will be restored, and the above operation will be repeated until the drainage control method of the dual appliances disclosed herein is re-executed or the water in the first appliance is drained. If the drain pipe is completely blocked, and the duration of the full water state is greater than 30 seconds, the dry cleaning machine alarm should be triggered.

[0076] Based on the above embodiments, in a specific example, taking a double-unit washer-dryer set as an example, please refer to... Figure 1 The washer-dryer set includes a washing machine and a dryer. The dryer is placed on top of the washing machine and has a water tank and a dryer controller. The washing machine has a drain pipe, a drain pump located on the drain pipe, and a washing machine controller. The water tank is connected to the drain pipe, and the dryer controller is connected to the washing machine controller via a signal line.

[0077] After the washer-dryer set is started, the dryer controller continuously checks the water level in the water tank for 3 seconds. If the water tank is not consistently full during this 3-second check, the controller continues to check for another 3 seconds until the water tank is consistently full throughout the check cycle, at which point the continuous monitoring stops. When the dryer controller detects that the water tank is full for 3 seconds, it notifies the washing machine controller to shut off the drainage function. Afterward, the dryer controller continuously checks the water level. When the water tank is not full, the dryer controller notifies the washing machine controller to resume the drainage function. Then, if the water tank is detected to be full again within 1 minute, the dryer controller notifies the washing machine controller to shut off the drainage function. If the water tank is full for 30 seconds, the dryer controller triggers an alarm on the dryer. Additionally, if the water tank is empty for 1 minute, the dual-function appliance drainage control method of this disclosure is re-executed.

[0078] The drainage control method for dual-function appliances provided in this disclosure is applied to dual-function appliances (such as washer-dryer sets) where the first and second appliances share a drain pipe. The method includes continuously monitoring the water storage status of the water tank, which characterizes the amount of water stored in the tank; determining whether to shut off the drainage function of the first appliance based on the water storage status; and controlling the drainage function of the drain pump in response to determining whether to shut off the drainage function of the first appliance. Therefore, this technical solution considers the water storage status of the water tank in the second appliance when controlling the drainage of the first appliance. It can determine whether to shut off the drainage function of the first appliance based on the water storage status, and then control the drainage pump in response to the shutdown status, thereby allowing or prohibiting drainage from the first appliance, improving the flexibility and enriching the control of the first appliance's drainage. Simultaneously, it can shut off the drainage function of the first appliance when the water tank is full, thus avoiding safety hazards caused by overflowing water from the water tank.

[0079] Based on the same inventive concept, this disclosure also provides a dual-function electrical drainage control device. Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a duplex electrical drainage control device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown below. Figure 3 As shown, the device includes:

[0080] The water storage status detection module 21 is used to continuously detect the water storage status of the water storage box; the drainage function determination module 22 is used to determine whether to turn off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the water storage status; the drainage pump control module 23 is used to control the drainage function of the drainage pump in response to determining whether to turn off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance.

[0081] This disclosure also provides another method for controlling drainage in a complex electrical system. Figure 4This is a flowchart illustrating another method for controlling drainage in a complex electrical system provided in this embodiment. This method is applied to the complex electrical system provided in this embodiment and can be executed by the second electrical appliance within the complex electrical system, specifically by the second electrical appliance controller.

[0082] like Figure 4 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0083] S301. Continuously monitor the water storage status of the water storage box.

[0084] S302. Determine whether to shut down the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the water storage status, and send the determination result to the first electrical appliance.

[0085] The specific steps of the duplex electrical drainage control method provided in this embodiment can be found in the following reference. Figure 2 The corresponding implementation examples will not be described in detail here.

[0086] The dual-function electrical drainage control method provided in this embodiment takes into account the water storage state of the water tank in the second appliance when controlling the drainage of the first appliance. The second appliance can determine whether the drainage function of the first appliance is turned off based on the water storage state, so that the first appliance controls the drainage pump's drainage function in response to the off state. This allows or prohibits the first appliance from draining, improving the flexibility and enriching the control over the drainage of the first appliance. Simultaneously, it can turn off the drainage function of the first appliance when the water tank is full, thereby avoiding safety hazards caused by water overflowing from the water tank.

[0087] Based on the same inventive concept, this disclosure also provides another dual-type electrical drainage control device. Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of another duplex electrical drainage control device provided in an embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown below. Figure 5 As shown, the device includes:

[0088] The second water storage status detection module 41 is used to continuously detect the water storage status of the water storage box; the drainage function determination and transmission module 42 is used to determine whether to turn off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the water storage status and the duration of the water storage status, and to send the determination result to the first electrical appliance.

[0089] This disclosure also provides another method for controlling drainage in a complex electrical system. Figure 6 This is a flowchart illustrating another method for controlling drainage in a complex electrical system provided in this embodiment. This method is applied to the complex electrical system provided in this embodiment and can be executed by the first electrical appliance in the complex electrical system, specifically by the first electrical appliance controller.

[0090] like Figure 6As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0091] S501: Receive the result from the second electrical appliance indicating whether to shut down the drainage function of the first electrical appliance.

[0092] S502. In response to the determined result, control the drainage function of the drainage pump.

[0093] The specific steps of the duplex electrical drainage control method provided in this embodiment can be found in the following reference. Figure 2 The corresponding implementation examples will not be described in detail here.

[0094] The dual-function electrical drainage control method provided in this disclosure takes into account the water storage state of the water tank in the second electrical appliance when controlling the drainage of the first electrical appliance. The second electrical appliance can determine whether the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is turned off based on the water storage state. The first electrical appliance controls the drainage pump's drainage function in response to the off status, thereby allowing or prohibiting drainage by the first electrical appliance, improving the flexibility and enriching the control over the drainage of the first electrical appliance. Simultaneously, it can turn off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance when the water tank is full, thus avoiding safety hazards caused by overflowing water from the water tank.

[0095] Based on the same inventive concept, this disclosure also provides another dual-type electrical drainage control device. Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of another duplex electrical drainage control device provided in the embodiments of this disclosure, as shown below. Figure 7 As shown, the device includes:

[0096] The result receiving module 61 is used to receive the result sent by the second electrical appliance indicating whether to turn off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance; the second drainage pump control module 62 is used to control the drainage function of the drainage pump in response to the result.

[0097] This disclosure also provides a storage medium, such as a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a program or instructions that, when executed by a computer, are used to perform a complex electrical drainage control method. Therefore, this storage medium has the beneficial effects described in the above embodiments, which will not be elaborated upon here.

[0098] Optionally, when executed by a computer processor, the computer-executable instructions can also be used to execute the technical solution of the complex electrical drainage control method provided in any embodiment of this disclosure.

[0099] Based on the above embodiments, this disclosure also provides a duplex electrical appliance. Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a duplex electrical appliance provided in an embodiment of this disclosure. Figure 8As shown, it includes a processor 701 and a memory 702. The processor 701 executes programs or instructions stored in the memory, such as... Figure 2 The steps of the methods provided, or the execution of such methods, are as follows. Figure 4 The steps of the methods provided, or the execution of such methods, are as follows. Figure 6 The steps of the method provided herein therefore possess the beneficial effects described in the above embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0100] like Figure 8 As shown, a dual-function appliance may include at least one processor 701, at least one memory 702, and at least one communication interface 703. The various components in the dual-function appliance are coupled together via a bus system 704. The communication interface 703 is used for information transmission with external devices. It is understood that the bus system 704 is used to realize communication between these components. In addition to a data bus, the bus system 704 also includes a power bus, a control bus, and a status signal bus. However, for clarity, in... Figure 8 The general designated all buses as Bus System 704.

[0101] It is understood that the memory 702 in this embodiment may be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or may include both volatile and non-volatile memory. In some embodiments, the memory 702 stores elements such as executable units or data structures, or subsets thereof, or extended sets thereof, operating systems, and applications. In embodiments of the present invention, the processor 701 executes the steps of the various embodiments of the methods provided in this disclosure by invoking programs or instructions stored in the memory 702.

[0102] The method provided in this disclosure can be applied to, or implemented by, processor 701. Processor 701 can be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities. During implementation, each step of the above method can be completed by integrated logic circuits in the hardware of processor 701 or by instructions in software form. The processor 701 can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. The general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor.

[0103] The steps of the method provided in this disclosure can be directly implemented by a hardware decoding processor, or implemented by a combination of hardware and software units in the decoding processor. The software units can reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other storage media mature in the art. This storage medium is located in memory 702, and processor 701 reads information from memory 302 and combines it with its hardware to complete the steps of the method.

[0104] Based on the above description of the implementation methods, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that this application can be implemented using software and necessary general-purpose hardware, and of course, it can also be implemented using hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium, such as a computer floppy disk, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), flash memory, hard disk, or optical disk, etc., including several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods of the various embodiments of this disclosure.

[0105] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used merely to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Unless otherwise specified, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes the element.

[0106] The above are merely specific embodiments of this disclosure, enabling those skilled in the art to understand or implement this disclosure. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not to be limited to these embodiments, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for controlling drainage in a complex electrical system, wherein the complex electrical system includes a first electrical appliance and a second electrical appliance stacked on top of the first electrical appliance, the first electrical appliance includes a drain pipe and a drain pump mounted on the drain pipe, and the second electrical appliance includes a water storage box, the water storage box being connected to the drain pipe, characterized in that, The method includes: The water storage status of the water storage box is continuously monitored, and the water storage status is used to characterize the water storage volume of the water storage box; Determine whether to shut down the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the water storage status; In response to determining whether to turn off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance, the drainage function of the drainage pump is controlled; The step of determining whether to shut off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the water storage status includes: Based on the water storage status, it is determined that the water storage box is full, and the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is turned off; The method further includes: If the duration for which the water storage box is full is less than or equal to a first preset duration, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is restored. Based on the fact that the continuous duration during which the water storage box is not full is less than a second preset duration, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is turned off, and a preset process is executed, the preset process including: If the duration for which the water storage box is full is less than or equal to a first preset duration, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is restored. If the water storage box remains full for more than the first preset time, a drainage abnormality warning will be issued.

2. The method for controlling drainage of a complex electrical system according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: If the water storage box is not full for a continuous period of time, reaching a second preset duration, the water storage status of the water storage box will continue to be continuously monitored in order to control the drainage function of the drainage pump.

3. The method for controlling drainage of a complex electrical system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The water storage status is obtained by taking the average value of the water storage volume of the water storage box by multiple samplings of the water storage volume by the sensor.

4. A method for controlling drainage in a dual-function electrical system, wherein the dual-function electrical system includes a first electrical appliance and a second electrical appliance stacked on top of the first electrical appliance, the first electrical appliance includes a drain pipe and a drain pump mounted on the drain pipe, and the second electrical appliance includes a water storage box, the water storage box being connected to the drain pipe, characterized in that... The method is performed by the second electrical appliance, and the method includes: The water storage status of the water storage box is continuously monitored, and the water storage status is used to characterize the water storage volume of the water storage box; Based on the water storage status, determine whether to shut down the drainage function of the first electrical appliance, and send the determination result to the first electrical appliance; The step of determining whether to shut off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the water storage status includes: Based on the water storage status, it is determined that the water storage box is full, and the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is turned off; The method further includes: If the duration for which the water storage box is full is less than or equal to a first preset duration, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is restored. Based on the fact that the continuous duration during which the water storage box is not full is less than a second preset duration, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is turned off, and a preset process is executed, the preset process including: If the duration for which the water storage box is full is less than or equal to a first preset duration, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is restored. If the water storage box remains full for more than the first preset time, a drainage abnormality warning will be issued.

5. A method for controlling drainage in a complex electrical system, wherein the complex electrical system includes a first electrical appliance and a second electrical appliance stacked on top of the first electrical appliance, the first electrical appliance includes a drain pipe and a drain pump mounted on the drain pipe, and the second electrical appliance includes a water storage box, the water storage box being connected to the drain pipe, characterized in that... The method is performed by the first electrical appliance, and the method includes: The system receives a determination result from the second electrical appliance indicating whether to turn off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance; wherein the determination result is a determination result based on continuously detecting the water storage status of the water storage box and determining whether to turn off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the water storage status, and the water storage status is used to characterize the water storage volume of the water storage box. In response to the determined result, the drainage function of the drainage pump is controlled; The step of determining whether to shut off the drainage function of the first electrical appliance based on the water storage status includes: Based on the water storage status, it is determined that the water storage box is full, and the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is turned off; The method further includes: If the duration for which the water storage box is full is less than or equal to a first preset duration, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is restored. Based on the fact that the continuous duration during which the water storage box is not full is less than a second preset duration, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is turned off, and a preset process is executed, the preset process including: If the duration for which the water storage box is full is less than or equal to a first preset duration, the drainage function of the first electrical appliance is restored. If the water storage box remains full for more than the first preset time, a drainage abnormality warning will be issued.

6. A duplex electrical appliance, characterized in that, include: The processor and memory, wherein the processor executes the steps of the dual-function electrical appliance drainage control method as described in any one of claims 1-3, or the steps of the dual-function electrical appliance drainage control method as described in claim 4, or the steps of the dual-function electrical appliance drainage control method as described in claim 5 by calling a program or instruction stored in the memory.

7. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the steps of the dual-function electrical drainage control method as described in any one of claims 1-3, or the steps of the dual-function electrical drainage control method as described in claim 4, or the steps of the dual-function electrical drainage control method as described in claim 5.

Images