Drying equipment and its humidity detection method, drying control method
The drying apparatus uses rotatable electrode plates to measure capacitance for precise humidity detection and targeted drying, improving drying efficiency by focusing on the most humid areas.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-03-21
- Publication Date
- 2026-04-02
AI Technical Summary
Existing methods for detecting clothing humidity during drying, such as using resistance sensors, are inaccurate when humidity is uneven within the clothing, leading to ineffective drying.
A drying apparatus with rotatable electrode plates forming capacitors, which measure capacitance values to determine the maximum humidity position, allowing for targeted drying by adjusting the air outlet angle.
Accurately detects the position of maximum humidity and enhances drying efficiency by directing hot air to the most humid areas.
Smart Images
Figure 2026510410000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This application claims the priority of a Chinese patent application with an application date of March 28, 2023 and an application number of 202310312529.6, and the entire content of this application is incorporated herein by reference.
[0002] This application relates to the technical field of smart home appliances, for example, drying devices, methods for detecting their humidity, and drying control methods.
Background Art
[0003] In a clothing processing routine, especially in a drying routine, usually, it is determined whether drying is completed according to the humidity situation of the clothing. In related technologies, usually, a resistance sensor is used for detection. Specifically, the sensor contacts the clothing to measure the resistance of the clothing surface, estimates the humidity value of the clothing surface according to the resistance value of the clothing surface, and determines whether the clothing is dry according to the humidity value. However, if the drying of the clothing is uneven, the accuracy of detecting the humidity of the clothing using the above method is poor. Especially when the humidity is different at different positions inside the clothing, accurate and effective measurement cannot be performed by the above method, and the clothing cannot be effectively dried.
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] This application provides a drying device, a method for detecting its humidity, and a drying control method that can realize the detection of the position where the humidity of the clothing is maximum and further improve the drying effect.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0005] The drying apparatus includes a rotatable processing chamber for placing and processing clothes; at least two first electrode plates horizontally and fixedly mounted on one side of the processing chamber and spaced apart from and insulated from the processing chamber; at least two second electrode plates insulatedly mounted to the processing chamber and rotatable together with the processing chamber, wherein a plurality of capacitors are formed between the second electrode plates and the first electrode plates; and a control unit configured to acquire the capacitance values of the plurality of capacitors and to determine the position in which the humidity of the clothes is maximized according to the capacitance values of the plurality of capacitors.
[0006] One embodiment of the present invention further provides a method for detecting humidity in the above-mentioned drying apparatus, the method for detecting humidity in the drying apparatus includes drying the clothes for a first predetermined time after the start of drying, obtaining the capacitance values of a plurality of capacitors formed when the processing chamber is rotated so that the connections of the two second electrode plates are in a horizontal and vertical position, and determining the position in which the humidity of the clothes is maximum according to the capacitance values of the plurality of capacitors.
[0007] One embodiment of the present invention further provides a drying control method for the above-described drying apparatus, the drying control method for the drying apparatus includes controlling the drying of clothes for a first predetermined time, obtaining the capacitance values of a plurality of capacitors formed when the processing chamber is rotated so that the connections of two second electrode plates are in a horizontal and vertical position, determining the position in which the humidity of the clothes is maximum according to the capacitance values of the plurality of capacitors, and adjusting the angle of the outlet so that the hot air flowing out from the outlet is blown toward the position in which the humidity of the clothes is maximum. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0008] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram illustrating the principle of a drying apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a flowchart of a humidity detection method for a drying device according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart of a drying control method for a drying apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] This is a schematic diagram of the housing of a drying apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0009] In this description, unless otherwise explicitly stated or limited, the terms “connected,” “linked,” and “fixed” should be understood broadly, for example, as fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections, mechanical connections, electrical connections, direct connections, indirect connections via an intermediate medium, or internal communication between two elements or an interaction between two elements. Those skilled in the art will understand the specific meaning of these terms in this invention depending on the specific context.
[0010] In this application, unless otherwise explicitly stated or limited, the presence of a first feature "above" or "below" a second feature may include direct contact between the first and second features, or it may include contact between the first and second features via other features between them, without direct contact. Furthermore, the presence of a first feature "above," "above," and "on the top surface" of a second feature may include the first feature being directly above and diagonally above the second feature, or simply indicating that the horizontal height of the first feature is greater than that of the second feature. The presence of a first feature "below," "below," and "on the bottom surface" of a second feature may include the first feature being directly below and diagonally below the second feature, or simply indicating that the horizontal height of the first feature is lower than that of the second feature.
[0011] In this description, terms such as "up," "down," and "right" refer to directions or positional relationships based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings. These terms are merely for the purpose of facilitating explanation and simplifying operation, and do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements mentioned have a specific direction or must be configured and operated in a specific direction. Therefore, they should be understood as not limiting this application. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used merely for distinction in the description and do not carry any special meaning.
[0012] To better achieve humidity detection and drying control for clothing, this application provides a drying device having a housing 10, a processing chamber 20 rotatably provided within the housing 10, the processing chamber 20 being able to accommodate clothing and be driven and rotated by a motor or other component to process the clothing, and the clothing processing routine by the processing chamber 20 including, but not limited to, washing, dewatering and drying of clothing, and this application describes only a drying device having a drying function. In this embodiment, the processing chamber 20 is provided in a cylindrical structure and is grounded, further effectively protecting the human body and avoiding the risk of electric shock.
[0013] As shown in Figure 1, the drying apparatus further includes at least two first electrode plates and at least two second electrode plates, the at least two first electrode plates (Figure 1 shows two first electrode plates A1 and A2) being mounted horizontally and fixedly to one side of the processing chamber 20, for example, to an observation window corresponding to the entrance of the processing chamber 20 or to the housing 10, and the at least two first electrode plates are spaced apart and insulated from each other. The first electrode plates and the processing chamber 20 are also spaced apart and insulated from each other. The two second electrode plates (Figure 1 shows two second electrode plates B1 and B2) are insulatedly mounted to the processing chamber 20 and are rotatable with the processing chamber 20, and in one embodiment, the second electrode plates are mounted to the rear end wall of the processing chamber 20.
[0014] Multiple capacitors can be formed between the at least two first electrode plates and the at least two second electrode plates described above; that is, each first electrode plate can form a capacitor with a different second electrode plate, and similarly, each second electrode plate can form a capacitor with a different first electrode plate. Furthermore, because the positions of the at least two first electrode plates and the at least two second electrode plates are different, the dielectric constants between the formed capacitors may be the same or different, and consequently, the capacitance values detected in the multiple formed capacitors may be the same or different. In addition, since the second electrode plates are rotatable with the processing chamber 20, this results in two states between the second electrode plates and the first electrode plates: one state in which the connections of the two second electrode plates can be parallel to the connections of the at least two first electrode plates, and the other state in which, after a 90° rotation, the connections of the two second electrode plates can be perpendicular to the connections of the at least two first electrode plates. Furthermore, the existence of these two states indicates that the capacitance values detected in the multiple capacitors will be different.
[0015] Let us explain using the example of having two first electrode plates and two second electrode plates. As shown in Figure 1, the two first electrode plates A1 and A2 are mounted horizontally spaced apart in the observation window or housing 10, and the two second electrode plates B1 and B2 are mounted on the rear end wall of the processing chamber 20. At this time, four capacitors are formed, namely A1B1, A1B2, A2B1, and A2B2. When the processing chamber 20 is rotated so that the connection between B1 and B2 is parallel to the connection between A1 and A2, four capacitance values are generated, and according to these four capacitance values, the position in which the humidity of the clothing is maximum in the left-right and front-back directions can be obtained. When the processing chamber 20 is rotated so that the connection between B1 and B2 is perpendicular to the connection between A1 and A2, four capacitance values are also generated, and according to these four capacitance values, the position in which the humidity of the clothing is maximum in the up-down direction can be obtained. Furthermore, by rotating the processing chamber 20, the position in which the humidity of the clothing is maximum can be finally obtained.
[0016] In this embodiment, two first electrode plates are provided, and the two first electrode plates are located on both the left and right sides of the axis of the processing chamber 20. Furthermore, spatially, the two first electrode plates are also located approximately on both the left and right sides of the clothing inside the processing chamber 20. Preferably, two second electrode plates are provided, and the two second electrode plates are also located on both sides of the axis of the processing chamber 20.
[0017] The drying apparatus further includes a control unit, which is configured to acquire the capacitance values of a plurality of capacitors and to determine the position in which the humidity of the clothing is maximized according to the capacitance values of the plurality of capacitors.
[0018] With the above drying apparatus, when the processing chamber 20 is rotated so that the connections of the two second electrode plates are in a horizontal and vertical position, the capacitance values of the multiple capacitors formed can be obtained, and then the position where the humidity of the clothes is maximum can be determined according to the capacitance values of the multiple capacitors, and the position where the humidity of the clothes is maximum can be intentionally dried (for example, by adjusting the angle of the outlet so that the hot air flowing out from the outlet is blown toward the position where the humidity of the clothes is maximum), thereby effectively improving the drying effect.
[0019] The present invention further provides a method for detecting humidity in the above-mentioned drying equipment, and as shown in Figure 2, the humidity detection method includes the following steps.
[0020] In S1, after the drying process begins, the clothes are dried for a predetermined time.
[0021] Immediately after the start of drying the clothes, the humidity of the entire garment is high, so there is no need to detect the location with the highest humidity. At this time, the drying routine must first be executed for a first predetermined time. Once the first predetermined time is reached, the surface humidity of the clothes decreases, and the unevenness of the clothing humidity becomes more pronounced. At this point, S2 can be executed.
[0022] In S2, the processing chamber is rotated so that the connections between the two second electrode plates are in a horizontal and vertical position, and the capacitance values of the multiple capacitors formed are obtained.
[0023] After drying the clothes for a first predetermined time at S1, it is possible to detect the position where the humidity of the clothes is maximum. The detection in this step is related to two states when the processing chamber rotates so that the connection lines of the two second electrode plates are in a horizontal state and a vertical state. That is, when the connection lines of the two second electrode plates are at least parallel to the connection lines of the two first electrode plates, and when the connection lines of the two second electrode plates are at least perpendicular to the connection lines of the two first electrode plates, the capacitance values of the formed plurality of capacitors are measured.
[0024] At S2, the following steps are used to obtain the capacitance value.
[0025] At S21, when the processing chamber rotates so that the connection lines of the two second electrode plates are in a horizontal state, the first horizontal state capacitance value of the capacitor formed by the first electrode plates and the second electrode plates provided opposite to each other on the left and right sides, and the second horizontal state capacitance value of the capacitor formed by the first electrode plates and the second electrode plates provided obliquely are obtained.
[0026] At S22, when the processing chamber rotates so that the connection lines of the two second electrode plates are in a vertical state, the vertical state capacitance values of the plurality of capacitors are obtained.
[0027] Through the above two steps, the first horizontal state capacitance value, the second horizontal state capacitance value, and the vertical state capacitance value can be obtained.
[0028] At S3, the position where the humidity of the clothes is maximum is determined according to the capacitance values of the plurality of capacitors.
[0029] In this step, after obtaining the first horizontal state capacitance value, the second horizontal state capacitance value, and the vertical state capacitance value by S2, the position where the humidity of the clothes is maximum can be determined according to the first horizontal state capacitance value, the second horizontal state capacitance value, and the vertical state capacitance value.
[0030] At S3, the following method is used to determine the position where the humidity of the clothes is maximum.
[0031] In S31, the position corresponding to the capacitor where the first horizontal capacitance value is maximized is referred to as the first position, and this first position is either the left or right side of the clothing.
[0032] Taking the two first electrode plates and two second electrode plates shown in Figure 1 as an example, it is possible to measure two first horizontal capacitance values at A1B1 (the left side of the garment) and A2B2 (the right side of the garment). By comparing the two first horizontal capacitance values, the largest first horizontal capacitance value is selected, and the position where the capacitor corresponding to the first horizontal capacitance value is located is the first position, which is either the left or right side of the garment.
[0033] In S32, the second position is determined according to the position corresponding to the capacitor where the first position and the second horizontal capacitance value are maximized, and the second position is the left front position, left rear position, right front position, or right rear position of the garment.
[0034] Taking the two first electrode plates and two second electrode plates shown in Figure 1 as an example, at this time, two second horizontal state capacitance values can be measured at A1B2 and A2B1. Since the first position is determined to be either the left or right side of the garment at S31, after measuring the two second horizontal state capacitance values based on this, the maximum second horizontal state capacitance value is selected, and the capacitor corresponding to the second horizontal state capacitance value will overlap with or approach the first position, at which point the second position can be obtained. This second position is the left front position, left rear position, right front position, or right rear position of the garment. For example, if the second horizontal state capacitance value at A1B2 measured when the first position is determined to be the left side of the garment is the maximum, then the second position is the left front position of the garment. If the second horizontal state capacitance value at A2B1 measured is the maximum, then the second position is the left rear position of the garment. If the second horizontal state volume value of A1B2 measured when determining that the first position is the right side of the garment is the maximum, then the second position is the right rear position of the garment. If the second horizontal state volume value of A2B1 measured is the maximum, then the second position is the right front position of the garment.
[0035] In S33, the third position is determined according to the second position and the position corresponding to the capacitor with the maximum vertical capacitance value. The third position is either the upper left front position, the lower left front position, the upper left rear position, the lower left rear position, the upper right front position, the lower right front position, the upper right rear position, or the lower right rear position of the garment.
[0036] Taking the two first electrode plates and two second electrode plates shown in Figure 1 as an example, the third position can be obtained by first determining the second position and then determining the position corresponding to the capacitor with the maximum vertical capacitance value. Specifically, this third position is the upper left front position, lower left front position, upper left rear position, lower left rear position, upper right front position, lower right front position, upper right rear position, or lower right rear position of the garment. For example, if the second position is the front left position and the position corresponding to the capacitor with the maximum vertical capacitance value is above the garment, then the third position is the upper left front position. Other cases can be inferred from this and will not be explained further.
[0037] In this embodiment, the third position is the position where the humidity of the clothing is at its maximum.
[0038] The above humidity detection method effectively detects the location where the humidity of clothing is highest, and further provides a basis for subsequent drying control.
[0039] This embodiment further provides a drying control method for the above-mentioned drying equipment, the drying control method for the drying equipment includes the following steps.
[0040] In S10, the system controls the drying process to allow the clothes to dry for a predetermined time.
[0041] This step is the same as step S1 of the humidity detection method described above, and therefore its explanation is omitted.
[0042] In S20, the processing chamber is rotated so that the connections of the two second electrode plates are in a horizontal and vertical position, and the capacitance values of the multiple capacitors formed are obtained.
[0043] S20 includes the following steps:
[0044] In S201, when the processing chamber is rotated so that the connections of the two second electrode plates are in a horizontal position, the first horizontal capacitance value of the capacitor formed by the first and second electrode plates, which are positioned opposite each other on the left and right sides, and the second horizontal capacitance value of the capacitor formed by the first and second electrode plates, which are positioned diagonally, are obtained.
[0045] In S202, when the processing chamber is rotated so that the connections of the two second electrode plates are in a vertical position, the vertical capacitance values of multiple capacitors are obtained.
[0046] The above steps S201 and S202 are the same as steps S21 and S22 of the humidity detection method described above, and therefore their explanation is omitted.
[0047] In S30, the position where the humidity of the clothing is maximized is determined according to the capacitance values of the multiple capacitors.
[0048] S30 includes the following steps.
[0049] In S301, the position corresponding to the capacitor where the first horizontal capacitance value is maximum is referred to as the first position, and the first position is either the left or right side of the garment.
[0050] In S302, a second position is determined according to the first position and the position corresponding to the capacitor where the second horizontal capacitance value is maximum, and the second position is the left front position, left rear position, right front position, or right rear position of the garment.
[0051] In S303, a third position is determined according to the second position and the position corresponding to the capacitor whose vertical capacitance value is maximum, and the third position is the upper left front position, lower left front position, upper left rear position, lower left rear position, upper right front position, lower right front position, upper right rear position, or lower right rear position of the garment.
[0052] Steps S301 to S303 described above are the same as steps S31 to S33 of the humidity detection method described above, and therefore their explanation is omitted.
[0053] In the S40, the angle of the air outlet is adjusted so that the hot air flowing out from the outlet is blown towards the position where the humidity of the clothing is at its highest.
[0054] After obtaining the third position, an intentional drying operation can be performed on the third position, and in one embodiment, by adjusting the angle of the outlet, the hot air flowing out of the outlet can be blown directly toward the third position. This is suitable when the third position is a garment position toward which the air flowing out of the outlet can be blown directly.
[0055] When it is not possible to blow the air out of the outlet directly, it is necessary to control the angle of the outlet so that the hot air flowing out of the outlet is blown towards the side wall of the processing chamber and then refracted to blow towards a third position, making it possible to dry the clothing at the position where the humidity is highest.
[0056] The above drying control method allows for the intentional drying of the area where the humidity of the clothing is highest, thereby effectively improving the drying effect.
Claims
1. A rotatable processing chamber provided for placing and processing clothing, At least two first electrode plates are horizontally and fixedly mounted on one side of the processing chamber and are provided insulated from the processing chamber at a distance from it. At least two second electrode plates insulatedly attached to the processing chamber and rotatable together with the processing chamber, wherein a plurality of capacitors are formed between the second electrode plates and the first electrode plates, A drying apparatus including a control unit configured to acquire the capacitance values of a plurality of capacitors and to determine the position in which the humidity of the clothing is maximized according to the capacitance values of the plurality of capacitors.
2. The drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein two first electrode plates are provided, and the two first electrode plates are located on the left and right sides of the axis of the processing chamber.
3. The drying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein two second electrode plates are provided, and the two second electrode plates are attached to the rear end of the processing chamber and are located on both sides of the axis of the processing chamber.
4. After the drying process begins, the clothes are dried for a predetermined time. When the processing chamber is rotated so that the connections of the two second electrode plates are in a horizontal and vertical position, the capacitance values of the formed capacitors are obtained. A method for detecting humidity in a drying device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising determining the position where the humidity of the clothing is maximum according to the capacitance values of the plurality of capacitors.
5. When the processing chamber is rotated so that the connections of the two second electrode plates are in a horizontal and vertical position, the capacitance values of the formed capacitors can be obtained. When the processing chamber is rotated so that the connections of the two second electrode plates are in a horizontal position, the first horizontal capacitance value of the capacitor formed by the first and second electrode plates, which are positioned opposite each other on both the left and right sides, and the second horizontal capacitance value of the capacitor formed by the first and second electrode plates, which are positioned diagonally, are obtained. The humidity detection method according to claim 4, further comprising: rotating the processing chamber such that the connections of the two second electrode plates are in a vertical position, and obtaining the vertical capacitance values of the plurality of capacitors.
6. Determining the position where the humidity of the clothing is maximum according to the capacitance values of the plurality of capacitors is, The position corresponding to the capacitor where the first horizontal capacitance value is maximum is referred to as the first position, and the first position is either the left or right side of the garment. The second position is determined according to the position corresponding to the capacitor where the first position and the second horizontal capacitance value are maximized, and the second position is the left front position, left rear position, right front position, or right rear position of the garment. The humidity detection method according to claim 5, comprising determining a third position according to the second position and the position corresponding to the capacitor where the vertical state capacitance value is maximum, wherein the third position is the upper left front position, lower left front position, upper left rear position, lower left rear position, upper right front position, lower right front position, upper right rear position, or lower right rear position of the garment.
7. Controlling the clothes to dry for a first predetermined time, When the processing chamber is rotated so that the connections of the two second electrode plates are in a horizontal and vertical position, the capacitance values of the multiple capacitors formed are obtained. The position where the humidity of the clothing is maximized is determined according to the capacitance values of the plurality of capacitors, A drying control method for a drying machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising adjusting the angle of the outlet so that the hot air flowing out from the outlet is blown towards the position where the humidity of the clothing is at its maximum.
8. When the processing chamber is rotated so that the connections of the two second electrode plates are in a horizontal and vertical position, the capacitance values of the formed capacitors can be obtained. When the processing chamber is rotated so that the connections of the two second electrode plates are in a horizontal position, the first horizontal capacitance value of the capacitor formed by the first and second electrode plates arranged opposite each other on both the left and right sides, and the second horizontal capacitance value of the capacitor formed by the first and second electrode plates arranged at an angle are obtained. The drying control method according to claim 7, characterized in that the processing chamber is rotated so that the connections of the two second electrode plates are in a vertical state, and the vertical state capacitance values of a plurality of capacitors are obtained.
9. Determining the position where the humidity of the clothing is maximum according to the capacitance values of the plurality of capacitors is, The position corresponding to the capacitor where the first horizontal capacitance value is maximum is referred to as the first position, and the first position is either the left or right side of the garment. The second position is determined according to the position corresponding to the capacitor where the first position and the second horizontal capacitance value are maximized, and the second position is the left front position, left rear position, right front position, or right rear position of the garment. The drying control method according to claim 8, comprising determining a third position according to the second position and the position corresponding to the capacitor where the vertical capacitance value is maximum, wherein the third position is the upper left front position, lower left front position, upper left rear position, lower left rear position, upper right front position, lower right front position, upper right rear position, or lower right rear position of the garment.
10. Adjusting the angle of the outlet so that the hot air flowing out from the outlet is blown towards the position where the humidity of the clothing is at its maximum is, The steps include adjusting the angle of the outlet so that the hot air flowing out from the outlet is blown directly toward the third position, The drying control method according to claim 9, comprising at least one of the steps of blowing the hot air flowing out from the outlet toward the side wall of the processing chamber and adjusting the angle of the outlet so that it is blown toward the third position by refraction.