Gas clothes dryer

Abstract

To provide a gas type clothing dryer capable of avoiding a situation in which a fuel gas in a gas cylinder is exhausted and it cannot be operated.SOLUTION: A gas type clothing dryer dries clothing by supplying air heated by burning a fuel gas to a housing chamber in which clothing to be dried is housed. At this time, a cumulative use amount of the fuel gas is calculated by accumulating a gas flow amount of the fuel gas burnt and when the cumulative use amount reaches a predetermined notification gas amount, it is detected. Thus, even when the fuel gas in the gas cylinder is burnt, by setting an appropriate notification gas amount in accordance with the fuel gas amount filled in the gas cylinder, it is possible to notify that the fuel gas in the gas cylinder is exhausted at an appropriate timing before that, and it is possible to avoid a situation in which the gas type clothing dryer cannot be operated.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a gas clothes dryer that dries clothes in a storage chamber in which clothes to be dried are stored by supplying air heated by burning fuel gas to the storage chamber. [Background technology]

[0002] Clothes dryers that dry clothes by rotating a rotating drum containing the clothes and supplying heated air into the rotating drum are known and are widely used in so-called coin laundries, ordinary homes, etc. Known types of clothes dryers include those that use electricity to heat the air (Patent Document 1) and those that heat the air by burning fuel gas (Patent Document 2), but clothes dryers that use electricity to heat the air (hereinafter referred to as electric clothes dryers) are widely used because they can be easily installed without gas piping.

[0003] However, electric clothes dryers have the disadvantage that they do not necessarily have sufficient drying capacity, and therefore take a long time to dry clothes. In contrast, clothes dryers that heat air by burning fuel gas (hereinafter referred to as gas clothes dryers) have a high drying capacity and can dry clothes in a short time. For this reason, it often happens that an electric clothes dryer is once installed, but then replaced with a gas clothes dryer. In this case, since there is often no gas piping in the place where the electric clothes dryer was installed, it is common to install a gas cylinder filled with fuel gas (e.g., propane gas) together with the gas clothes dryer and operate the gas clothes dryer by supplying the fuel gas from the gas cylinder. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2005-261703 A [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-319898 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, gas-powered clothes dryers that use fuel gas from a gas cylinder (unlike general gas appliances) have a problem that the fuel gas in the gas cylinder runs out and the appliance cannot operate. The reason for this is as follows. First, when a general gas appliance is operated using fuel gas from a gas cylinder, the number of days until the fuel gas filled in the gas cylinder runs out can be predicted based on the average amount of fuel gas used per day, and a new gas cylinder can be delivered periodically at a timing earlier than the predicted number of days. However, in the case of a gas-powered clothes dryer, the amount of fuel gas used varies greatly depending on whether it is raining or not, so it is difficult to accurately predict the number of days until the fuel gas filled in the gas cylinder runs out, and it is easy to encounter a situation where a new gas cylinder cannot be delivered before the gas cylinder runs out. In particular, in cases where an electric clothes dryer was installed initially, the space for installing the gas cylinder was not taken into consideration, so when the electric clothes dryer is replaced with a gas clothes dryer, there is a lack of space for installing the gas cylinder, and as a result, a small gas cylinder is likely to be used. This caused a problem that the gas cylinders would quickly become empty if rain continued for several days.

[0006] This invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems in the conventional technology, and has an object to provide a gas clothes dryer that can avoid a situation in which the fuel gas in the gas cylinder runs out and the dryer becomes unable to operate. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention 1. The gas clothes dryer has the following configuration: A gas clothes dryer comprising: a storage chamber for storing clothes to be dried; a gas burner for heating air by burning fuel gas supplied from a gas cylinder filled with the fuel gas; and a gas flow control valve for controlling the flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to the gas burner, and for drying the clothes in the storage chamber by supplying the heated air to the storage chamber, the gas cylinder is attached to the gas type clothes dryer in a state where a predetermined amount of the fuel gas is filled therein; an accumulated usage amount calculation means for calculating an accumulated usage amount of the fuel gas by accumulating a gas flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to the gas burner; a gas remaining amount calculation means for calculating a remaining amount of the filled gas by subtracting an accumulated amount of the fuel gas used from the amount of the filled gas in the gas cylinder; a notification means for detecting that the remaining amount of the filled gas has decreased to a predetermined amount and notifying the result of the detection; 、 A driving count accumulating means for accumulating the driving count to obtain an accumulated driving count; an average usage amount calculation means for calculating an average usage amount of the fuel gas used per operation by dividing the cumulative usage amount of the fuel gas by the cumulative number of operations; a predicted operable number of times calculation means for calculating a predicted operable number of times that the vehicle is capable of being operated, based on the remaining amount of the filled gas and the average amount of usage; Equipped with The notification means is also capable of notifying the predicted number of possible operations. child It is characterized by:

[0008] The present invention 1. In a gas-type clothes dryer, the gas flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to the gas burner is accumulated to calculate the cumulative usage amount, and the remaining amount of the gas in the gas cylinder is calculated by subtracting the cumulative usage amount from the amount of gas filled in the gas cylinder. When the remaining amount of the gas in the gas cylinder decreases to a preset amount of gas, of Notification do. Therefore, even when fuel gas is supplied from a gas cylinder, it is possible to notify the user that the fuel gas in the gas cylinder is low at an appropriate timing before the fuel gas runs out. the result This makes it possible to avoid a situation in which the fuel gas in the gas cylinder runs out and the gas clothes dryer becomes unable to operate. In addition, the gas clothes dryer described above accumulates the number of times the drying operation is performed to obtain the accumulated number of operations, and calculates the average amount of fuel gas used per operation by dividing the accumulated amount of fuel gas used by the accumulated number of operations. Then, based on the remaining amount of charged gas obtained by subtracting the accumulated amount of usage from the amount of gas filled in the gas cylinder and the average amount of usage, a predicted number of times that the machine can be operated is calculated. The predicted number of times that the machine can be operated is also notified. Therefore, since the user can know the approximate time when the accumulated amount of fuel gas usage will reach the amount of filled gas (i.e., when the fuel gas in the gas cylinder will run out), the user can prepare for the need to prepare a replacement gas cylinder. In particular, since the number of times that the machine can be operated even after the amount of filled gas has decreased to a predetermined amount of gas remaining can be predicted, the user can use the gas clothes dryer in a planned manner (such as avoiding non-urgent operations).

[0009] Alternatively, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a second gas clothes dryer according to the present invention employs the following configuration. A gas clothes dryer comprising: a storage chamber for storing clothes to be dried; a gas burner for heating air by burning fuel gas supplied from a gas cylinder filled with the fuel gas; and a gas flow control valve for controlling the flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to the gas burner, and for drying the clothes in the storage chamber by supplying the heated air to the storage chamber, the gas cylinder is attached to the gas type clothes dryer in a state where a predetermined amount of the fuel gas is filled therein; an accumulated usage amount calculation means for calculating an accumulated usage amount of the fuel gas by accumulating a gas flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to the gas burner; a gas remaining amount calculation means for calculating a remaining amount of the filled gas by subtracting an accumulated amount of the fuel gas used from the amount of the filled gas in the gas cylinder; a notification means for detecting that the amount of the filled gas has decreased to a predetermined amount and notifying the user of the detection result; a combustion time accumulating means for accumulating a combustion time of the fuel gas in the gas burner to obtain an accumulated combustion time; an average gas flow rate calculation means for calculating an average gas flow rate of the fuel gas by dividing an accumulated usage amount of the fuel gas by the accumulated combustion time; a predicted operable time calculation means for calculating a predicted operable time during which the vehicle is capable of being operated based on the remaining amount of filled gas and the average gas flow rate; Equipped with The notification means is also capable of notifying the predicted operable time. It is characterized by:

[0010] In the second gas-type clothes dryer of the present invention, the accumulated amount of fuel gas used is calculated by accumulating the gas flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to the gas burner, and the remaining amount of gas in the gas cylinder is calculated by subtracting the accumulated amount of gas used from the amount of gas filled in the gas cylinder. When the remaining amount of gas in the gas cylinder decreases to a preset amount of gas, the fact is notified. Notification Therefore, even when fuel gas is supplied from a gas cylinder, it is possible to notify the user that the fuel gas is low at an appropriate timing before the fuel gas in the gas cylinder runs out. As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the fuel gas in the gas cylinder runs out and the gas clothes dryer cannot be operated.

[0011] In addition, the second gas clothes dryer described above has the following features: The system obtains the cumulative combustion time by accumulating the combustion time of the fuel gas in the gas burner, and calculates the average gas flow rate of the fuel gas by dividing the cumulative usage amount of the fuel gas by the cumulative combustion time.Then, the system calculates the predicted operable time, which is the time during which the gas can be operated, based on the remaining amount of charged gas obtained by subtracting the cumulative usage amount from the amount of gas filled in the gas cylinder and the average gas flow rate.The system notifies the user of the predicted operable time thus obtained. do.

[0012] like this If Since the user can know the approximate time when the cumulative amount of fuel gas used will reach the filled gas amount (i.e., when the fuel gas in the gas cylinder will run out), the user can prepare for the need to prepare a replacement gas cylinder. Remaining gas volume but Gas remaining amount is reduced to a certain levelSince the remaining operating time can be predicted even after the dryer has been turned off, users can plan their use of the gas clothes dryer (by avoiding non-urgent operation, for example). Gas clothes dryers installed in places like coin laundries are often operated with a timer set, but if the fuel gas runs out during the drying operation with the timer set, the clothes being dried can end up being damp. However, if the remaining operating time can be known, it is possible to prevent such a situation from occurring. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the external shape of a gas clothes dryer 10 according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 2] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of a gas clothes dryer 10 according to the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] 1 is an explanatory diagram of an operation panel 12 mounted on the gas clothes dryer 10 of the present embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the internal structure of a controller 180 mounted on the gas clothes dryer 10 of the present embodiment. [Diagram 5] 11 is a flowchart of the first half of a fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process executed by a controller 180 of this embodiment. [Figure 6] 13 is a flowchart of the latter half of the fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process executed by the controller 180 of this embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the internal structure of a controller 180 according to a modified example. [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart of the first half of a fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process performed by a controller 180 in a modified example. [Figure 9] 13 is a flowchart of the second half of the fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process executed by a controller 180 in a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] A. This Example: A-1. Device configuration of this embodiment: FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the external shape of a gas clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment. As shown in the figure, the gas clothes dryer 10 has an external shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, and is installed on a metal rack 14. An opening and closing door 11 is attached to the front side of the gas clothes dryer 10, and a pull handle 11k is provided at the right end of the opening and closing door 11, and the left end of the opening and closing door 11 is pivotally supported by a hinge (not shown). When the opening and closing door 11 is opened toward the front by pulling the pull handle 11k, a clothes insertion port 11i appears, and clothes to be dried can be inserted through the clothes insertion port 11i. In addition, an operation panel 12 is attached to the front side of the opening and closing door 11, and a user of the gas clothes dryer 10 uses the operation panel 12 to perform various settings and start a drying operation on the gas clothes dryer 10.

[0023] Moreover, gas clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment dries clothes using hot air generated by burning fuel gas. For this purpose, gas cylinder 20 filled with fuel gas is stored in the space inside rack 14, and fuel gas is supplied from gas cylinder 20 to gas clothes dryer 10 via gas tube 20t. Since gas clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment receives fuel gas from gas cylinder 20, it cannot dry clothes when the fuel gas in gas cylinder 20 runs out. Therefore, gas clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment is provided with notification lamp 13 below opening / closing door 11 to notify that the fuel gas in gas cylinder 20 is running low.

[0024] Furthermore, gas clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment can be connected to a public communication network 2, such as the Internet or a mobile phone network, by wire or wirelessly. It can also be connected to a gas cylinder delivery company 3 and a mobile information terminal 4, such as a smartphone, via public communication network 2. The connection destinations of gas cylinder delivery company 3, mobile information terminal 4, etc. are registered in advance by the user of gas clothes dryer 10.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of gas-type clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment. Gas-type clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment has a structure in which a cylindrical rotating drum 110 is mounted inside a rectangular parallelepiped main body case 100. One end side of rotating drum 110 is opened widely, and an annular ring plate 120 is fitted into the open end. The inner periphery side of ring plate 120 is formed into a burring shape by bending, and a large-diameter cylindrical pipe 121, the diameter of which is expanded into a flange shape at one end side, is assembled to the inner periphery surface of the burring shape. Furthermore, cylindrical pipe 121 is assembled to main body case 100 at the expanded flange portion. Ring plate 120 is fixed to main body case 100 via cylindrical pipe 121, while rotating drum 110 is rotatable with respect to ring plate 120, and the other end side of rotating drum 110 is supported by a support shaft 130. Therefore, one end of the rotating drum 110 is supported by the ring plate 120, and the other end is supported by the support shaft 130, making it rotatable. The inside of the cylindrical pipe 121 forms a clothes insertion opening 11i, which is normally blocked by the opening and closing door 11, but when the opening and closing door 11 is opened, clothes can be inserted into the rotating drum 110 through the clothes insertion opening 11i. An electric motor 140 is mounted below the rotating drum 110, and when the electric motor 140 is rotated, the rotational torque is transmitted to the rotating drum 110 by a transmission belt 141, causing the rotating drum 110 to rotate. In this embodiment, the rotating drum 110 corresponds to the "storage chamber" in the present invention.

[0026] In addition, as viewed from the clothes insertion opening 11i, a plurality of ventilation holes 112 are formed in the end surface of the rotating drum 110 on the far side, and an exhaust duct 151 is formed on the other side of the ventilation holes 112. A blower fan 150 is housed in the exhaust duct 151, and the blower fan 150 is rotated by an electric motor 140 via a transmission belt 142. The exhaust duct 151 opens on the top surface of the main body case 100, thereby forming an exhaust port 102. Furthermore, an exhaust temperature sensor 103 for detecting the temperature of the exhaust air discharged from the exhaust duct 151 is attached to the exhaust duct 151.

[0027] Below the rotating drum 110, a gas burner 160 for burning fuel gas and a gas pipe 171 for supplying fuel gas to the gas burner 160 are also mounted. One end of the gas pipe 171 is connected to the gas cylinder 20 (see FIG. 1) via a regulator (not shown), and an injection nozzle 172 is attached to the other end of the gas pipe 171. The injection nozzle 172 is provided at a position facing the open end of the mixing passage of the gas burner 160. Furthermore, a gas flow control valve 170 is mounted midway along the gas pipe 171. Also, a hot air passage 161 is formed above the gas burner 160, and the hot air passage 161 is connected to the hot air inlet 111 formed in the ring plate 120.

[0028] When the blower fan 150 in the exhaust duct 151 is rotated, air inside the rotating drum 110 is sucked out through a plurality of ventilation holes 112 formed in the rotating drum 110, and air flows into the rotating drum 110 through the hot air inlet 111. In addition, a plurality of air intakes 101 are formed in the bottom surface of the main body case 100, and air that flows into the main body case 100 from the air intakes 101 passes through a hot air passage 161 and is supplied into the rotating drum 110 from the hot air inlet 111.

[0029] When fuel gas is injected from the injection nozzle 172 while the blower fan 150 is rotating in this manner, the injected fuel gas flows into the mixing passage of the gas burner 160 together with the surrounding air to form a mixed gas of fuel gas and air, and the mixed gas is ignited by a spark plug (not shown), thereby starting combustion in the gas burner 160. The combustion gas generated in the gas burner 160 flows into the hot air passage 161 together with the air flowing in from the air intake 101 on the bottom surface of the main body case 100, mixes with the air in the hot air passage 161 to become hot air, and then flows into the rotating drum 110 from the hot air inlet 111. Then, after rotating inside the rotating drum 110, it flows out from the ventilation port 112 formed on the far side of the rotating drum 110, passes through the exhaust duct 151, and is exhausted from the exhaust port 102. Therefore, by loading clothes into the rotating drum 110 through the clothes loading opening 11i, and burning fuel gas with the gas burner 160 while rotating the blower fan 150 and the rotating drum 110, it is possible to dry the clothes inside the rotating drum 110.

[0030] Also mounted within main body case 100 is controller 180. Controller 180 is mainly composed of a microcomputer, and the operations of electric motor 140 and gas flow control valve 170 are controlled by controller 180. Furthermore, the outputs of various sensors such as exhaust temperature sensor 103 are also input to controller 180. Controller 180 is also connected to operation panel 12 mounted on the front side of opening / closing door 11 and notification lamp 13. A user of gas clothes dryer 10 sets the operation details of gas clothes dryer 10 by operating operation panel 12. In this embodiment, operation panel 12 corresponds to the "operation unit" in the present invention.

[0031] 3 is an explanatory diagram of operation panel 12 mounted on gas clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment. As shown in the figure, liquid crystal screen 12p is provided in the center of operation panel 12, and below liquid crystal screen 12p, power button 12a, pause button 12b, mode selection button 12c, cursor button 12d, timer setting button 12e, input button 12f, etc. are provided.

[0032] Power button 12a is a button that is pressed to turn on or off the power of gas clothes dryer 10, and when gas clothes dryer 10 is turned on, controller 180 starts operating. Pause button 12b is a button that is pressed to temporarily stop the drying operation of gas clothes dryer 10, and is used, for example, when additional clothes are added during the drying operation. Mode selection button 12c is a button that is pressed to set the operation mode of the drying operation for gas clothes dryer 10. When mode selection button 12c is pressed, a plurality of pre-set operation modes are displayed on liquid crystal screen 12p, and the desired operation mode can be selected by operating cursor button 12d, and then the operation mode can be set in controller 180 by pressing input button 12f. Timer setting button 12e is a button for setting a timer for gas clothes dryer 10. When the timer setting button 12e is pressed, numbers for setting the timer are displayed on the liquid crystal screen 12p. The time for the timer can then be displayed by operating the cursor button 12d to increase or decrease the numbers, and then the time for the timer can be set in the controller 180 by pressing the input button 12f.

[0033] Furthermore, gas clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment generates hot air for drying clothes by burning fuel gas, and the fuel gas is supplied from gas cylinder 20. Therefore, if the fuel gas stored in gas cylinder 20 runs out, clothes cannot be dried, so to avoid this situation, various information related to the remaining amount of fuel gas in gas cylinder 20 is also displayed on liquid crystal screen 12p. This point will be explained in detail later.

[0034] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the internal structure of controller 180 mounted on gas-type clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment. As shown in the figure, controller 180 includes operation control section 181, timer section 182, cumulative usage amount calculation section 183, cumulative usage amount storage section 184, gas amount storage section 185, remaining gas amount calculation section 186, notification section 187, external communication section 188, operation count accumulation section 189, average usage amount calculation section 190, and predicted possible operation count calculation section 191. Note that these "sections" are a convenient classification of functions that controller 180 of this embodiment has for monitoring the remaining amount of fuel gas in gas cylinder 20, and do not indicate that the inside of controller 180 is physically divided into these "sections". These "sections" can be realized as a program executed by a computer, can be realized as an integrated circuit mounted on a board, or can be realized by combining a program and an integrated circuit.

[0035] The operation control unit 181 is connected to the operation panel 12, the gas flow control valve 170, the electric motor 140, the exhaust temperature sensor 103, etc., and controls the operation of the gas flow control valve 170 and the electric motor 140 according to the contents set by the user on the operation panel 12. In addition, the operation control unit 181 controls the gas flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to the gas burner 160 and the rotation speed of the electric motor 140 by controlling the valve opening of the gas flow control valve 170 based on the exhaust temperature detected by the exhaust temperature sensor 103 and the outputs of various sensors (not shown). In addition, the timer unit 182 can start measuring the elapsed time upon receiving a command from the operation control unit 181, and output an interrupt signal each time a predetermined time has elapsed. In addition, the timer unit 182 also has a clock function such as acquiring the current time and date.

[0036] When cumulative usage calculation unit 183 receives an interrupt signal from timer unit 182 each time a predetermined time (for example, one second) has elapsed, it obtains the gas flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to gas burner 160 from operation control unit 181 and accumulates the gas flow rates to calculate the cumulative fuel gas usage. Then, when it receives a notice from operation control unit 181 that the drying operation of gas clothes dryer 10 has ended, it stores the cumulative usage obtained at that time in cumulative usage storage unit 184, and the next time the drying operation is started, it reads out the cumulative usage stored in cumulative usage storage unit 184 and accumulates the gas flow rate of the fuel gas against the cumulative usage. Incidentally, cumulative usage calculation unit 183 in this embodiment corresponds to the "cumulative usage calculation means" in the present invention.

[0037] As described above, accumulated usage memory unit 184 stores the accumulated usage of fuel gas obtained by accumulated usage calculation unit 183. This accumulated usage increases monotonically as gas clothes dryer 10 performs a drying operation, but it is possible to initialize the value of the accumulated usage to 0 by operating the various operation buttons (see FIG. 3) on operation panel 12 in a special manner (for example, by simultaneously pressing and holding timer setting button 12e and input button 12f for a predetermined period of time or longer). The reason why it is necessary to operate the various operation buttons on operation panel 12 in a special manner in order to initialize the accumulated usage will be described later.

[0038] The gas amount storage unit 185 stores a predetermined notification gas amount and a filling gas amount of the gas cylinder 20. Although the details will be described later, the notification gas amount is a value used to notify that the fuel gas in the gas cylinder 20 is low, and is set to a small value with a slight margin with respect to the filling gas amount of the fuel gas filled in the gas cylinder 20. In addition, the notification gas amount and the filling gas amount can also be changed by operating various operation buttons of the operation panel 12 in a special manner. In this embodiment, when the two cursor buttons 12d are pressed simultaneously for a predetermined time or more, the current notification gas amount and filling gas amount are displayed on the liquid crystal screen 12p, and in that state, the notification gas amount or filling gas amount is selected by operating the cursor button 12d, and the selection is confirmed by pressing the input button 12f. Then, when the selected notification gas amount or filling gas amount is changed by operating the cursor button 12d, and the input button 12f is pressed, the selected notification gas amount or filling gas amount is changed to a new value and stored in the gas amount storage unit 185. The reason why it is necessary to operate the various operation buttons on the operation panel 12 in a special manner in order to change the notification gas amount and the filling gas amount will be described later.

[0039] Each time the drying operation of gas type clothes dryer 10 is completed, remaining gas amount calculation unit 186 obtains the cumulative amount of fuel gas used at that time from cumulative amount used calculation unit 183, and also obtains the notifiable gas amount and the filling gas amount stored in gas amount storage unit 185. Then, after calculating the notifiable gas amount by subtracting the cumulative amount used from the notifiable gas amount, if the notifiable gas amount is a negative value, it outputs information to that effect to notification unit 187. Furthermore, after calculating the remaining filling gas amount by subtracting the cumulative amount used from the filling gas amount, it outputs the obtained value of the remaining filling gas amount to predicted possible operation number calculation unit 191.

[0040] When the notification unit 187 receives information from the gas remaining amount calculation unit 186 that the notification gas remaining amount is a negative value, it notifies the user by displaying a warning on the liquid crystal screen 12p (see FIG. 3) of the operation panel 12 that a replacement gas cylinder 20 needs to be prepared, and also notifies the user by turning on the notification lamp 13. The external communication unit 188 can connect to a preregistered connection destination such as the mobile information terminal 4 or the delivery company 3 of the gas cylinder 20 via the public communication network 2. If the notification unit 187 uses the operation panel 12 or the notification lamp 13 to notify the user that a gas cylinder 20 needs to be prepared, the external communication unit 188 can also connect to the mobile information terminal 4 or the delivery company 3 via the public communication network 2 to arrange for a replacement gas cylinder 20. The notification unit 187 in this embodiment corresponds to the "notification means" in the present invention.

[0041] Furthermore, when the predicted possible operation count calculation unit 191 receives the remaining amount of filling gas from the remaining gas amount calculation unit 186, it calculates the predicted possible operation count and outputs it to the notification unit 187. The notification unit 187 then displays the received predicted possible operation count on the liquid crystal screen 12p (see FIG. 3) of the operation panel 12. Here, the predicted possible operation count is the number of operations predicted to be possible for drying operation with the fuel gas remaining in the gas cylinder 20. The predicted possible operation count is calculated as follows.

[0042] First, operation count accumulation unit 189 accumulates the number of operations by adding 1 to the number of operations of the drying operation each time the drying operation of gas clothes dryer 10 is started. Also, each time the drying operation of gas clothes dryer 10 is completed, average usage calculation unit 190 acquires the accumulated fuel gas usage at that time from accumulated usage calculation unit 183 and acquires the accumulated value of the number of operations from operation count accumulation unit 189. Then, by dividing the accumulated usage of fuel gas by the accumulated value of the number of operations, it calculates the amount of fuel gas used in one drying operation (i.e., the average usage), and outputs the obtained average usage to predicted possible operation count calculation unit 191. When predicted possible operation count calculation unit 191 receives the remaining amount of filled gas (i.e., the value obtained by subtracting the accumulated usage from the amount of filled gas in gas cylinder 20) from remaining gas calculation unit 186, it calculates the predicted possible operation count by dividing the remaining amount of filled gas by the average usage received from average usage calculation unit 190.

[0043] In this way, regardless of whether the accumulated usage amount at the time when the drying operation is completed reaches the notification gas amount, the predicted number of times that the operation can be performed with the amount of fuel gas remaining in the gas cylinder 20 (i.e., the remaining amount of filled gas), the calculation unit 191 calculates the predicted number of times that the operation can be performed with the amount of fuel gas remaining in the gas cylinder 20 (i.e., the amount of gas remaining), and outputs the result to the notification unit 187. The notification unit 187 displays the received predicted number of times that the operation can be performed on the liquid crystal screen 12p of the operation panel 12. This allows the user of the gas-type clothes dryer 10 to predict the approximate time when it is necessary to prepare a replacement gas cylinder 20. As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the fuel gas in the gas cylinder 20 runs out and the clothes cannot be dried. The operation number accumulation unit 189 of this embodiment corresponds to the "operation number accumulation means" in the present invention, and the average usage calculation unit 190 of this embodiment corresponds to the "average usage calculation means" in the present invention. Also, the predicted number of times that the operation can be performed calculation unit 191 of this embodiment corresponds to the "predicted number of times that the operation can be performed calculation means" in the present invention.

[0044] A-2. Fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process in this embodiment: 5 and 6 are flow charts of the fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process performed by controller 180 of the present embodiment described above. In the fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process, first, it is determined whether or not to start the drying operation (STEP 10). Since the user of gas clothes dryer 10 operates operation panel 12 to start the drying operation, controller 180 can determine whether or not to start the drying operation by acquiring the operation details of operation panel 12 by the user. As a result, if it is determined not to start the drying operation (STEP 10: no), the same determination is repeated, and the controller 180 enters a standby state until the drying operation is started.

[0045] On the other hand, if it is determined that the drying operation should be started (STEP 10: yes), the drying operation is started (STEP 11) according to the settings set by the user using the operation panel 12. The drying operation can be started by opening the gas flow control valve 170 to supply fuel gas to the gas burner 160 while rotating the rotating drum 110 and the blower fan 150, and igniting it with an ignition plug (not shown).

[0046] Next, after adding 1 to the number of times the drying operation has been performed (STEP 12), the accumulated usage amount stored in the non-volatile memory (not shown) is read out (STEP 13). Here, the accumulated usage amount is the total amount of fuel gas used after the gas cylinder 20 has been replaced. When the gas cylinder 20 is replaced, the accumulated usage amount is initialized to 0, and while the fuel gas is being burned by the gas burner 160, the accumulated usage amount can be calculated by accumulating the gas flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to the gas burner 160 every time a predetermined time has elapsed. In addition, the initialization of the accumulated usage amount is performed using various buttons (see FIG. 3) on the operation panel 12. However, if the user mistakenly operates the operation panel 12 to initialize the accumulated usage amount, the total amount of fuel gas used after the gas cylinder 20 has been replaced (i.e., the accumulated usage amount) cannot be correctly calculated. Therefore, in order to initialize the accumulated usage amount, the various buttons on the operation panel 12 are operated in a special manner (in this embodiment, the timer setting button 12e and the input button 12f are pressed and held simultaneously for a predetermined time or longer). Since such an operation is not performed unless the user intends to do so, it is possible to prevent the user from accidentally initializing the accumulated usage amount. In this embodiment, when the accumulated usage amount is initialized, the accumulated value of the number of times the drying operation has been performed is also automatically initialized.

[0047] After reading out the cumulative usage amount of fuel gas, the gas flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to the gas burner 160 is obtained (STEP 14). Since the controller 180 controls the gas flow rate of the fuel gas by adjusting the valve opening of the gas flow control valve 170, the gas flow rate can be easily obtained. Then, the obtained gas flow rate is added to the cumulative usage amount (STEP 15). Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the termination condition for the drying operation is established (STEP 16). Various conditions can be set as the termination condition for the drying operation, but here, the elapse of a preset drying time is set as the termination condition.

[0048] As a result, if the elapsed time of the drying operation is not satisfied (STEP 16: no), it is determined whether a predetermined cumulative time has elapsed (STEP 17). As described above, the gas clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment accumulates the gas flow rate at a predetermined time interval (for example, 1 second interval), and the cumulative time is the time interval for accumulating the gas flow rate. If the cumulative time has not elapsed (STEP 17: no), it is determined again whether the end condition of the drying operation is satisfied (STEP 16), and if the end condition is not satisfied (STEP 16: no), it is determined whether the predetermined cumulative time has elapsed (STEP 17). While repeating such an operation, if it is determined that the cumulative time has elapsed (STEP 17: yes), this time it returns to STEP 14, and after acquiring the gas flow rate of the fuel gas, the acquired gas flow rate is added to the cumulative usage amount (STEP 15). By repeating such an operation, the gas flow rate of the cumulative usage amount is accumulated every time the predetermined cumulative time elapses during the drying operation of the gas clothes dryer 10.

[0049] Then, it is eventually determined that the condition for ending the drying operation is met (STEP 16: yes), and after the drying operation of gas clothes dryer 10 is stopped (STEP 18), the accumulated usage amount obtained at that time is stored in non-volatile memory (not shown) (STEP 19 in FIG. 6). Then, the next time the drying operation is started, the accumulated usage amount thus stored is read out in STEP 13 in FIG. 5.

[0050] Next, the remaining amount of filled gas is calculated by subtracting the cumulative usage amount from the amount of filled gas (STEP 20). As described above with reference to Fig. 4, the amount of filled gas is a value indicating the amount of fuel gas filled in the gas cylinder 20 delivered by the distributor of the gas cylinder 20, and is set by the distributor who delivered the gas cylinder 20 when the gas cylinder 20 is replaced. Therefore, if the amount of fuel gas used after replacing the gas cylinder 20 reaches the amount of filled gas, it can be determined that there is no fuel gas remaining in the gas cylinder 20 being used.

[0051] If the amount of gas filled in the new gas cylinder 20 to be replaced is the same as the amount of gas filled in the gas cylinder 20 that was used up until that point, there is no need to change the amount of gas filled that has already been set. However, if the amount of gas filled in the gas cylinder 20 changes, it becomes necessary to change the value of the amount of gas filled that has already been set. Therefore, the gas-type clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment is capable of changing the amount of gas filled by operating various operation buttons on the operation panel 12 in a special manner. Also, if the user of the gas-type clothes dryer 10 mistakenly changes the amount of gas filled while operating the operation panel 12, the user may not know when the fuel gas in the gas cylinder 20 will run out, and the fuel gas may run out during the drying operation. Therefore, in order to change the amount of gas filled, the two cursor buttons 12d on the operation panel 12 are pressed simultaneously for a predetermined time or longer to display the amount of gas filled (and the amount of gas notified) on the liquid crystal screen 12p. After selecting the amount of gas filled, the user operates the cursor button 12d to increase or decrease the value of the amount of gas filled, thereby changing the amount of gas filled. Since such an operation is not performed unless intended, it is possible to prevent the user from accidentally changing the amount of filled gas.

[0052] After the remaining amount of filling gas is calculated as described above (STEP 20), it is determined whether the obtained value of the remaining amount of filling gas is a negative value (STEP 21). If the result is that the value of the remaining amount of filling gas is a negative value (STEP 21: yes), it is considered that the fuel gas in the gas cylinder 20 is empty, so a notification that there is no fuel gas in the gas cylinder 20 is issued (STEP 22), and the fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process of Figures 5 and 6 is terminated. The notification that there is no fuel gas is issued by displaying a predetermined image on the liquid crystal screen 12p of the operation panel 12 and by blinking the notification lamp 13.

[0053] On the other hand, if the remaining amount of filled gas is not a negative value (STEP 21: no), then the remaining amount of gas to be notified is calculated by subtracting the cumulative amount of usage from the amount of gas to be notified (STEP 23). Here, like the amount of filled gas described above, the amount of gas to be notified is a value set by the distributor who delivered the gas cylinder 20 when the gas cylinder 20 is replaced. The amount of gas to be notified is set to a small value that allows for a slight margin with respect to the amount of gas filled in the gas cylinder 20. Therefore, when the amount of fuel gas used after replacing the gas cylinder 20 reaches the amount of gas to be notified, it can be determined that a new gas cylinder 20 needs to be prepared.

[0054] If the amount of gas filled in the new gas cylinder 20 to be replaced is the same as the amount of gas filled in the gas cylinder 20 used up until that point, the already set amount of gas to be notified can be used as is. However, if the amount of gas filled in the gas cylinder 20 changes, it becomes necessary to change the value of the amount of gas to be notified. Therefore, the gas clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment is capable of changing the amount of gas to be notified by operating various operation buttons on the operation panel 12 in a special manner. Also, if the user of the gas clothes dryer 10 accidentally changes the amount of gas to be notified while operating the operation panel 12, he or she will not know when to prepare a replacement gas cylinder 20. Therefore, in order to change the amount of gas to be notified, the two cursor buttons 12d on the operation panel 12 are pressed simultaneously for a predetermined time or longer to display the amount of gas to be notified and the amount of gas to be filled on the liquid crystal screen 12p, and after selecting the amount of gas to be notified, the value is increased or decreased by operating the cursor button 12d to change the amount of gas to be notified. Since such an operation is not performed unless intended, it is possible to prevent the user from accidentally changing the notification gas amount.

[0055] After the remaining amount of gas to be notified is calculated as described above (STEP 23), it is determined whether the obtained value of the remaining amount of gas to be notified is a negative value (STEP 24). If the value of the remaining amount of gas to be notified is a negative value (STEP 24: yes), the cumulative amount of fuel gas used exceeds the amount of gas to be notified, and therefore, a notification is issued that the gas cylinder 20 needs to be replaced (STEP 25). The notification is issued by displaying a predetermined image on the liquid crystal screen 12p of the operation panel 12 and blinking the notification lamp 13. Depending on the user's settings, the notification may be issued by sending a notice to a preregistered mobile information terminal 4, or a request may be made to a preregistered delivery company 3 to deliver a new gas cylinder 20. On the other hand, if the value of the remaining amount of gas to be notified is not a negative value (STEP 24: no), it is considered that the gas cylinder 20 does not need to be replaced yet, and therefore, the notification in STEP 25 is not issued.

[0056] After the necessity of replacing the gas cylinder 20 is notified in this way according to the positive or negative of the notified remaining gas amount (STEP 25), the accumulated value of the number of drying operations is read out (STEP 26). The accumulated value of the number of operations is calculated by adding 1 to the number of operations in STEP 12 of FIG. 5 every time the drying operation is started. Next, the average amount of fuel gas used per drying operation is calculated (STEP 27). The average amount of fuel gas used can be obtained by dividing the accumulated amount of fuel gas used by the accumulated value of the number of operations. Then, the estimated number of possible operations is calculated by dividing the remaining amount of filled gas calculated in STEP 20 by the average amount used (STEP 28). The estimated number of possible operations indicates the number of drying operations that are estimated to be possible before the fuel gas in the gas cylinder 20 runs out.

[0057] When the predicted number of possible operations is obtained in this way, the predicted number of possible operations is notified by displaying it on the liquid crystal screen 12p of the operation panel 12 (STEP 29). Depending on the user's settings, the predicted number of possible operations may be notified by sending a notification to a preregistered mobile information terminal 4. After that, the process returns to the beginning, and it is determined again whether or not to start the drying operation (STEP 10 in FIG. 5).

[0058] In the gas clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment, the fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process as described above is performed. Therefore, the user of the gas clothes dryer 10 can recognize that a replacement gas cylinder 20 needs to be prepared when the amount of fuel gas used after replacing the gas cylinder 20 reaches the notification gas amount (i.e., before the fuel gas in the gas cylinder 20 runs out). As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the fuel gas in the gas cylinder 20 runs out and clothes cannot be dried. In addition, since it is possible to predict the number of drying operations that can be performed with the fuel gas in the gas cylinder 20, it is possible to prepare a replacement gas cylinder 20 in advance and to perform drying operations in a planned manner, such as avoiding non-urgent drying operations.

[0059] B. Variations: B-1. Modified device configuration: The gas clothes dryer 10 of the present embodiment described above has been described as notifying the user that gas cylinder 20 needs to be replaced and displaying the number of drying operations that are predicted to be possible with the fuel gas remaining in gas cylinder 20 (predicted number of possible operations). However, instead of the predicted number of possible operations, the predicted possible operation time may be displayed. Such a modified example will be described below. Note that the modified example has many points in common with this embodiment, so the description will be kept to a minimum and will focus on the differences from this embodiment.

[0060] Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the internal structure of a modified controller 180. Compared with the present embodiment described above with reference to Fig. 4, the modified controller 180 differs from the controller 180 of the present embodiment in that the operation count accumulation unit 189 is changed to a combustion time accumulation unit 192, the average usage amount calculation unit 190 is changed to an average gas flow rate calculation unit 193, and the predicted operable count calculation unit 191 is changed to a predicted operable time calculation unit 194. However, the other points are the same as those of the present embodiment.

[0061] 7, during the drying operation of gas-type clothes dryer 10, accumulated usage calculation unit 183 accumulates the gas flow rate of fuel gas at a predetermined time interval, and when the drying operation is completed, remaining gas amount calculation unit 186 calculates the remaining gas amount to be notified by subtracting the accumulated usage amount from the notified gas amount, and calculates the remaining filled gas amount by subtracting the accumulated usage amount from the filled gas amount. If the remaining gas amount to be notified is a negative value, notification unit 187 notifies the user using liquid crystal screen 12p or notification lamp 13 of operation panel 12 that a replacement gas cylinder 20 needs to be prepared. Furthermore, remaining gas amount calculation unit 186 outputs the calculated remaining filled gas amount to predicted operable time calculation unit 194, which will be described later.

[0062] Furthermore, in the controller 180 of the modified example, the predicted operable time calculation unit 194 is configured to calculate the predicted operable time and output it to the notification unit 187. Here, the predicted operable time is the time during which it is predicted that the fuel gas can be burned in the dry operation until the fuel gas in the gas cylinder 20 runs out. The predicted operable time is calculated as follows.

[0063] First, the controller 180 of the modified example includes a combustion time accumulation unit 192, which is connected to the operation control unit 181 and the timing unit 182. Then, when information that the gas burner 160 has started burning the fuel gas is received from the operation control unit 181, the timing unit 182 is used to measure the elapsed time, thereby accumulating the combustion time of the fuel gas.

[0064] Furthermore, each time the drying operation of gas clothes dryer 10 is completed, accumulated usage calculation unit 183 of the modified example outputs the accumulated usage amount of fuel gas at that time to average gas flow rate calculation unit 193. When average gas flow rate calculation unit 193 receives the accumulated usage amount of fuel gas, it also receives the combustion time (accumulated combustion time) accumulated in combustion time accumulation unit 192. Then, by dividing the accumulated usage amount by the accumulated combustion time, the amount of fuel gas burned per unit time (i.e., average gas flow rate) is calculated, and then output to predicted operable time calculation unit 194.

[0065] Furthermore, when the remaining amount of filled gas calculated by the remaining gas amount calculation unit 186 (i.e., the value obtained by subtracting the accumulated amount of use from the amount of filled gas), the predicted operable time calculation unit 194 obtains the average gas flow rate from the average gas flow rate calculation unit 193. Then, the predicted operable time is calculated by dividing the remaining amount of filled gas by the average gas flow rate. Then, when the predicted operable time thus obtained is output to the notification unit 187, the notification unit 187 displays the predicted operable time on the liquid crystal screen 12p of the operation panel 12. Therefore, even in the case of the modified example, the user of the gas type clothes dryer 10 can know the rough operating time that can be operated before the fuel gas in the gas cylinder 20 runs out. Incidentally, the combustion time accumulation unit 192 of this embodiment corresponds to the "combustion time accumulation means" in the present invention, and the average gas flow rate calculation unit 193 of this embodiment corresponds to the "average gas flow rate calculation means" in the present invention. Also, the predicted operable time calculation unit 194 of this embodiment corresponds to the "predicted operable time calculation means" in the present invention.

[0066] B-2. Fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process of the modified example: Figures 8 and 9 are flowcharts of the fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process performed by controller 180 of the above-mentioned modified example. The fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process of the modified example is significantly different from the fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process of the present embodiment described above with reference to Figures 5 and 6 in that a predicted operable time is notified instead of a predicted operable number of times, but is otherwise similar. The following describes the fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process of the modified example, focusing on the differences from the fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process of the present embodiment described above.

[0067] 8, in the fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process of the modified example, as in the process of the present embodiment described above, first, it is determined whether or not to start the drying operation (STEP 50). If it is determined not to start the drying operation (STEP 50: no), the same determination is repeated to enter a standby state until the drying operation is started, but if it is determined to start the drying operation (STEP 50: yes), the drying operation is started according to the settings set by the user using the operation panel 12 (STEP 51).

[0068] Next, the accumulated usage amount stored in a non-volatile memory (not shown) is read (STEP 52), and then the accumulated combustion time also stored in the non-volatile memory is read (STEP 53). Here, the accumulated combustion time is the accumulated combustion time of the gas burner 160 since the gas cylinder 20 was replaced. When the accumulated usage amount is initialized following the replacement of the gas cylinder 20, the accumulated combustion time is also automatically initialized.

[0069] Then, the gas flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to the gas burner 160 is acquired (STEP 54), and the acquired gas flow rate is added to the cumulative usage amount (STEP 55). Then, it is determined whether the end condition of the drying operation is established (STEP 56). As a result, if the elapsed time of the drying operation is not established (STEP 56: no), it is determined whether a predetermined cumulative time has elapsed (STEP 57). As described above, the cumulative time is the time interval for accumulating the gas flow rate. Then, if the cumulative time has not elapsed (STEP 57: no), it is determined again whether the end condition of the drying operation is established (STEP 56), and if the end condition is not established (STEP 56: no), it is determined whether the cumulative time has elapsed (STEP 57). While repeating such an operation, if it is determined that the cumulative time has elapsed (STEP 57: yes), the cumulative time is added to the cumulative combustion time (STEP 58), and then the process returns to STEP 54 to acquire the gas flow rate of the fuel gas again. The acquired gas flow rate is then added to the cumulative usage amount (STEP 55). By repeating this operation, the cumulative usage amount and cumulative combustion time are accumulated each time a predetermined cumulative time elapses during the drying operation of gas clothes dryer 10.

[0070] Then, it is eventually determined that the conditions for ending the drying operation are met (STEP 56: yes), and after the drying operation of gas clothes dryer 10 is stopped (STEP 59 in FIG. 9), the accumulated combustion time and accumulated usage amount obtained at that time are stored in non-volatile memory (not shown) (STEP 60).Then, the next time the drying operation is started, the accumulated usage amount and accumulated combustion time thus stored are read out.

[0071] Next, the remaining amount of the filled gas is calculated by subtracting the cumulative usage amount from the amount of the filled gas (STEP 61), and it is determined whether the value of the remaining amount of the filled gas is a negative value (STEP 62). If the value of the remaining amount of the filled gas is a negative value (STEP 62: yes), it is notified that there is no fuel gas in the gas cylinder 20 (STEP 63), and the fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process of FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 is terminated. On the other hand, if the value of the remaining amount of the filled gas is not a negative value (STEP 62: no), this time, the remaining amount of the notified gas is calculated by subtracting the cumulative usage amount from the notified gas amount (STEP 64), and it is determined whether the remaining amount of the notified gas is a negative value (STEP 65). If the remaining amount of the notified gas is a negative value (STEP 65: yes), it is notified that the cumulative usage amount of the fuel gas exceeds the notified gas amount of the gas cylinder 20, and therefore it is necessary to replace the gas cylinder 20 (STEP 66). On the other hand, if the remaining amount of gas to be notified is not a negative value (STEP 65: no), there is no need to notify that the gas cylinder 20 needs to be replaced.

[0072] After notifying the necessity of replacing the gas cylinder 20 according to the positive or negative remaining amount of gas to be notified in this way (STEP 66), the average gas flow rate is calculated by dividing the cumulative usage amount obtained at that time by the cumulative combustion time (STEP 67). Then, the remaining amount of filled gas obtained in STEP 61 is divided by the average gas flow rate to calculate the predicted operable time (STEP 68). As described above, the predicted operable time is the predicted time during which the fuel gas can be burned in the drying operation until the fuel gas in the gas cylinder 20 runs out. Then, the predicted operable time thus obtained is displayed on the liquid crystal screen 12p of the operation panel 12 to notify the predicted number of operable times (STEP 69). After that, the process returns to the beginning and it is determined whether or not to start the drying operation (STEP 50 in FIG. 8).

[0073] In the modified gas type clothes dryer 10, the fuel gas remaining amount monitoring process as described above is also performed, so that the user can recognize the need to prepare a replacement gas cylinder 20 at an appropriate timing before the fuel gas in the gas cylinder 20 runs out. Also, since it is possible to predict the approximate operating time for which the drying operation is possible with the fuel gas in the gas cylinder 20, it is possible to recognize the approximate time when the replacement gas cylinder 20 will need to be prepared, and to perform the drying operation in a planned manner, such as avoiding unurgent drying operations, depending on the amount of fuel gas remaining in the gas cylinder 20.

[0074] The above describes the gas clothes dryer 10 of this embodiment and its modified examples, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and modified examples, and can be embodied in various forms without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0075] 2...Public communication network, 3...Delivery company, 4...Mobile information terminal, 10...gas clothes dryer, 11...opening door, 11i...clothes insertion port, 11k...handle, 12...operation panel, 12a...power button, 12b...Pause button, 12c...Mode selection button, 12d...Cursor button, 12e...Timer setting button, 12f... Input button, 12p... LCD screen, 13... Notification lamp, 14...rack, 20...gas cylinder, 20t...gas tube, 100... main body case; 101... air intake; 102... exhaust port; 103...exhaust air temperature sensor; 110...rotating drum; 111...hot air inlet; 112...ventilation port, 120...ring plate, 121...cylindrical pipe, 130...support shaft; 140...electric motor; 141...transmission belt; 142...transmission belt, 150...blower fan, 151...exhaust duct, 160... gas burner, 161... hot air passage, 170... gas flow control valve, 171 ... gas pipe, 172 ... injection nozzle, 180 ... controller, 181: Operation control unit; 182: Timekeeping unit; 183: Accumulative usage calculation unit; 184: cumulative usage amount storage unit; 185: gas amount storage unit; 186: gas remaining amount calculation unit; 187: notification unit; 188: external communication unit; 189... operation count accumulation unit; 190... average usage calculation unit; 191...operable predicted number calculation unit; 192...combustion time accumulation unit; 193: average gas flow rate calculation unit; 194: predicted operable time calculation unit.

Claims

[Claim 1] A gas clothes dryer comprising: a storage chamber for storing clothes to be dried; a gas burner for heating air by burning fuel gas supplied from a gas cylinder filled with the fuel gas; and a gas flow control valve for controlling the flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to the gas burner, and for drying the clothes in the storage chamber by supplying the heated air to the storage chamber, the gas cylinder is attached to the gas type clothes dryer in a state where a predetermined amount of the fuel gas is filled therein; an accumulated usage amount calculation means for calculating an accumulated usage amount of the fuel gas by accumulating a gas flow rate of the fuel gas supplied to the gas burner; a gas remaining amount calculation means for calculating a remaining amount of the filled gas by subtracting an accumulated amount of the fuel gas used from the amount of the filled gas in the gas cylinder; a notification means for detecting that the amount of the filled gas has decreased to a predetermined amount and notifying the user of the detection result; A driving count accumulating means for accumulating the driving count to obtain an accumulated driving count; an average usage amount calculation means for calculating an average usage amount of the fuel gas used per operation by dividing the cumulative usage amount of the fuel gas by the cumulative number of operations; a predicted operable number of times calculation means for calculating a predicted operable number of times that the vehicle is capable of being operated, based on the remaining amount of the filled gas and the average amount of usage; Equipped with The notification means is also capable of notifying the predicted number of possible operations. A gas clothes dryer.

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