Clothes Dryer Humidity Calculation for Stable Drying Control

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current clothes dryers have unstable drying effects, often resulting in either over-drying or incomplete drying of clothes, due to inaccurate humidity detection methods.

Innovation Solution

A method and device for calculating humidity in clothes dryers that involves acquiring and processing multiple sampling points from a humidity sensor over specific time periods to generate accurate humidity values, preventing excessive or incomplete drying by averaging and accumulating maximum humidity values.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If traditional humidity detection methods (air-temperature graph or humidity sensor) are used, then the drying process is simple to operate, but the drying effect is unstable resulting in either over-drying or incomplete drying

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedrying effect stabilityVSAvoidhumidity calculation method complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by acquiring multiple sampling points over a first time period before making the final humidity determination. It extracts maximum values and accumulates them over a second time period to establish a baseline, then compares current readings against this pre-established data to determine when drying is complete, preventing both over-drying and incomplete drying

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring humidity sensor readings, comparing current maximum values against accumulated historical maximum values, and adjusting the drying process accordingly. The control unit receives real-time humidity data and uses this feedback to determine when to stop heating, ensuring stable and reliable drying results

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Measurement precision

If multiple sampling points are acquired and processed over time periods, then the humidity calculation accuracy is improved, but the calculation complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvehumidity value accuracyVSAvoidcalculation process complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The monitoring period is segmented into a first time period for acquiring multiple sampling points and a second time period for accumulating maximum values. This segmentation allows the system to process humidity data in organized time intervals, improving measurement precision by considering humidity variations over different time scales without overwhelming computational complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system extracts only the maximum value from each set of sampling points acquired during the first time period, rather than processing all individual sampling points. This extraction approach maintains high measurement precision by focusing on the most relevant data point while significantly reducing calculation complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentEP3521504B1Clothes dryer, method and device for calculating humidity value of clothes in clothes dryer
Publication Date: 2023.10.18 WUXI FILIN ELECTRONICS CO LTD
  • EP3521504B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3521504B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3521504B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A clothes dryer (100), a method and device (200) for calculating a humidity value of clothes in the clothes dryer. The method for calculating the humidity value includes: acquiring sampling points of a humidity sensor during a first time period; extracting a maximum value from the sampling points, and generating a maximum-value accumulated value; acquiring maximum-value accumulated values during a second time period, and generating an average value; acquiring a current maximum value during a current first time period; and generating a current humidity value.