Laundry Dryer Moisture Detection for Early Program Termination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Laundry drying machines lack efficient methods to detect empty or fully dried treating chambers during early phases of a drying program, leading to unnecessary energy consumption and potential damage from incomplete or prolonged drying cycles.
Innovation Solution
A method for controlling laundry drying machines that utilizes a moisture sensor to compare signals with predefined thresholds, allowing for partial program execution, skipping of energy-intensive phases, or program termination when the chamber is determined to be empty or fully dry, thereby optimizing energy use and preventing over-drying.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the drying program runs for the full duration regardless of chamber status, then the drying function is ensured, but energy is wasted when the chamber is empty or laundry is already dry
Solution Approach 1:
The moisture sensor performs preliminary detection of laundry moisture content at the beginning of the drying program (machine initialization phase) to determine whether the chamber is empty or contains already-dry laundry, allowing the control unit to skip unnecessary drying phases before the main drying process begins
Solution Approach 2:
The moisture sensor continuously monitors laundry moisture content during the drying program and provides feedback to the control unit, which compares the signal against stored thresholds to dynamically adjust the drying program execution and terminate or skip phases when drying conditions are already met
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the drying program continues without early detection, then complete drying is ensured, but laundry may be damaged by over-drying
Solution Approach 1:
The moisture sensor performs preliminary detection of laundry moisture content at the beginning of the drying program to identify already-dry laundry, allowing the control unit to skip the main drying phase and proceed directly to the final phase, preventing over-drying damage before it occurs
Solution Approach 2:
The moisture sensor provides continuous feedback during the drying program, enabling the control unit to monitor moisture content and terminate or adjust the drying program when the laundry reaches the desired dryness level, preventing harmful over-drying effects
3Measurement precision
If moisture detection is performed continuously throughout the program, then accurate drying status is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drying program is segmented into distinct phases (machine initialization phase, main phase, final phase), with moisture detection and threshold comparison performed selectively at key transition points rather than continuously, reducing computational complexity while maintaining detection accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The moisture sensor and control unit perform partial detection actions at strategically chosen moments (beginning and phase transitions) rather than continuous monitoring, providing sufficient accuracy to determine chamber status and drying completion without requiring complex continuous measurement systems
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach reduces energy consumption by skipping unnecessary drying phases and prevents laundry damage from over-drying, enhancing the efficiency and safety of the drying process.
Implementation Method 1
a capacitive sensing arrangement arranged for generating an electric signal indicative of a degree of humidity of a load contained in the drying chamber
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
The present invention relates to a method for controlling a laundry drying machine comprising a treating chamber (110) adapted to contain laundry to be treated and a control unit (117) which receives a signal indicative of laundry moisture from a moisture sensor (200), said method comprising the step of receiving a user input which includes a laundry treating program comprising a machine initialization phase, a program main phase and a program final phase; the method is characterized by: in said machine initialization phase, comparing the laundry moisture indicated by the signal to a first threshold, which is stored in the control unit and is indicative of dried laundry or empty threating chamber; if the signal is determined to be equal or less than the first threshold, one or more of the following actions is performed: carrying out only a portion of the selected laundry treating program; skipping the program main phase; starting the program final phase; stopping the laundry treating program; providing a notification of dried laundry and/or empty treating chamber (110).