Strategy for dryness detection in a clothes dryer
First Claim
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1. A clothes dryer comprising:
- an outer cabinet shell;
a drum rotatably mounted within said outer cabinet shell, said drum being adapted to receive articles of clothing to be heated and dried within said drum;
a system for sensing a moisture level of articles of clothing placed within said drum;
a control panel including at least one temperature selector member, a cycle selection element adapted to be initially positioned by a user to a desired dryness level setting while being movable through a first cycle zone during operation of said clothes dryer, and indicia, representative of said first cycle zone, extending adjacent at least a portion of said cycle selection element on said control panel; and
means for determining the desired dryness level setting based on movement of the selection element through the first cycle zone during operation of said clothes dryer.
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Abstract
A method of programming and controlling an automatic cycle of a clothes dryer provides that, after positioning of a selection dial, a motor associated with the selection dial is rapidly moved to a predetermined location at a constant speed, while the time to do so is measured. With the rotational velocity being known, the exact, initially setting position of the dial is determined in advance.
23 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A clothes dryer comprising:
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an outer cabinet shell;
a drum rotatably mounted within said outer cabinet shell, said drum being adapted to receive articles of clothing to be heated and dried within said drum;
a system for sensing a moisture level of articles of clothing placed within said drum;
a control panel including at least one temperature selector member, a cycle selection element adapted to be initially positioned by a user to a desired dryness level setting while being movable through a first cycle zone during operation of said clothes dryer, and indicia, representative of said first cycle zone, extending adjacent at least a portion of said cycle selection element on said control panel; and
means for determining the desired dryness level setting based on movement of the selection element through the first cycle zone during operation of said clothes dryer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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12. A method of operating a clothes dryer comprising:
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initiating a dryer operation based on a desired dryness level setting established by a user through a positioning of a cycle selection element in a first cycle zone;
determining the desired dryness level based on advanced movement of the cycle selection element through the first cycle zone;
sensing a moisture level of clothing articles in the clothes dryer during the drying operation; and
halting operation of at least a heater of said clothes dryer when the moisture level is substantially equal to the desired dryness level.
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Specification