Laundry dryer

• US 20070144035A1
• Filed: 07/28/2005
• Published: 06/28/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 07/30/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Cho, Hong, Choi, Seung Bong
• Application Number:
  US10/556,553
• Publication Number:
  US 20070144035A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 34/524
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2103/04 Quantity, e.g. weight or variation of weight
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2103/12 Temperature
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2103/38 Time, e.g. duration
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2105/58 Indications or alarms to the control system or to the user
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 34/05 for wireless communication between components, e.g. for remote monitoring or control
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 58/38 of drying, e.g. to achieve the target humidity
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 93/00 Counting, sorting, or marking arrangements specially adapted for laundry purposes

Abstract

The present invention provides a new type of a laundry dryer and a method thereof for performing an optimal dying process through obtaining information on the various kinds of the clothes introduced into a drum comprising a reader unit for receiving a signal from an information tag attached to each piece of the laundry, to obtain information on drying each piece of the laundry have stored in the information tag, and a control unit for receiving information obtained by the reader unit and setting a drying cycle with reference to at least one of a drying temperature and a drying time by using the information received, and for controlling a driving of a driving part to perform a drying cycle. Also, the control method thereof comprises an information obtaining step for obtaining information on drying from each information tag attached to each piece of the laundry, an operation setting step for setting a control algorithm to operate at least one of a fan and a heating part with reference to the obtained information on drying, and a performing drying step for performing a drying cycle according to the set control algorithm, controlling the fan and the heating part.

Claims

1. A laundry dryer comprising:

a reader unit for receiving a signal from an information tag attached to each piece of the laundry, to obtain information on drying each piece of the laundry have stored in the information tag; and

a control unit for receiving information obtained by the reader unit and setting a drying cycle with reference to at least one of a drying temperature and a drying time by using the information received, and for controlling a driving of a driving part to perform a drying cycle.

2. The laundry dryer claimed as claim 1, wherein the information tag is a RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag which additional information may be written thereon, and

The reader unit is a RFID reader which exchanges a signal with the RFID tag to receive information from the RFID tag, or to write new information on the RFID tag.

3. A control method for a laundry dryer comprising:

an information obtaining step for obtaining information on drying from each information tag attached to each piece of the laundry;

an operation setting step for setting a control algorithm to operate at least one of a fan and a heating part with reference to the obtained information on drying; and

a performing drying step for performing a drying cycle according to the set control algorithm, controlling the fan and the heating part.

4. The control method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the information obtaining step is performed by class after each piece of the laundry is introduced into a drum.

5. The control method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the information obtaining step is performed respectively in the middle of introducing each piece of the laundry into the drum.

6. The control method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the information on drying obtained from the information tag attached to the each piece of the laundry in the information obtaining step includes at least one of an appropriate drying condition, weight of the laundry, and a quality of the laundry material.

7. The control method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the appropriate drying condition includes at least one of a drying temperature and a drying time.

8. The control method as claimed in claim 3, wherein the control algorithm is set with reference to at least one of the drying temperature and the drying time.

9. The control method as claimed in claim 3, further comprising:

a weight identifying step for identifying weight of the laundry in the drum with reference to the information obtained in the information obtaining step;

an algorithm adjusting step for adjusting the control algorithm set in the operation setting step so that the fan and the heating part may be operated differently according to the results of comparing the identified weight with the set reference weight.

10. The control method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the control algorithm is adjusted so that the fan may send a lager amount of air to the laundry than the amount of air when the fan is operated with reference to the reference weight set in the operation setting step, in case that the identified weight is heavier than the reference weight.

11. The control method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the control algorithm is adjusted so that the heating part may dry the laundry for a longer time than a time when the heating part dries the laundry with reference to the reference algorithm set in the operation setting step step, in case that the identified weight is heavier than the reference weight.

12. The control method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:

an actual weight identifying step for identifying actual weight of the laundry introduced into the drum;

a control algorithm adjusting step for adjusting the control algorithm set in the operation setting step according to the difference between the identified weight and the entire weight of the laundry obtained in the information obtaining step.

13. The control method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the control algorithm is adjusted for the operation time to increase more than the operation time with reference to the control algorithm set in the operation setting step in proportion as the difference between the identified actual weight of the laundry and the entire weight thereof obtained in the information obtaining step.

14. The control method as claimed in claim 13, wherein identifying the actual weight of the laundry includes using a weight sensor or identifying a moisture absorbing ratio.

15. The control method as claimed in claim 3, further comprising a kind reading step for identifying the laundry introduced into the drum whether they are of the same kind of quality or more than two kinds of qualities.

16. The control method as claimed in claim 15, wherein in case that the laundry introduced into the drum are identified to have more than two kinds of qualities, a drying cycle for the laundry required to be dried at a relatively low temperature may be performed preferentially and in succession a drying cycle for the laundry required to be dried at a higher temperature than the relatively low temperature may be performed.