Method and apparatus for detecting residual drying time of clothes dryer

• US 6,941,674 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2003
• Issued: 09/13/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 08/12/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Park, Young-Hwan, Oh, Soo-Young, Hong, Kyung-Seop, Jeon, Si-Moon, Jeong, In-Cheol, Park, Dae-Yun
• Primary Examiner(s): Tyler, Cheryl
• Assistant Examiner(s): O MALLEY, KATHRYN S
• Application Number:
  US10/743,495
• Publication Number:
  US 20050050763A1
• Time in Patent Office: 630 Days
• Field of Search: 345/28, 345/95, 344/76, 344/93, 345/62, 34/88, 345/57
• US Class Current: 34/88
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2103/08 Humidity
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2103/10 expressed as capacitance or resistance
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2103/32 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 58/38 of drying, e.g. to achieve the target humidity
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 58/46 Control of the operating time

Abstract

In a method and an apparatus for detecting a residual drying time of a clothes dryer, by detecting a quantity of moisture contained in clothes in a clothes dryer and displaying a residual clothes drying time on the basis of the detected moisture quantity, a residual clothes drying time can be displayed accurately.

Claims

1. An apparatus for detecting a residual drying time of a clothes dryer, comprising:

a moisture detector for detecting a quantity of moisture contained in clothes in clothes dryer;

a temperature detector for detecting an outlet temperature of a drum of the clothes dryer;

a controller for reading a residual drying time corresponded to a sum of the moisture quantity and a variation of the outlet temperature value of the drum from a storage storing a pre-calculated residual drying time on the basis of the moisture quantity and the outlet temperature value of the drum; and

a display for displaying the read residual drying time according to the control signal of the controller.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the storage includes a first look-up table showing an estimated drying time pre-calculated according to the moisture quantity and the outlet temperature value of the drum and a second look-up table showing an estimated cooling time pre-calculated according to the moisture quantity and the outlet temperature value of the drum.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller reduces the read residual drying time with the passage of time and displays the reduced time.

4. A method for detecting a residual drying time of a clothes dryer, comprising:

reducing a preset early clothes drying time in early operation of a clothes dryer with the passage of time and displaying the reduced time on a display in real-time;

detecting a quantity of moisture contained in clothes in a drum of the clothes dryer and an outlet temperature of the drum;

reading a residual clothes drying time corresponded to a sum of the detected moisture quantity and a variation in temperature value from a memory storing a residual drying time pre-calculated on the basis of the moisture quantity and outlet temperature value of the drum; and

displaying the read residual drying time in real-time;

wherein the residual drying time includes an estimated drying time and an estimated cooling time.