Laundry drier

• US 20040169034A1
• Filed: 11/21/2003
• Published: 09/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Park, Sang Ho
• Granted Patent: US 6,822,201 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 219/489
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2101/00 User input for the control of domestic laundry washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2103/44 Current or voltage
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2105/28 Electric heating
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 34/08 Control circuits or arrangements thereof

Abstract

A laundry drier has a heater control circuit for controlling the drive of a heater using one of a plurality of high voltages, using a switching circuit realized by a form C contact relay provided between a current-buffered microcomputer output and plurality of heater drivers, so that heater drive capability is ensured even if the current buffer output fails and so that dangerous short-circuit conditions are avoided even if the microcomputer experiences a logical malfunction. The heater control circuit includes a heater for being driven by a plurality of high voltages via a plurality of heater drivers; a microcomputer for outputting a control signal according to a user input, the control signal determining the high voltage drive of the heater; and a heater control interface for generating a plurality of heater control signals corresponding to the plurality of high voltages, based on the control signal of the microcomputer, the plurality of heater control signals selectively enabling only one heater driver.

Claims

1. A laundry drier having a heater control circuit, the heater control circuit comprising:

a heater for being driven by a plurality of high voltages via a plurality of heater drivers;

a microcomputer for outputting a control signal according to a user input, the control signal determining the high voltage drive of said heater; and

a heater control interface for generating a plurality of heater control signals corresponding to the plurality of high voltages, based on the control signal of said microcomputer, the plurality of heater control signals selectively enabling only one of the plurality of heater drivers.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the plurality of heater drivers consists of enabled and disabled heater drivers.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein said heater control interface comprises a switching circuit for selectively outputting only one of the plurality of heater control signals as a first logic level signal for enabling only one of the plurality of heater drivers.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said switching circuit outputs a second logic level signal to the disabled heater drivers.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein said switching circuit comprises a form C contact relay.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outputted control signal of said microcomputer is output from a plurality of logical output ports.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, further comprising a current buffer having outputs corresponding to logic states the plurality of logical output ports of said microcomputer.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the control signal output comprises first and second output ports, the first output port having a logic state determining the high voltage drive of said heater and the second output port held at a fixed value.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the fixed value of the second output port of said microcomputer is a logic low.