CN112831979A

CN112831979A - Clothes treating apparatus and drain control method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN112831979A
Application number: CN201911159171.8A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 赵新丰; 姚龙平
Original assignee: Qingdao Haier Drum Washing Machine Co Ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Current assignee: Shanghai Haier Washing Electric Appliance Co ltd; Haier Smart Home Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-11-22
Filing date: 2019-11-22
Publication date: 2021-05-25
Anticipated expiration: 2039-11-22
Also published as: CN112831979B

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of clothes treatment equipment, aims to solve the problem that the drainage control method of the existing clothes dryer easily causes the overflow of condensed water or the frequent start and stop of a drainage pump, and provides the clothes treatment equipment and the drainage control method thereof, wherein the drainage control method comprises the following steps: controlling the fan to rotate forwards and operate for a first set time; controlling the fan to rotate reversely and operate for a second set time; acquiring a detection water level value of the condensed water; comparing the detected water level value with a first preset threshold value; and selectively controlling actions of the fan and the drainage pump according to the comparison result. The drainage control method provided by the invention can avoid the phenomenon that condensed water overflows or the drainage pump is started and stopped frequently, not only can prolong the service life of the drainage pump, but also can not leave water stain indoors, thereby effectively improving the user experience.

Description

Clothes treating apparatus and drain control method thereof

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of clothes treatment equipment, in particular to clothes treatment equipment and a drainage control method thereof.

Background

Clothes dryers or washing and drying integrated machines with drying functions are more and more accepted by users due to the characteristics of convenient use, time saving and the like. Taking a clothes dryer as an example, the clothes dryer mainly comprises a heat pump type clothes dryer, a condensation type clothes dryer and a direct-exhaust type clothes dryer, wherein the condensation type clothes dryer occupies a larger market due to low cost and good clothes drying effect.

The condensation type clothes dryer has the working principle that a ventilation channel is arranged in the clothes dryer, a fan and a heating device are arranged in the channel, the fan drives air to circulate to form air flow, the air flow is heated by the heating device to become hot air flow in the moving process, then the hot air flow is blown to moist clothes and heats the clothes, moisture in the clothes is evaporated into the air to become the moist hot air flow, the water vapor is condensed into condensed water and is gathered to flow down when the moist air flows through the condensation device, the condensed water is discharged by means of a drainage pump arranged at the bottom of the clothes dryer, the dried air flow is heated by the heating device in the ventilation channel again and enters the next round of circulation, and the clothes can be dried after being circulated for many times. The existing control method for discharging the condensed water of the clothes dryer is to continuously detect the water level of the condensed water in the drying process of the clothes dryer and start a drainage pump to drain water when the detected water level is higher than a preset water level. The existing drainage method has certain disadvantages, the existing condensate water level detection is real-time, the condensate water level can deviate and shake under the influence of air flow in the operation process of a drying program, the water level detection is inaccurate, the situation of action lag or misoperation of the drainage pump is caused, the problem that the condensate water is excessive and overflows or is started and stopped frequently is caused, and great troubles are brought to users.

Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a new drain control method of a laundry treating apparatus to solve the above-mentioned problems.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, that is, to solve the problem that the drain control method of the existing clothes dryer easily causes the overflow of the condensed water or the frequent start and stop of the drain pump, a first aspect of the present invention provides a drain control method of a clothes treatment apparatus, the clothes treatment apparatus includes a drying channel and a condensed water channel, the drying channel is communicated with the condensed water channel, a fan is disposed in the drying channel, and the condensed water channel is disposed with the drain pump and a water level detection device, the drain control method includes:

s1, controlling the fan to rotate positively and operate for a first set time;

s2, controlling the fan to reversely rotate and run for a second set time;

s3, acquiring a detection water level value of the condensed water;

s4, comparing the detected water level value with a first preset threshold value;

and S5, selectively controlling the actions of the fan and the drainage pump according to the comparison result.

In a preferred embodiment of the above-described drain control method, the step of selectively controlling the operation of the fan and the drain pump according to the comparison result specifically includes:

and if the detected water level value is greater than or equal to the first preset threshold value, controlling the fan to reversely rotate and operate for a third set time, and simultaneously starting the drainage pump and continuously draining water for the third set time.

In a preferred embodiment of the above drainage control method, the drainage control method further includes:

and after the draining pump is started and continuously drains water for a third set time, the draining pump is closed, the fan is controlled to rotate forwards and operate for the first set time, and then the fan is controlled to rotate backwards and operate for the third set time.

and re-executing the steps S3 to S5 while controlling the fan to rotate reversely and operate for the third set time period.

In a preferable embodiment of the above drainage control method, the third set time period is equal to or longer than the second set time period.

In a preferred embodiment of the above-described drain control method, the step of selectively controlling the operation of the fan and the drain pump according to the comparison result further includes:

if the detected water level value is less than the first preset threshold, re-executing steps S1-S5.

In a preferable embodiment of the above drainage control method, the first set time period is 10 minutes or longer.

acquiring an initial water level value of the condensed water before performing the step S1;

comparing the initial water level value with a second preset threshold value;

and selectively performing the step S1 or controlling the operation of the drain pump according to the comparison result.

In a preferred embodiment of the above-described drain control method, the step of selectively executing step S1 or controlling the operation of the drain pump according to the comparison result may specifically include:

if the initial water level value is greater than or equal to the second preset threshold value, controlling the drainage pump to continuously drain water for a fourth set time and then closing the drainage pump; and/or

If the initial water level value is less than the second preset threshold, keeping the drainage pump closed and executing step S1.

According to the drainage control method of the clothes treatment equipment, the water level of the condensed water is detected during the stop period of the fan, then the actions of the drainage pump and the fan are controlled according to the comparison result of the obtained detected water level value and the first preset threshold value, the influence of air flow on the height of the liquid level of the condensed water can be effectively avoided, so that an accurate water level value can be obtained, the actions of the drainage pump and the fan can be further controlled based on the accurate water level value, the phenomenon that the condensed water overflows or the drainage pump is frequently started and stopped is avoided, the service life of the drainage pump can be prolonged, water stain cannot remain in a room, and user experience is effectively improved.

Further, if the detected water level value is larger than or equal to the first preset threshold value, the fan is controlled to reversely rotate and operate for a third set time, meanwhile, the drainage pump is started, the third set time is continuously drained, the third set time is related to the water amount, through experimental determination, thorough drainage can be achieved, the fan reversely rotates in the drainage process, namely the inner barrel reversely rotates, clothes can be loosened, the phenomenon that the clothes are wound can be avoided, water flow movement is prevented from being blocked due to the existence of air flow, and therefore thorough drainage is guaranteed.

Further, the drainage pump is closed after the drainage pump is started and continuously drains water for a third set time, the fan is controlled to rotate forwards and operate for the first set time, then the fan is controlled to rotate backwards and operate for the third set time, further drying of the clothes can be achieved, and complete drying can be guaranteed when the weight of the clothes is large. Further, the steps S3 to S5 are re-executed while the fan is reversely rotated and operated for a third set time period, so that condensed water generated during the second round of drying can be discharged, and it is ensured that the dryer does not have excessive condensed water.

Furthermore, before the drying program is formally started, the initial water level value of the condensed water remained in the previous clothes drying process is detected and compared with a second preset threshold value, and whether the water needs to be drained firstly is judged according to the comparison result, so that the influence of the condensed water remained in the previous clothes drying process on the current clothes drying process can be avoided, and the condensed water can be prevented from overflowing.

The second aspect of the present invention also provides a laundry treating apparatus, which may be a clothes dryer, may be a washing and drying all-in-one machine, and includes a controller configured to be able to perform the drain control method according to any one of the above-mentioned technical solutions.

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, since the laundry treating apparatus of the present invention is configured with the controller capable of executing the drainage control method, all technical effects brought by the drainage control method, such as avoiding overflow of condensed water, avoiding frequent start and stop of the drainage pump, etc., are provided, and are not described herein again.

Drawings

The laundry treating apparatus and the drain controlling method thereof of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in conjunction with a tumble dryer, in which:

fig. 1 is a flowchart of a drain control method of a clothes dryer according to embodiment 1 of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a flowchart of a drain control method of a dryer provided in embodiment 2 of the present invention;

fig. 3 is a flowchart of a drain control method of a dryer provided in embodiment 3 of the present invention;

fig. 4 is a flowchart of a drainage control method of a dryer according to embodiment 4 of the present invention.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that these embodiments are only for explaining the technical principle of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. For example, although the following embodiments are explained in conjunction with a tumble dryer, this is not restrictive, and the technical solution of the present invention is also applicable to other types of laundry processing apparatuses, such as a tumble washer-dryer, a pulsator washer-dryer, etc., without departing from the principle and scope of the present invention. Furthermore, in the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a better understanding of the present invention. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without some of these specific details.

It should be noted that in the description of the present invention, the terms of direction or positional relationship indicated by the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, which are merely for convenience of description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

Furthermore, it should be noted that, in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, and may be, for example, fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be connected directly or indirectly through intervening media, or they may be interconnected between two elements. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood by those skilled in the art according to specific situations.

Based on the problem that the drainage control method of the existing clothes dryer pointed out by the background technology easily causes the overflow of condensed water or the frequent start and stop of a drainage pump, the invention provides a clothes treatment device and a drainage control method thereof, aiming at avoiding the influence of air flow in a drying channel on the liquid level by changing the water level detection time sequence, and further ensuring the accuracy of the water level detection result, thereby controlling the actions of other devices based on the accurate detection result.

Embodiments of the present invention first provide a laundry treating apparatus, taking a dryer as an example, the dryer is configured with a cabinet, an outer tub, an inner tub, a driving motor, a drying passage, a condensed water passage, and the like. The inner cylinder is rotatably disposed within the outer cylinder. A heating device and a fan are arranged in the drying channel, and the fan and the inner cylinder are synchronously driven by a driving motor, so that the fan rotates forwards when the inner cylinder rotates forwards, and the fan rotates backwards when the inner cylinder rotates backwards. When the fan rotates forwards, airflow can be generated in the drying channel, and when the fan rotates backwards, the airflow cannot be generated in the drying channel, and the inner drum rotates backwards only for loosening clothes, so that the clothes are prevented from being wound. The drying channel is communicated with the condensed water channel, a draining pump and a water level detection device are arranged in the condensed water channel, the water level detection device is used for detecting the condensed water level in the condensed water channel and providing reference for the action of the draining pump, and the draining pump is used for draining the condensed water. A specific drainage control method requires a controller for control, and the controller provided in the present invention is capable of executing the drainage control method in each of the following embodiments.

The drain control method provided by the embodiment of the present invention is described below based on the above-described dryer configuration.

Example 1

Referring to fig. 1, the drain control method in the present embodiment includes the steps of:

and S1, controlling the fan to rotate forwards and operate for a first set time.

Specifically, after a drying program is started, the drying mode is directly entered, the fan and the inner cylinder are controlled to rotate forwardly, airflow is formed in a drying channel, normal-temperature airflow is heated by the heating device and then changed into hot airflow and enters the inner cylinder, wet clothes in the inner cylinder are heated and then changed into wet-hot airflow, the wet-hot airflow is cooled by the condensing device and then changed into normal-temperature airflow or dry-cold airflow, the normal-temperature airflow or the dry-cold airflow enters the next drying cycle, moisture in the airflow is changed into condensed water and enters a condensing pipeline, and the airflow cycle process lasts for a first set time. The value of the first set time period may be related to the weight, material, water content, etc. of the wet laundry, and it is determined in the product test stage that the selection is made in the user use stage, for example, when the weight of the wet laundry is 2-3kg, the first set time period may be 15 minutes correspondingly; when the weight of the wet laundry is less than 2kg, the first set time period may be 10 minutes, and so on, accordingly. It is to be understood that the foregoing data are for purposes of illustration only and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. The first set time period is usually set to 10 minutes or more, which guarantees the drying requirement in the general case.

And S2, controlling the fan to rotate reversely and running for a second set time.

Specifically, after the fan operates for a first set time period, the clothes in the inner drum are basically dried, and at the moment, the fan and the inner drum are controlled to start to reversely rotate. In the reverse operation stage of the inner drum, airflow cannot be formed in the drying channel, and the reverse rotation of the inner drum is only used for loosening the clothes, so that the clothes are prevented from being wound. This time lasts for a second set period of time that may be determined during the product testing phase, which may be, for example, 1 minute, or 2 minutes, or other time period.

And S3, acquiring the detection water level value of the condensed water while the step S2 is carried out.

Specifically, in the process of controlling the fan to rotate reversely, the water level height of the condensed water is detected by a water level detection device such as various types of liquid level sensors, and a detected water level value is obtained. The water level detection process is arranged at the fan reversal stage, and air flow cannot be formed in the drying channel when the fan reverses, so that liquid level cannot be blown to deviate due to air flow, the water level detection result cannot be influenced by the air flow, an accurate liquid level value can be obtained, and the judgment of next action is facilitated.

And S4, comparing the detected water level value with a first preset threshold value.

Specifically, after the detection device obtains the detected water level value, it needs to be compared with a first preset threshold value. The first preset threshold is determined in the product test stage, and when the liquid level reaches the first preset threshold, the water drainage needs to be started.

Specifically, there are the following two comparison results, and different comparison results have different subsequent operations:

and if the detected water level value is greater than or equal to the first preset threshold value, controlling the fan to reversely rotate and operate for a third set time, and simultaneously starting the drainage pump and continuously draining for the third set time. When the detected water level value is larger than or equal to the first preset threshold value, the water drainage operation is indicated to be needed, at the moment, the fan is controlled to reversely rotate and continue for a third set time length, meanwhile, the drainage pump is started to drain water, and the water drainage action continues for the third set time length. In the step, the fan is controlled to rotate reversely while draining water, so that the influence of air flow is avoided, and clothes are loosened.

If the detected water level value is less than the first preset threshold, the steps S1 to S5 are executed again.

Specifically, when the detected water level value is smaller than a first preset threshold value, the existing condensed water amount is not up to the drainage standard, the drainage operation is not needed, and unnecessary start and stop actions of the drainage pump can be reduced, so that the service life of the drainage pump is prolonged. At this time, the drying process may be ended, or the drying operation may be continued to further dry the laundry, and steps S1 to S5 are re-executed. And when the total drying time reaches the set drying time, the clothes dryer is controlled to stop drying operation, enters a dormant state, and can send an alarm to remind a user of finishing drying.

Preferably, the third set time period is equal to or greater than the second set time period in order to ensure the drainage of water completely, and the time required is relatively short since the main purpose of the second set time period is to loosen the laundry and detect the water level.

Example 2

In some cases, a user may put a large amount of wet laundry for drying, for example, the drying may not be complete when only one drying and draining operation is performed according to embodiment 1, so this embodiment provides a method applicable to a large amount of wet laundry for drying. Referring to fig. 2, the drain control method according to the present embodiment includes:

Specifically, steps S1-S4 are identical to those in embodiment 1, and reference is made to embodiment 1, and detailed description is omitted here.

Specifically, the comparison results are two of the following:

if the detected water level value is less than the first preset threshold, the steps S1 to S5 are executed again. This procedure is the same as in example 1.

And if the detected water level value is greater than or equal to the first preset threshold value, controlling the fan to reversely rotate and operate for a third set time, and simultaneously starting the drainage pump and continuously draining for the third set time. Further, the present embodiment is different from embodiment 1 in that:

in the process of executing step S5, if the detected water level value is greater than or equal to the first preset threshold, the fan is controlled to rotate reversely and operate for a third set time period, and after the drain pump is started and the drain is continued for the third set time period, the following steps are also required:

and S6, closing the drainage pump, controlling the fan to rotate forwards and operate for a first set time, and controlling the fan to rotate backwards and operate for a third set time. Further, steps S3 through S5 may be re-executed while the fan is controlled to be reversed and operated for a third set period of time.

Specifically, the two forward rotation processes of the fan may be defined as an early drying stage and a late drying stage. In the earlier stage of drying, namely the fan positively rotates for the first time and operates for the first set time period, partial moisture on wet clothes can be separated, at the moment, the clothes are not dried completely, after primary drainage is completed, the drainage pump is firstly closed, the second round of drying operation is carried out, the fan positively rotates for the second time and lasts for the first set time period, and the clothes are further dried. And then controlling the fan to rotate reversely for a third set time period to loosen the clothes, and during the time period, re-executing the steps S3-S5 to discharge the condensed water in the second round of drying process. And after the second round of drying operation is executed, if the set total time of the clothes dryer is reached, finishing the drying operation, entering a dormant state and giving an alarm.

Example 3

In some cases, a certain amount of condensed water may remain in the clothes dryer before use, and if it is determined that the water level does not reach the drain water level in the last stage of the previous clothes drying, the drain pump is not controlled to start, at this time, the condensed water may remain in the condensed water channel, and after the drying procedure is started, the condensed water may overflow due to excessive condensed water, so as to solve the problem, the present embodiment provides a drain control method, referring to fig. 3, the drain control method in the present embodiment includes:

and S01, acquiring an initial water level value of the condensed water. Specifically, before the fan is controlled to be started, the water level of the residual condensed water is detected, and an initial water level value is obtained.

And S02, comparing the initial water level value with a second preset threshold value. Compared with the first preset threshold in embodiments 1 and 2, the second preset threshold is smaller than the first preset threshold, which is considered because if the residual condensed water is close to but has not yet reached the first preset threshold, during the drying process, the water level may reach the first preset threshold before the forward rotation of the fan is not completed, and thus the excessive overflow of the condensed water may occur during the continuous drying, and therefore, through experimental determination, the second preset threshold is smaller than the first preset threshold.

S03, according to the comparison result, selectively executing the step S1 or controlling the action of the drainage pump. Specifically, if the initial water level value is greater than or equal to the second preset threshold value, the drainage pump is controlled to continuously drain water for a fourth set time and then is closed. This process completes the discharge of the residual condensed water. The fourth set time period is less than the third set time period.

If the initial water level value is less than the preset threshold value, the drainage pump is kept closed and the step S1 is executed. At this time, even if the drying is continued for the first set time, the excessive overflow of the condensed water does not occur, and the subsequent steps can be continuously executed.

And S4, comparing the detected water level value with a preset threshold value.

With respect to steps S1-S5, reference is made specifically to embodiment 1 and embodiment 2, and they will not be described in detail here.

Example 4

The present embodiment is a combination of embodiment 3 and embodiment 2, and is suitable for both the case where the condensed water remains and the case where a large amount of wet laundry is dried. Referring to fig. 4, the drain control method according to the present embodiment includes:

And S02, comparing the initial water level value with a second preset threshold value.

S03, according to the comparison result, selectively executing the step S1 or controlling the action of the drainage pump. Specifically, if the initial water level value is greater than or equal to the second preset threshold value, the drainage pump is controlled to continuously drain water for a fourth set time and then is closed. If the initial water level value is less than the preset threshold value, the drainage pump is kept closed and the step S1 is executed.

And S4, comparing the detected water level value with a preset threshold value.

With respect to the specific operations of steps S01-S5, reference is made to examples 1-3, which are not described in detail herein.

So far, the technical solutions of the present invention have been described in connection with the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings, but it is easily understood by those skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention is obviously not limited to these specific embodiments. Equivalent changes or substitutions of related technical features can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the principle of the invention, and the technical scheme after the changes or substitutions can fall into the protection scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A drainage control method of a clothes treatment device comprises a drying channel and a condensed water channel, wherein the drying channel is communicated with the condensed water channel, a fan is arranged in the drying channel, a drainage pump and a water level detection device are arranged in the condensed water channel,

the drainage control method is characterized by comprising the following steps:

s1, controlling the fan to rotate positively and operate for a first set time;

s2, controlling the fan to reversely rotate and run for a second set time;

s3, acquiring a detection water level value of the condensed water;

2. The drain control method according to claim 1, wherein the step of selectively controlling the actions of the fan and the drain pump according to the comparison result specifically comprises:

3. The drain control method according to claim 2, further comprising:

4. The drain control method according to claim 3, further comprising:

5. The drain control method according to claim 4, wherein the third set period of time is equal to or greater than the second set period of time.

6. The drain control method according to claim 1, wherein the step of selectively controlling the operation of the fan and the drain pump according to the comparison result further comprises:

7. The drainage control method according to claim 6, wherein the first set time period is 10 minutes or longer.

8. The drain control method according to claim 1, further comprising:

comparing the initial water level value with a second preset threshold value;

9. The drain control method according to claim 8, wherein the step of selectively performing the step S1 or controlling the operation of the drain pump according to the comparison result specifically comprises:

10. A laundry treating apparatus comprising a controller, characterized in that the controller is configured to be able to perform the drainage control method of any one of claims 1-9.