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CN-122003529-A - Clothes dryer including drain pump and control method thereof

CN122003529ACN 122003529 ACN122003529 ACN 122003529ACN-122003529-A

Abstract

The laundry dryer of the present disclosure may include a first water container in which condensed water generated according to the execution of a drying operation is stored, a drain pump driven by a BLDC motor, and a control unit for determining a rotation speed of the drain pump. The control unit alternately operates and stops the drain pump a preset number of times at a first rotation speed in response to the start of the bubble removal operation to remove bubbles from the condensed water in the first water container, and starts a drain operation of operating the drain pump at a second rotation speed higher than the first rotation speed for a predetermined driving period in response to the end of the bubble removal operation.

Inventors

  • LI SHENGXU
  • LI YINZHE
  • ZHANG XINGGUI
  • CUI HAO
  • JIN HUIZHONG

Assignees

  • 三星电子株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20240822
Priority Date
20231106

Claims (15)

  1. 1. A laundry dryer (1, 900), comprising: A first water container (50), condensed water generated when the drying cycle is performed being stored in the first water container (50); a drain pump (100, 930) driven by the brushless DC BLDC motor, and A controller (910) configured to: In response to the start of the bubble removal cycle, alternately driving and stopping the drain pump (100, 930) at a first rotational speed a predetermined number of times to remove bubbles from the condensed water stored in the first water container, and In response to the end of the bubble removal cycle, a drain cycle is started in which the drain pump (100, 930) is operated at a second rotational speed that is greater than the first rotational speed for a predetermined driving period.
  2. 2. The laundry dryer (1, 900) according to claim 1, wherein, A direction in which the condensed water is introduced into the inlet portion of the drain pump (100, 930) and a direction in which the condensed water is discharged through the discharge portion of the drain pump (100, 930) are parallel to a direction in which the rotation axis of the drain pump (100, 930) extends, and The rotation axis is perpendicular to a lower surface of the laundry dryer (1, 900).
  3. 3. The laundry dryer (1, 900) according to claim 2, wherein said controller (910) is further configured to: Operating the drain pump (100, 930) at a primary first rotational speed during a first operation time to perform a first bubble removal cycle to reduce a level of the condensate in a first water container (50) and to raise the level of the condensate from the drain to a first predetermined height by pumping the condensate from the drain by the drain pump (100, 930), and Operation of the drain pump (100, 930) is stopped during a first downtime to reduce a level of the condensate water from the drain.
  4. 4. A laundry dryer (1, 900) according to claim 3, wherein, The controller is further configured to: in response to the end of the first bubble removal cycle, operating the drain pump (100, 930) at a secondary first rotational speed during a second operating time to perform a second bubble removal cycle to lower the level of the condensate in the first water container (50) and raise the level of the condensate from the drain to a second predetermined height by pumping the condensate from the drain by the drain pump (100, 930), and Stopping operation of the drain pump (100, 930) during a second downtime to reduce a level of the condensed water from the drain, and The secondary first rotational speed is greater than or equal to the primary first rotational speed.
  5. 5. The laundry dryer (1, 900) according to claim 3 or 4, wherein, The first predetermined height and the second predetermined height are lower than a height to which the condensed water in the first water container (50) is to be raised when the condensed water is discharged from the first water container by the operation of the drain pump (100, 930), and The first predetermined height is less than or equal to the second predetermined height.
  6. 6. The laundry dryer (1, 900) according to claim 1, wherein the second rotational speed includes: a primary second rotational speed corresponding to the rotational speed of a second water container (200) pumping said condensed water from a first water container (50) into the body of said laundry dryer (1, 900), and The secondary second rotational speed corresponds to a rotational speed of pumping the condensed water from the first water container (50) to the outside of the laundry dryer (1, 900).
  7. 7. The laundry dryer (1, 900) according to claim 2, further comprising: A connector connected to an end of the drain to guide the condensed water from the first water container (50) to the second water container (200) or to guide the condensed water from the first water container (50) to an outside of the laundry dryer (1, 900).
  8. 8. The laundry dryer (1, 900) according to claim 7, wherein said controller (910) is further configured to: Identifying a position at which the condensed water is to be discharged from a position sensor (923) in the connector, and -Determining to operate the drain pump (100, 930) at one of a primary second rotational speed and a secondary second rotational speed based on the identified location at which the condensed water is to be drained.
  9. 9. The laundry dryer (1, 900) according to claim 3 or 4, wherein said primary first rotational speed and said secondary first rotational speed are 1300rpm to 3000rpm.
  10. 10. The laundry dryer (1, 900) according to claim 1, wherein the second rotational speed is less than or equal to 3300rpm.
  11. 11. The laundry dryer (1, 900) according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein said controller (910) is further configured to start said bubble removal cycle in response to a level of said condensed water in the first water container (50) exceeding a threshold level.
  12. 12. A method of a laundry dryer (1, 900), the laundry dryer (1, 900) including a first water container storing condensed water generated while performing a drying cycle, a drain pump driven by a brushless direct current motor, and a controller, the method comprising: The following operations are performed by the controller: Driving and stopping (1010) the drain pump (100, 930) alternately a predetermined number of times at a first rotational speed to remove air bubbles from the condensed water stored in the first water container in response to the start of an air bubble removal cycle, and In response to the end of the bubble removal cycle, a drain cycle is started (1020) in which the drain pump is operated at a second rotational speed that is greater than the first rotational speed for a predetermined drive period.
  13. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein, A direction in which the condensed water is introduced into the inlet portion of the drain pump (100, 930) and a direction in which the condensed water is discharged through the discharge portion of the drain pump (100, 930) are parallel to a direction in which the rotation axis of the drain pump (100, 930) extends, The rotation axis is perpendicular to a lower surface of the laundry dryer (1, 900).
  14. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the bubble removal cycle comprises a first bubble removal cycle comprising: Operating a drain pump (100, 930) at a primary first rotational speed during a first operation time to raise a level of the condensed water from the drain to a first predetermined height, and Operation of the drain pump (100, 930) is stopped during a first downtime to reduce a level of the condensate water from the drain.
  15. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the bubble removal cycle comprises a second bubble removal cycle that begins in response to an end of the first bubble removal cycle, the second bubble removal cycle comprising: operating a drain pump (100, 930) at a secondary first rotational speed during a second operating time to raise a level of the condensed water from the drain to a second predetermined height, and Operation of the drain pump (100, 930) is stopped during a second downtime to reduce a level of the condensate water from the drain.

Description

Clothes dryer including drain pump and control method thereof Technical Field Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a laundry dryer, and more particularly, to a control method for reducing noise generated by an operation of a drain pump. Background A laundry dryer is a home appliance for drying wet laundry (hereinafter, referred to as an object to be dried) with dry and hot air. The laundry dryer may remove moisture contained in an object to be dried by rotating a drum containing the object to be dried during a drying cycle and supplying dry hot air into the drum. The wet air having passed through the object to be dried may be changed into low-temperature dry air by an evaporator included in the heat pump, and moisture included in the air may be discharged in the form of condensed water. The condensed water may be stored in the water tray container along a lower portion (e.g., a base) of the dryer and discharged through the drain pump. In addition, since air is present in the condensed water pumped by the drain pump, the power required for the drain and the speed at which the impeller of the drain pump rotates may be increased, and thus, the user experience may be deteriorated due to noise generated when water and air are introduced together at the inflow point of the drain pump during the drain. Disclosure of Invention Technical problem Various embodiments of the present disclosure may propose a method for controlling a drain pump by operating the drain pump under predetermined conditions to remove air present in condensed water located in the drain pump and a suction pipe before discharging the condensed water. Technical proposal The laundry dryer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a first water container in which condensed water generated when a drying cycle is performed is stored, a drain pump driven by a brushless direct current (BLDC) motor, and a controller configured to alternately drive the drain pump at a first rotational speed and stop the drain pump a predetermined number of times to remove bubbles from the condensed water stored in the first water container in response to a start of a bubble removal cycle, and to start a drain cycle in which the drain pump is operated at a second rotational speed greater than the first rotational speed for a predetermined driving period in response to an end of the bubble removal cycle. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a direction in which the condensed water is introduced into the inlet portion of the drain pump and a direction in which the condensed water is discharged through the discharge portion of the drain pump may be parallel to a direction in which the rotation shaft of the drain pump extends, and the rotation shaft may be perpendicular to the lower surface of the laundry dryer. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may be further configured to perform a first bubble removal cycle by operating the drain pump at a primary first rotational speed during a first operation time such that a liquid level of the condensed water in the first water container is lowered and a liquid level of the condensed water from the drain is raised to a first predetermined height by pumping the condensed water from the drain by the drain pump, and to stop an operation of the drain pump during a first downtime. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller may be further configured to perform a second bubble removal cycle by operating the drain pump at a secondary first rotational speed during a second operation time in response to an end of the first bubble removal cycle to lower a liquid level of the condensed water in the first water container and raise the liquid level of the condensed water from the drain to a second predetermined height by pumping the condensed water from the drain by the drain pump, and to stop operation of the drain pump during a second shutdown time, and the secondary first rotational speed is greater than or equal to the primary first rotational speed. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the first predetermined height and the second predetermined height may be lower than a height to which condensed water in the first water container is to be raised when the condensed water is discharged from the first water container by an operation of the drain pump, and the first predetermined height is lower than or equal to the second predetermined height. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the second rotational speed may include a primary second rotational speed corresponding to a rotational speed of the second water container pumping the condensed water from the first water container into the main body of the laundry dryer, and a secondary second rotational speed corresponding to a rotational speed of the second water container pumping the condensed water from the first water container to the outside of