Clothes dryer apparatus and method

A dryer for tumble drying articles comprising:

• a drum comprising a cavity configured to hold articles to be dried;
• a first motor drivingly coupled to said drum to rotate said drum;
• a variable heat source in flow communication with said cavity;
• a variable speed motor drivingly coupled to a blower positioned to deliver air heated by said heat source to said cavity, wherein said motor is variable between a first speed and a second speed greater than the first speed and in the same direction as the first speed;
• and
• a controller operatively coupled to said variable speed motor and said variable heat source and at least one pressure sensor operatively coupled to said controller and positioned to sense a pressure associated with the dryer and configured to generate a pressure signal representative of the sensed pressure, said controller operable to receive the pressure signal and control one of said variable speed motor and said variable heat source based on the pressure signal.

A dryer control system for a tumble type dryer having a variable heat source and a variable speed blower motor driving the blower to supply air heated by the heat source to the dryer cavity through a cavity inlet and exhaust air from the dryer cavity through a cavity outlet, said system comprising:

• at least one temperature sensor positioned to sense a temperature associated with the dryer and configured to generate a temperature signal representative of the sensed temperature, wherein the temperature signal is representative of a cavity inlet air temperature;
• at least one pressure sensor positioned to sense a pressure associated with the dryer and configured to generate a pressure signal representative of the sensed pressure;
• and
• a controller operatively coupled to said at least one temperature sensor and said at least one pressure sensor and configured to receive the temperature and pressure signals and control the operation at least one of the variable speed blower motor and the variable heat source based on at least one of the received signals.

A dryer control system for a tumble type dryer having a variable heat source and a variable speed blower motor driving the blower to supply air heated by the heat source to the dryer cavity through a cavity inlet and exhaust air from the dryer cavity through a cavity outlet, said system comprising:

• at least one temperature sensor positioned to sense a temperature associated with the dryer and configured to generate a temperature signal representative of the sensed temperature, wherein the temperature signal is representative of a cavity outlet air temperature;
• at least one pressure sensor positioned to sense a pressure associated with the dryer and configured to generate a pressure signal representative of the sensed pressure;
• and
• a controller operatively coupled to said at least one temperature sensor and said at least one pressure sensor and configured to receive the temperature and pressure signals and control the operation at least one of the variable speed blower motor and the variable heat source based on at least one of the received signals.

A heater control for a tumble type dryer comprising:

• a heater element supplying heated air to a drum comprising a cavity;
• at least one temperature sensor providing a signal indicative of cavity outlet temperature;
• and
• a controller operatively coupled to said heater element and said at least one temperature sensor and configured to vary at least one of a voltage and a current to said heater element based on said signal from said temperature sensor to substantially maintain a predetermined cavity outlet temperature, while maintaining said heater element in an on state.

A method for controlling a clothes dryer including a variable blower, a variable heater, and a drum having a cavity configured for holding articles, said method comprising:

• installing a controller on the dryer operatively coupled to the blower and heater and in communication with a cavity inlet temperature sensor providing a signal indicative of cavity inlet temperature and a cavity outlet temperature sensor providing a signal indicative of cavity outlet temperature;
• establishing a predetermined maximum cavity inlet temperature and a predetermined maximum cavity outlet temperature;
• receiving a signal in the controller from the inlet and outlet temperature sensors;
• controlling the blower duty based on the received temperature sensor signals to attempt to maintain the cavity inlet and outlet temperatures below the respective predetermined maximum temperatures;
• and
• controlling the beater element to maintain the cavity inlet and outlet temperatures below the respective predetermined maximum temperatures when the attempt to maintain the cavity inlet and outlet temperatures below the respective predetermined maximum temperatures by controlling blower duty is unsuccessful.

A dryer control system for a tumble type dryer having a variable heat source and a variable speed blower motor driving the blower to supply air heated by the heat source to the dryer cavity through a cavity inlet and exhaust air from the dryer cavity through a cavity outlet, said system comprising:

• at least one temperature sensor positioned to sense a temperature associated with the dryer and configured to generate a temperature signal representative of the sensed temperature;
• and
• a controller operatively coupled to said at least one temperature sensor and configured to receive the temperature signals, said controller configured to control the operation of at least one of the variable speed blower motor and the variable heat source in a plurality of control modes based on the received signals;
• wherein the controller controls the operation of the variable speed blower motor between a first speed and a second speed greater than the first speed and in the same direction as the first speed.