US 8,782,922 B2Granted

Dryer monitoring

AssigneeEcolab USA Inc.

InventorsRobert E. May, Julio R. Panama, Nicholas D. Parent, Mihnea A. Popa, Bruce W. Weber

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Abstract

A dryer monitoring system receives dryer information from one or more sensors concerning operation of one or more dryers, such as clothes dryers. For example, the dryer monitoring system may receive temperature, humidity, and/or dryer on/off information concerning the dryers. The dryer monitoring system may analyze the dryer information and generate reports communicating the dryer information, identify possible maintenance issues with the dryers, identify ambient environmental conditions that may lead to inefficient drying, identify possible operator errors, and/or diagnose other dryer conditions that may be determined based on the dryer information.

Claims15

Dependent claims

A system comprising:

a plurality of dryer installations, each dryer installation including one or more clothes dryers;
a plurality of sensors, each of which detects dryer information associated with one of the clothes dryers at the dryer installations, wherein the dryer information includes temperature information, humidity information, and rotation information;
and
a central computer that receives the dryer information associated with each of the one or more clothes dryers, the controller further including:
an analysis application that analyzes the dryer information associated with at least one of the one or more clothes dryers and generates one or more dryer status conclusions for the at least one of the one or more clothes dryer based on the analysis, wherein the status conclusion indicates that items in the at least one of the one or more clothes dryer are overdry if the analysis identifies a dryer rotation, a non-decreasing dryer humidity that satisfies than a low humidity threshold and a dryer temperature that satisfies a high dryer temperature threshold;
and
a reporting application that generates reports based on the analysis.

4 more elements

A system comprising:

a plurality of clothes dryers;
a temperature sensor that senses temperature information associated with at least one of the plurality of clothes dryers;
a humidity sensor that senses humidity information associated with at least one of the plurality of clothes dryers;
a rotation sensor that senses rotation information associated with at least one of the plurality of clothes dryers;
and
a controller that receives the temperature, humidity, and rotation information from at least one of the plurality of clothes dryers, the controller further including:
an analysis application that analyzes the temperature, humidity, and rotation information and generates one or more dryer status conclusions based on the analysis, wherein the one or more dryer status conclusions indicate that items in the at least one of the plurality of clothes dryers are overdry if the analysis identifies a dryer rotation, a non-decreasing dryer humidity that satisfies a low humidity threshold and a dryer temperature that satisfies a high dryer temperature threshold;
and
a reporting application that generates reports based on the analysis.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/954,006Filed 24 Nov 2010
Published: US 2012/0124859 A124 May 2012
Granted: 22 Jul 2014
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification11 codes

D06F 34/28
Details of control systems for washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers: arrangements for programme selection, e.g. control panels…
D06F 58/38
Control of operational steps, e.g. for optimisation or improvement of operational steps depending on the condition of the laundry: of drying, e.g.…
D06F 58/50
Characterised by the purpose or target of the control: responding to irregular working conditions, e.g. malfunctioning of blowers
D06F 2103/00
Parameters monitored or detected for the control of domestic laundry washing machines

Family

US 2012/0124859 A1Pre-grant publication · published 24 May 2012
US 8,782,922 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.

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