IP Library Granted Patent US 12680223
Granted Patent B2
US 12680223 · App. 18/113,845 · Granted Jul 14, 2026

Dryer and method for controlling same

Inventors: Seokmo Chang (Suwon-si, KR); Hyungwoo Lee (Suwon-si, KR)
Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
D06F58/50D06F34/05D06F34/08D06F58/206D06F58/26D06F2103/52D06F2105/58
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12680223
App. No.
18/113,845
Granted
Jul 14, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A dryer including a drum; a heat pump including a compressor, evaporator, condenser, and electronic expansion valve; a user interface; a power module to control power supply to the compressor motor and the drum motor; a duct to receive air from the drum so that the received air flows in the duct to be heated by operation of an evaporator and condenser, and to discharge the heated air to the drum; a plurality of temperature sensors to detect temperature of the heat pump, the power module, and the duct; and a controller configured to identify a factor to be controlled from among a plurality of factors that may cause incomplete drying, based on at least one of output data from the plurality of temperature sensors and opening degree data of the electronic expansion valve, and control the user interface to output a notification of the identified factor to be controlled.

Claims (50)

1 . A dryer comprising:

a drum;

a drum motor connected to the drum;

a heat pump including:

a compressor including a compressor motor,

an evaporator,

a condenser, and

an electronic expansion valve;

a user interface;

a power module configured to control power supply to the compressor motor and the drum motor;

a duct accommodating the evaporator and the condenser, and configured to:

receive air from the drum so that the received air flows in the duct to be heated by operation of the evaporator and the condenser, and

discharge the heated air to the drum;

a plurality of temperature sensors configured to detect temperature of each of the heat pump, the power module, and the duct;

a storage device; and

a controller configured to:

control the storage device to store, whenever a drying operation is performed, output data from the plurality of temperature sensors and opening degree data of the electronic expansion valve,

identify a factor to be controlled while the drying operation is performed, from among a plurality of factors that may cause incomplete drying, by comparing at least one of the output data from the plurality of temperature sensors and the opening degree data of the electronic expansion valve with the stored data, and

control the user interface to output a notification of the identified factor to be controlled,

wherein the plurality of factors that may cause incomplete drying include clogging of the duct, a failure of a cooling device cooling the power module, and a refrigerant insufficiency of the heat pump.

2 . The dryer of claim 1 , wherein

the controller is configured to identify the factor to be controlled in a case in which an operation time of a drying operation becomes longer by a preset time or longer than an expected time.

3 . The dryer of claim 1 , wherein

the controller is configured to identify clogging of the duct as the factor to be controlled in a case in which a number of times by which at least one of temperature of the duct and temperature of the compressor deviates from a corresponding preset temperature range increases in comparison with the stored output data from the plurality of temperature sensors.

4 . The dryer of claim 1 , further comprising:

a cooling device to cool the power module,

wherein the controller is configured to identify a failure of the cooling device as the factor to be controlled in a case in which a number of times by which temperature of the power module deviates from a preset temperature range increases in comparison with the stored output data from the plurality of temperature sensors.

5 . The dryer of claim 1 , wherein

the controller is configured to identify refrigerant insufficiency of the heat pump as the factor to be controlled in a case in which the opening degree of the electronic expansion valve deviates from an opening degree range of the stored opening degree data of the electronic expansion valve during a drying operation.

6 . The dryer of claim 1 , wherein

the controller is configured to identify refrigerant insufficiency of the heat pump as the factor to be controlled in a case in which temperature of a refrigerant discharged from the compressor deviates from a temperature range of the stored output data from the plurality of temperature sensors during a drying operation.

7 . The dryer of claim 1 , further comprising:

a heater provided in the duct and configured to heat the received air in the duct,

wherein the controller is configured to identify a failure of the heater as the factor to be controlled in a case in which a number of times by which temperature of the heater deviates from a preset temperature range increases in comparison with the stored output data from the plurality of temperature sensors.

8 . The dryer of claim 1 , further comprising:

a communicator,

wherein the controller is configured to control the communicator to transmit the notification of the factor to be controlled to an external electronic device.

9 . The dryer of claim 1 , wherein

the controller is configured to control the user interface to output content of an action corresponding to the factor to be controlled.

10 . A method of controlling a dryer, the dryer including a drum, a drum motor connected to the drum, a heat pump including a compressor including a compressor motor, an evaporator, a condenser, and an electronic expansion valve, a user interface, a power module configured to control power supply to the compressor motor and the drum motor, a duct accommodating the evaporator and the condenser, and configured to receive air from the drum so that the received air flows in the duct to be heated by operation of the evaporator and the condenser, and discharge the heated air to the drum, a plurality of temperature sensors configured to detect temperature of each of the heat pump, the power module, and the duct, and a storage device, the method comprising:

controlling the storage device to store, whenever a drying operation is performed, output data from the plurality of temperature sensors and opening degree data of the electronic expansion valve;

identifying a factor to be controlled while the drying operation is performed, from among a plurality of factors that may cause incomplete drying, by comparing at least one of the output data from the plurality of temperature sensors and the opening degree data of an electronic expansion valve with the stored data; and

controlling the user interface to output a notification of the identified factor to be controlled,

wherein the plurality of factors that may cause incomplete drying include clogging of the duct, a failure of a cooling device cooling the power module, and a refrigerant insufficiency of the heat pump.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein

the identifying of the factor to be controlled includes identifying the factor to be controlled in a case in which an operation time of a drying operation becomes longer by a preset time or longer than an expected time.

12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein

the identifying of the factor to be controlled includes identifying clogging of the duct as the factor to be controlled in a case in which a number of times by which at least one of temperature of the duct and temperature of a compressor of the heat pump deviates from a corresponding preset temperature range increases in comparison with the stored output data from the plurality of temperature sensors.

13 . The method of claim 10 , the dryer further including a cooling device to cool the power module,

wherein the identifying of the factor to be controlled includes identifying a failure of the cooling device as the factor to be controlled in a case in which a number of times by which temperature of the power module deviates from a preset temperature range increases in comparison with the stored output data from the plurality of temperature sensors.