The present invention relates to a device suitable for use in dryers, detecting the dryness level of the laundry items to be dried.

In dryers, in applications in which drying process is controlled according to duration, a user has to continuously monitor the dryer in order to obtain laundry in a desired dryness level. After the desired duration is elapsed, the laundry may be overdried and may even be damaged by being effected from high temperatures. In order to solve this problem using sensors is known, capable of detecting dryness level of laundry items in dryers. Some of the most common methods are: interpreting the dryness level of laundry items by determining the humidity value in drying air by means of electrodes provided on a filter, or detecting dryness level of laundry by means of electrodes provided on any region of the tub, which contact the laundry during drying. However, since the sensors used in such measurements are positioned fixed in the tub, data can be obtained only from the laundry contacting a sensor and it is not possible to acquire data regarding the dryness level or humidity of all the laundry items in the tub.

State of the international patent application no. W02016050436 discloses a dryer in which dryness level of the laundry items to be dried is determined by using a pressure difference in the drying air.

State of the international patent application no. WO2015016795 discloses a dryer in which dryness level of the laundry items to be dried is determined by means of electrodes provided on a lint filter.

State of the international patent application no. W02005010270 discloses a dryer terminating the drying process upon detecting overdrying of the laundry items.

The aim of the present invention is to realize a device enabling precisely detecting the dryness level of the laundry items being dried in a dryer.

The device realized to achieve the aim of the present invention and disclosed in the claims, is suitable for use in a dryer tub, and comprises a body placed in the tub during the drying process, at least one sensor provided on the body surface, serving for measuring the dryness level of the laundry items, a control unit controlling the sensor, and a battery enabling energizing the device. By means of the device, a user will obtain laundry items dried in a desired level after completion of the drying process. The sensors of the device freely moving among the laundry items in the dryer tub during the drying process, contact the laundry items and measure capacitance or resistance used in determining conductivity or dryness level, and the dryness level of the laundry items is determined using this data. Since the device freely moves among the laundry items as the tub rotates during the drying process, it contacts almost all of the laundry items and is thus able to obtain dryness data from all of the laundry items.

In an embodiment of the invention, the body of the device is spherical. The device is thus enabled to move easily in the tub.

In another embodiment of the invention, the battery is coated or wrapped with an insulating material, preventing the battery from being affected from high temperatures and humidity in the tub. Explosion or burning of the battery due to heat is thus avoided.

In another embodiment of the invention, flexible polymeric aerogel film is used as the insulating material. The battery is protected from high temperatures and humidity by being wound with said film. In other embodiments of the invention, the aerogel film may be BTDA or ODA materials. Said materials are resistant up to very high temperatures and protect the battery against high temperatures, and also enable the device to have a long useful lifetime thanks to their durability.

In another embodiment of the invention, the insulating material is alkali silicate liquid. This electrically insulating liquid is filled into the body, and enables protecting the battery from high temperatures. This also enables the device to rotate more easily in the tub.

In another embodiment of the invention, the surfaces of the battery and the control unit are coated with a material which is not affected from humidity. By this, not only the battery but also the control unit is protected from high humidity in the tub.

By means of the device of the invention, data regarding dryness level can be obtained from almost all of the laundry items in the tub. Furthermore, high safety standards are met by protecting the battery and the control unit from high temperatures and humidity

A device realized to achieve the aims of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of the device.

The elements in the figure are numbered individually and the correspondence of these numbers are given hereinafter. 1- Device

2- Body

3- Sensor

4- Control unit

5- Battery

6- Insulating material

7- Communication means

The device (1) of the invention is suitable for use in dryers, and comprises a body (2), at least one sensor (3) provided on the body (2), enabling measuring the dryness level of the laundry items, a control unit (4) controlling the sensor (3), a communication means (7) enabling communication between the dryer and the control unit (4), and a battery (5) enabling energizing the control unit (4). The sensors (3) measure conductivity or capacitance or resistance of the laundry items by contacting them. The device (1) is used by being placed in the dryer during the drying process. Upon rotation of the dryer tub, the sensors (3) on the body (2) contact the laundry items and measure the dryness level of the laundry items. As the drying process advances, the conductivity and the electrical capacity of the drying laundry items decrease and their electrical resistance increases, and a relation between the dryness level of the laundry items and the conductivity, capacity or resistance data can thus be correlated. The device (1) is energized by the battery (5). The control unit (4) may analyze the data from the sensors (3), determine the dryness level of the laundry items and communicate this information to the dryer by means of the communication means (7), or may communicate the sensor (3) data without processing it, directly to the dryer via the communication means (7). The dryer continues or terminates the drying process according to the dryness level of the laundry items determined according to the data received from the device (1). In addition, in order to determine an average dryness level of all the laundry items in the tub, the dryer may enable rotating the drum in predetermined periods so as to increase the amount of data collected by the sensors (3).

In an embodiment of the invention, the body (2) is spherical. The body (2) being spherical enables the device (1) to easily move in the dryer drum, and the sensors (3) can thus contact all of the laundry items. Preferably, the sensors (3) are provided in an amount so as to cover most of the body (2). By this, conductivity, capacity and resistance data can be obtained from a plurality of laundry items simultaneously.

In another embodiment of the invention, the device (1) comprises an insulating material (6) with low thermal conductivity, surrounding the battery (5). During the drying process, the temperatures and humidity in the dryer drum raises up to the levels which may affect the operational performance of the battery (5). By means of this embodiment, the battery (5) surrounded by the insulating material (6) with low thermal conductivity, is protected from external effects. More particularly, the insulating material (6) is a flexible polymeric aerogel based film. The battery (5) is enabled not to be affected from external temperatures by using the low thermal conductivity of aerogels.

In other versions of this embodiment, benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride known as BTDA, or oxydianiline known as ODA is used as the insulating material. Said materials are resistant up to 950°C, and protect the battery (5) from the high temperatures in the tub.

In another embodiment of the invention, alkali silicate (Na20 - Si02 - H20) liquid is used as the insulating material (6). In this embodiment, the vicinity of the battery (5) is filled with the electrically insulating alkali silicate liquid. While the battery (5) is protected from high temperatures, the rotational momentum of the device (1) is decreased by the body (2) being filled with liquid, thereby enabling the device (1) to easily move in the drum.

In another embodiment of the invention, the surfaces of the control unit (4) and the battery (5) are coated with perfluoro heptafluoroisopropyl pentafluoroethyl ketone. This compound protects the battery (5) and the control unit (4) from high humidity, thereby preventing malfunctions such as short-circuits. Coating is performed by submerging the battery (5) and the control unit (4) into said material based liquid.

The dryness level of the laundry items can be determined with high precision by means of the device (1) of the invention. The user is thus enabled to obtain laundry items dried in a desired level after completion of the drying process. In addition, by wrapping the battery (5) with the insulating material (6), the device (1) is ensured to operate always with the highest performance, and malfunctions likely to occur due to high temperatures and humidity are avoided.