Patent Publication Number: US-11028528-B2

Title: Clothes dryer fire reduction system

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 62/591,544 filed Nov. 28, 2017 entitled Improved Clothes Dryer and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/200,121 filed Nov. 26, 2018 and set to issue as U.S. Pat. No. 10,669,668. The contents of each of the above applications are incorporated by reference herein. 
    
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to clothes dryers, and more specifically, a system to prevent fire by reducing the buildup of static electricity during the drying cycle and by reducing the potential for spontaneous combustion. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A clothes dryer generally comprises a cabinet, a drum, motor, mechanism for spinning the drum, a heating element, and electronic controls. The user inserts damp clothes into the dryer drum. The clothes dryer is then powered on, and the drum rotates causing the clothes to tumble while a stream of heated ambient air is blown into the drum and contacts the clothes. The heated air removes water from the clothes over time. 
     The tumbling of the clothes creates friction between pieces of drying fabric by causing different pieces of clothing and different layers of the same piece of clothing to rub against each other. The coulomb friction caused by the clothes rubbing together causes electrical charges to be built up and stored within the fabric of the clothes. Some fabrics receive electrons causing them to have a negative charge whereas other fabrics donate electrons causing them to have a positive charge. 
     The buildup of static electric charges in the drying fabric causes the clothes to clump together based on the attraction between a positively charged clothing item to a negatively charged clothing item. The clumping together impedes circulation of the heated air throughout the drum making it more difficult and time consuming for the heated air to effectively dry the clothes. As a result, the user must increase the temperature of the heated air or increase the length of the drying cycle in order to dry the clothes. These options increase the risk of fire as the static charge may ignite the oxygen contained in the ambient air. Further, these options are not energy efficient. 
     In addition, it is not uncommon for clothes to be left overnight (or even longer) undisturbed in a clothes dryer after the drying cycle is completed. Even after the dryer shuts off, the undisturbed mass of hot clothes, or portions thereof, may continue to self-heat depending on the presence of certain fats/oils that were not removed during the washing process. This heat can continue to build up on the clothes which can promote spontaneous combustion and a resultant fire. 
     One product design intended to reduce clothes clumping during the drying cycle was the introduction of metal fins in the drum. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,874. However, the metal fins create inefficiencies by absorbing the heat that should be delivered to the damp clothes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,983 teaches the use of conductive material in order to reduce static electricity build-up in the drum but this is inefficient as it relies on necessary contact with the clothes in order to dissipate the static electricity. During a cycle in the dryer, the clothes do not all touch the drum continuously resulting in inefficient static reduction. Another solution is to use anti-clump fabric sheets that are separately purchased by the consumer and put into the drum with the clothes. However, this solution generates extra expense for the user and requires the user to remember to purchase and insert the sheets. 
     The aforementioned solutions are imperfect and there remains a need to develop a clothes dryer with the ability to efficiently eliminate static electricity build up during the drying cycle. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a dryer with the capability to monitor electrical charge within the drum and turn off the flow of heated air when the electrical charge reaches a designated threshold. Once the threshold is reached, ion rich air is introduced into the drum through an ion generator. The ion rich air interacts with and neutralizes the built-up static electric charge within the drum and the clothes. The ion rich air stream penetrates the fabric layers allowing contact with the interior fabric layers. This increases the amount of contact between the ion rich air and static electricity resulting in increased neutralization of the static electricity and more effective de-clumping of the clothes which increases surface area of the clothing to allow for more efficient moisture removal. 
     The present invention further reduces the potential for an internal fire by decreasing the amount of oxygen in the air necessary for combustion. At or around sea level, the composition of ambient air is generally 78 percent nitrogen, 21 percent oxygen, and the remaining one percent consisting of other gaseous compounds. Ambient air has a sufficient amount of oxygen to sustain and feed a fire. An oxygen generator is used to concentrate oxygen from ambient air. The concentrated oxygen is then vented outside the dryer unit and may be vented outside the dwelling. The remaining air, now reduced of oxygen, is heated and flows into the drum to dry the clothes. In the preferred embodiment, the heated air has a percentage of oxygen between zero percent and fifteen percent. This reduces the combustibility of the air within the drum. Additionally clothes heated and dried in the absence of, or reduced presence, of oxygen last longer. 
     The present invention further reduces the potential for an internal fire by decreasing the conditions necessary for spontaneous combustion. A controller measures the time between the completion of the drying cycle and when the dryer door is opened as detected by the door sensor. If a sufficient time has passed without the door opening, the controller turns on the drum to permit it to rotate for a designated period of time without introduction of heat. The tumbling of clothes permits exposure to the air within the drum allowing any entrapped heat to dissipate. At the same time, a light radiation source (UV light or LED) is turned on during the additional tumbling cycle. Any moisture remaining within the clothes creates an environment for microbes to grow which generates heat. The visible and invisible optical radiation generated by the light helps destroy microbes. Thus, the tumbling after drying aerates the clothes, dissipates entrapped heat, and destroys microbes reducing the potential for spontaneous combustion. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a partially broken perspective view of a clothes dryer with an embodiment of the clothes dryer static electricity reduction system. 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of a vertical cross section of the drum with interior panel through line  2 - 2  in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a rear view of a clothes dryer with an embodiment of the clothes dryer static electricity reduction system. 
         FIG. 4  is a partial circuit diagram of an embodiment of the clothes dryer static electricity reduction system. 
         FIG. 5  is a flow chart showing the operation of an embodiment of the clothes dryer static electricity reduction system. 
         FIG. 6  is a flow chart showing the operation of an alternative embodiment of the clothes dryer static electricity reduction system. 
         FIG. 7  is a rear view of a clothes dryer with a second embodiment of the clothes dryer static electricity reduction system. 
         FIG. 8  is a flow chart showing the operation of an embodiment of the heat dissipation cycle of the clothes dryer static electricity reduction system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As seen in  FIG. 1 , an embodiment of the clothes dryer static electricity reduction system  1  is positioned within a generally standard dryer  2  having a cabinet  3 , drum  20 , motor  50 , heater/blower system  60 , and ion generator system  80 . The cabinet  3  of the disclosed embodiment comprises a front panel  4 , first side panel  5 , second side panel  6 , bottom panel  7 , top panel  8  and rear panel  9  arranged in a generally cuboid box-like shape. An interior panel  10  is positioned within the cabinet  3 . The front panel  4  further comprises a drum receptacle  12 , door  13 , and an opening  14 . The door  13 , when closed, covers the opening  14 . A drum latch  15  is positioned on the interior of the door  13 . A latch receptacle  16  is positioned on the drum receptacle  12  and capable of receiving the door latch  13  in such a manner that the door  13  is shut against the door receptacle  12 . A door sensor  17  is in communication with the latch receptacle  16  and can determine if the door is open or closed. As seen in  FIG. 1 , the drum receptacle  12  is shown separate from the front panel  4  but is generally integral with the first panel  4 . Alternatively, the interior panel  10  and the rear panel  9  may be the same. 
     The drum  30  is positioned inside the cabinet  3  between the front panel  4  and the interior panel  10 . The drum  30  is cylindrically shaped with a front circular edge  31  defining an open front end  32  and a rear circular edge  33  defining an open rear end  34 . The drum  30  rests on a wheel assembly (not shown) which is well known in the art. The front circular edge  31  seals against the drum receptacle  12  such that the drum  30  may rotate while the drum receptacle  12  remains stationary. A portion of the open front end  32  corresponds with opening  14 . The door  13 , when closed, covers the open front end  32 . The rear circular edge  33  of the drum  30  seals against the front surface  11  of the interior panel  10  such that the drum  30  may rotate while the interior panel  10  remains stationary. Connections of the drum to the interior panel  10  and the drum receptacle  12  are well known in the art. A portion  19  of the front surface  11  of the interior panel  10  is exposed to the interior of the drum  30  through the open rear end  34 . 
     In the disclosed embodiment, a motor  50  having a drive shaft  51  is mounted to the bottom panel  7  of the cabinet  3 . A drive belt  52  wraps around the outer surface  37  of the drum  30  and is rotatably attached to the drive shaft  51 . In operation, the motor  50  spins the drive shaft  51  ultimately causing the drive belt  52  (and drum  30 ) to spin. Such operation is well known in the art and may include idler pulleys and other mechanisms that control revolution of the drum  30 . 
     The drum  30  has baffles  35  protruding from the interior surface  36  of the drum  30 . In an embodiment of the clothes dryer static electricity reduction system, the baffles  35  are constructed from a plastic material impregnated with carbon fiber or aluminum shards. A typical dryer has three baffles  35  that run longitudinally (extending from the front circular edge  31  to the rear circular edge  33 ) and are generally spaced one hundred and twenty degrees relative to another. 
     An ultraviolet light  40  is mounted to the interior panel  10  such that it emanates light into the interior of the drum  30 . The ultraviolet light  40  may be an LED light, non-visible laser, or other ultraviolet source. The ultraviolet light  40  may be of sufficient strength to kill, sterilize, and/or limit growth of mold and mildew within the drum  30  and/or clothes within the drum  30 . 
     The heater and blower system of a typical dryer are well known in the art and further modified to reduce the potential for a fire. The air supply intake  61  is fluidly connected to an oxygen concentrator  200 . An exhaust conduit  201  extends from the oxygen concentrator  200  to an oxygen outlet  202 . The oxygen outlet  202  is positioned within the first side panel  5  where it may exhaust gas outside the interior cabinet of the dryer  1  and may be connected to a conduit that connected to an outlet outside the dwelling. The heater air supply intake  203  extends from the oxygen concentrator  200  to the heater housing  62 . The oxygen concentrator  200  extracts oxygen (O2) from the ambient air and exhausts the oxygen through the exhaust conduit  201  and out the oxygen outlet  202 . The remaining ambient air, generally comprising nitrogen (N2) is then supplied to the heater housing  62  through the heater air supply intake  203 . In the preferred embodiment, the oxygen concentration of the air fed into the heater is less than 15 percent and preferably close to zero percent. 
     A heating element  76  is positioned within heater housing  62  and is controlled by a thermostat  77 . The first end  63  of the drum inlet conduit  64  is fluidly connected to the heater housing  62  and the second end  65  of the drum inlet conduit  64  is fluidly connected to the drum inlet  66  of the interior panel  10 . The drum inlet  66  is in fluid communication with the interior of the drum  30 . A drum outlet  67  is in fluid communication with the interior of the drum  30  and positioned within the drum receptacle  12 . A lint catcher  68  may be placed within the drum outlet  67 . The first end  69  of the drum outlet conduit  70  is fluidly connected to the drum outlet  67  and the second end  71  of the drum outlet conduit  70  is fluidly connected to the blower housing  72 . A blower wheel is positioned within the blower housing  72  and connected to the drive shaft  51 . The first end  73  of the exhaust conduit  74  is fluidly connected to the blower housing  72 . The exhaust conduit  74  extends through the rear panel  9  of the cabinet  3  and terminates in an outlet  75 . The outlet  75  may be fluidly connected to an additional conduit that routes exhaust outside a room. One skilled in the art understands that the location and design of the heat and exhaust system components varies between different styles and brands of dryers. 
     As seen in  FIGS. 1-3 , the ion generator system  80  comprises an ion generator  81  fluidly connected to an air compressor  82 . The ion generator system  80  further comprises a non-metallic conduit  83  with the first end  84  in fluid communication with the ion generator  81  and the second end  85  of the non-metallic conduit  83  is fluidly connected to the ion inlet  86  of the interior panel  10 . The ion inlet  86  is in fluid communication with the interior of the drum  30 . The ion generator system  80  further comprises a voltage sensor assembly  87  further comprising a sensor  88  and a voltmeter  89 . In the disclosed embodiment, the sensor is mounted on the interior face  11  of the interior panel  10  such that it can measure voltage from within the drum  30 . In the disclosed embodiment the sensor  88  comprises two metal contact strips  90  imposed on a polymer block  91 . The voltmeter detects the voltage differential between the two metal contact strips  90 . In the disclosed embodiment the ion generator is a balanced ion generator generating cations and anions. The voltage sensor assembly  87  may be integral with ion generator  81  or a separate component. One skilled in the art understands the location and design of the sensor  88  may be varied depending on the components of the dryer and the sensor may be positioned in numerous locations so long as a voltage may be measured on clothing between two contact strips, regardless of where the contact strips are within the dryer. For example, the sensor may be the same type of voltage sensor utilized in existing dryers to determine moisture content of the clothes. 
     A controller  100  (identified in  FIG. 5 ), or other logic board including processors, is in electronic communication with a control panel  18  on the cabinet  3 , the door latch sensor  17 , the heater/blower system  60 , and the ion generator system  80 . As found in industry standard dryers, the controller  100  may also be in electronic communication with various additional sensors and able to control the heater/blower system  60  based on inputs from the control panel  18 , sensors of operation, and safety sensors related to performance of the heater/blower system  60 . A power supply powers the light  40 , motor  50 , heater/blower system  60 , the ion generator system  80 , and the controller  100 . Various additional relays, as known in the art, may be utilized such as a relay or switch between the controller  100  and the light  40 , motor  50 , heating element  76 , thermostat  77 , ion generator  81 , and/or air compressor  82 . Electronically, the ion system  80  may have other controls such as the light  40 , ion generator  81 , and/or air compressor  82  may not be able to turn on unless the motor  50  is operating. 
       FIG. 4  is a partial circuit diagram of the dryer  2 . The supply conductors  101 ,  102 , and  103  provide the power input for the dryer  2  with supply conductors  101  and  103  as  120  volt legs and supply conductor  102  as the neutral leg. Switch  104  is an on/off switch that controls power to the clothes dryer static electricity reduction system  1  and dryer  2 . The supply conductors  101  and  103  provide two hundred and forty volts to the heating element  76  and thermostat  77  and one hundred and twenty volts to the motor  50 , ion generator  81 , air compressor  82 , ultraviolet light  40 , and voltmeter  89 . A relay  105  is in electrical communication with the voltmeter  89  and when a certain threshold voltage is exceeded, be the relay  105  is activated to complete the circuit for power to flow to the ion generator  81  and air compressor  82 . 
     It should be readily appreciated the circuitry may be configured in a multitude of ways to require certain precursors such that the motor  50  must be on before the ion generator  81 , air compressor  82 , ultraviolet light  40 , and/or voltmeter  89  may operate. Conversely, the circuitry may be configured such that the air compressor  82  is always operating when the drum  30  to provide a continued flow of air to cool the ion generator  81  even when the ion generator  81  is not generating ions. 
     The operation of the clothes dryer static electricity reduction system is described in reference to  FIGS. 1-5 . The user opens the drum door  14  and inserts damp clothes and/or other materials into the drum  30  and closes the door  14 . Using the control panel  18 , the user selects the desired heating and dryer cycle. The standard heater/blower system  60  operates by powering the motor which rotates the drive shaft  51 . The rotation of the drive shaft  51  causes the drive belt  52  to rotate which in turn causes the drum  30  to spin. Furthermore, the rotation of the drive shaft  51  also causes the blower wheel within the blower housing  72  to turn. The rotation of the blower wheel draws air from the drum  30  through the lint catcher  68  and drum outlet conduit  70 . In turn, this causes air to be drawn into the drum through the drum inlet conduit  64  from the heater element housing  62  and the air inlet  61 . Once the air passes through the blower housing  72 , the blower wheel pushes the air through the exhaust conduit  74  and through the exhaust outlet  75 . 
     The controller  100  operates the thermostat  77  which controls the heating element  76 . If the heating element  76  is on, the air passing over the heating element  77  is heated prior to entering the drum inlet conduit  64  and ultimately the drum  30 . The heated air passes over and through the damp clothes causing the moisture in the clothes to evaporate in the heated air. Clothes that are not clumped together dry faster as the clothes have more surface area for the heated air to contact. The moisture content of the air passing thorough the exhaust conduit  74  may be measured for dryer performance and may alter the cycle time based on predetermined settings from the control panel  18  and/or logic within the controller  100 . Alternatively, the heating element may be off and then unheated air is drawn into the drum  30 . 
     As the drum  30  spins, friction is created as the clothes rub against each other, and/or as layers of one piece of clothing rub against other layers. This friction creates a buildup of static electrical charge which is stored in the fabric of the clothes. Some portions of the clothes gain electrons and other lose electrons resulting in the clothes, or layers of a clothing article, to cling together due to the positive and negative charges attracting to each other. In the disclosed embodiment, the baffles  35  are impregnated with conductive material in order to cancel some of the static electrical charge. More specifically, the conducive polymer composition of the baffles  35  serves as a “short” circuiting member so as to cause charge cancellation on the portions of the drying clothing that make contact with the electrically conductive baffles  35 . However, baffles  35  cannot generally absorb electric charge at the rate it is being generated as the static electric charge in the clothes increases over time. 
     As seen in  FIG. 5 , during operation and while the drum  30  is rotating, the ion system  80  continuously measures the electrical charge within the drum  30 . As the drum spins, the clothes tumble and periodically contact the two metal contact strips  90  of the sensor  88 . Upon contact, the voltmeter measures  110  the voltage and electronically sends the voltage measurement V 1  to the controller  100 . The controller  100  compares  120  the absolute value of the measured voltage V 1  to a predetermined activation threshold voltage A 1 . The predetermined activation threshold voltage A 1  may be set to at 200 volts. If the absolute value of the measure voltage V 1  is less than the predetermined activation threshold voltage A 1  then measurements  110  are repeated. If the measured voltage V 1  is equal to or exceeds the predetermined activation threshold voltage A 1  then the controller  100  activates the ion generator  81  and air compressor  82  via electronic signal  130 . As seen in  FIGS. 1-4 , when the ion generator  81  and air compressor  82  are turned on, the air compressor  82  forces air through the conduit  83 . The ion generator  81  creates ions and introduces those ions into the air stream of the conduit  83 . The air compressor may modulate the air flow to create varied levels of ion penetration into the clothes. The ion rich air is forced through the ion inlet  86  where it enters the drum  30 . The ions in the ion rich air interact with the cations and anions of the electrically charged clothing to neutralize the charge. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 5 , the voltmeter  89  to measures voltage obtained from the sensor  88  during the operation of the ion generator  81  and air compressor  82  and sends the measured voltage V 2  to the controller  100 . The controller  100  compares  150  the absolute value of the measured voltage V 2  to a predetermined cutoff threshold voltage A 2 . The predetermined cutoff threshold voltage A 2  may be the same as the predetermined activation threshold voltage A 1  or lower. If the absolute value of the measured voltage V 2  is greater than the predetermined cutoff threshold voltage A 2  then the measurements  140  are repeated. If the measured voltage V 2  is equal to or less the predetermined cutoff threshold voltage A 2  then the controller  100  shuts off the ion generator  81  and air compressor  82  via electronic signal  160 . The voltmeter then measures  110  the voltage and electronically sends the voltage measurement V 1  to the controller  100  and the cycle is repeated. 
     In a modification to the above, the controller  100  may not turn off the ion generator  81  and air compressor  82  until the predetermined threshold cutoff voltage A 2  is reached and the ion generator  81  and air compressor  82  have run for a predetermined amount of time. 
     The activation and run cycle of the ion generator  81  and air compressor  82  may be modified by settings on the control panel  18  and/or preprogrammed in the controller  100 . In an alternative embodiment as disclosed in  FIG. 6 , the voltmeter measures  210  the voltage and electronically sends the voltage measurement V 1  to the controller  100 . The controller  100  compares  220  the absolute value of the measured voltage V 1  to a predetermined activation threshold voltage A 1 . If the absolute value of the measure voltage V 1  is less than the predetermined activation threshold voltage A 1  then measurements  210  are repeated. If the measured voltage V 1  is equal to or exceeds the predetermined activation threshold voltage A 1  then the controller  100  activates the ion generator  81  and air compressor  82  via electronic signal  230 . The controller  100  automatically turns off the ion generator  81  and air compressor  82  after a preset amount of time T 1 . After the ion cycle is terminated in this situation, the voltmeter measures  210  the voltage and the cycle is repeated. 
     In alternative embodiments, the heating element may be turned off while the ion generator  81  and ion compressor  82  are in operation. 
     As seen in  FIG. 7 , an alternative embodiment of the present invention does not utilize an air compressor in conjunction with the ion generator. Instead, the ion generator  181  is positioned on the interior panel  10  in direct communication with the ion inlet  86 . In this embodiment, the voltage sensor assembly  87  may be integral with ion generator  181  or a separate component. In this embodiment, the controller  100  is programmed to turn on the ion generator  181  via electronic signal when the voltage, as determined by the voltmeter  89 , reaches a predetermined activation threshold voltage A 1  as disclosed in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . When the ion generator  181  is turned on, the ions are in direct contact with the ion inlet  86  where the ions are dispersed into the drum  30  by diffusion. The ions in the ion rich air interact with the cations and anions of the electrically charged clothing to neutralize the charge. During the operation of the ion generator  81  and air compressor  82 , the voltmeter  89  continues to measure voltage obtained from the sensor  88 . Once the voltage drops below the predetermined cutoff threshold voltage A 2 , the controller  100  sends an electronic signal to turns off the ion generator  181 . The predetermined cutoff threshold voltage A 2  may be the same as the predetermined activation threshold voltage A 1  or lower. Furthermore, the controller  100  may not turn off the ion generator  110  until the predetermined threshold cutoff voltage A 2  exists for a certain period of time such that the voltage measurements must remain below the predetermined cutoff threshold voltage A 2  for a predetermined period of time. Ion generator  110  may be controlled by the controller  100  in the same manner as described for the embodiment encompassing an air compressor  82 . 
     An exemplar source of ions is the ion generator made by Keyence, including the SJ series. Some ion generators have internal static sensing circuits, which would negate the need for voltage measuring circuit which would permit the voltage sensor assembly  87  to be integral with the ion generator  81 ,  110 . In accordance with standard dryer fire safety, the last ten minutes or so of clothes drying makes use of tumbling only to help dissipate trapped/entrained heat flux within the fabric layers. This “cooling off” cycle remains subject to static electrical build up. By injecting the neutralizing ions during the cooling off period, the layers of fabric can better cool off in that they do not stick together as much. 
     While use of a controller or processor to control the operation of the ion generator  81 ,  100  is preferred, other circuit mechanisms may be employed such as causing an SPDT relay to energize, based on a preset voltage reading, that transfers power from the heating element to the ion generator based on the movement of the coil. 
     As seen in  FIG. 8  the heat dissipation cycle  300  selectively operates the motor  50  and ultraviolet light  40  depending on certain events. Once the drying cycle ends  310 , meaning the drum  30  is no longer rotating, the controller  100  starts a timer  320 . If the controller  100  receives a signal that the door  14  was opened  330 , as detected by the door latch sensor  17 , then the controller  100  stops the timer  340 . If the door is opened, it is presumed the clothes were removed and/or ambient air was introduced into the drum  30  through door opening  13 . If the controller  100  receives a signal that the door  14  was not opened  350 , as through the failure to detect the opening of the door  14  by the door latch sensor  17 , then the controller  100  turns on the motor  50  which permits the drum  30  to rotate and the ultraviolet light  40  after the elapsed time as determined by the timer equals or exceeds a preset amount of time T 2   360 . In the preferred embodiment, the preset amount of time T 2  may be 30 minutes but any elapsed time period may be useful to assist in dissipating entrapped heat and microbe growth. If the controller  100  receives a signal that the door  14  is opened while the motor  50  and the ultraviolet light  40  are operating  370 , then the controller  100  turns off the motor  50  and the ultraviolet light  40   380 . If the door is not opened while the motor  50  and ultraviolet light  40  are operating  390 , the controller  100  turns off the motor  50  and ultraviolet light  40  after a preset amount of time T 3   395 . In the preferred embodiment, the preset amount of time T 3  may be 10 seconds but may be longer depending on dampness of clothes, amount of heat dissipation cycles  300  executed, or user preferences. The controller  100  then restarts the timer  320  and the heat dissipation cycle  300  is repeated. 
     It should be readily appreciated the heat dissipation cycle  300  may operate in a multitude of matters including linking the heat dissipation cycle  300  with a wrinkle resistant cycle, limiting the number of heat dissipation cycles  300 , utilizing only the motor  50  and not utilizing the ultraviolet light  40 , utilizing only the ultraviolet light  40  and not the motor  50 , or utilizing the ultraviolet light  40  separate from motor  50 . Furthermore, the preset amount of time T 2  and preset amount of time T 3  may be variable and/or dependent upon the number of heat dissipation cycles  300  executed. For example, the preset amount of time T 2  may be shorter for the first heat dissipation cycle  300  and increase in length as more heat dissipation cycles  300  are executed. Moreover, the preset amount of time T 3  may be longer the first heat dissipation cycle  300  and decrease in length as more heat dissipation cycles  300  are executed. 
     The embodiment has been described with reference to a standard dryer cabinet. Those skilled in the art understand that the static electricity reduction system disclosed can be modified to be used in any dryer. The components can be arranged differently and mounted in different places within the interior of the dryer. Additionally, the source of heat could be a fueled gas burner, as opposed to a resistance heater. The conductive polymer fins can also be made from a conductive metal. It is also anticipated that some clothes/fibers may dry better if both heated air and injection of ions by way of compressed air are carried out simultaneously.