KR101498034B1 - A method for controlling a cloth treating apparutus - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a garment disposal apparatus, and more particularly, to a control method of performing effective garment disposal without damaging a cloth by saving energy by supplying only an appropriate amount of steam while supplying steam to clothes,

The present invention provides a steam generator comprising: a heating step of heating water contained in the steam generator; And supplying the steam intermittently so that the temperature of the space in which the clothes are accommodated is maintained at a predetermined proper temperature.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the effect of treating clothes with steam can be remarkably improved by using less energy.

Apparatus for processing clothes, steam, regulated supply phase

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for controlling a garment processing apparatus,

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a clothes processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a control method of a clothes processing apparatus for spraying steam.

Generally, the garment disposal facility means a laundry apparatus that performs a function of removing foreign substances contained in clothes, a drying apparatus that performs a function of removing moisture included in clothes, or a laundry apparatus that performs both the washing and drying And includes a laundry drying apparatus.

Conventionally, a garment treating apparatus for treating garments using washing water or hot air was generally used. Recently, a garment treating apparatus including a function of supplying steam to clothes has been popularized. This is because when steam is sprayed on clothes, various effects such as sterilization, deodorization, wrinkle removal, and so forth occur.

Accordingly, in recent years, a refreshing apparatus that performs a refresh function to sterilize clothes, remove odors, and improve the overall condition of clothes by spraying steam to clothes stored in the washing and drying apparatuses is being studied as an independent product.

However, since the conventional garment processing apparatus continuously generates steam in order to perform garment processing by steam for a certain period of time, there is a disadvantage that energy is wasted while continuously generating more steam than necessary.

In addition, when the steam is constantly generated, the temperature of the space in which the clothes are accommodated rises to a temperature higher than necessary. In this case, the clothes made of materials with low heat have a problem of damaging the cloth during the garment processing.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a control method that can save energy by supplying only an appropriate amount of steam while supplying steam to clothes.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a control method for performing effective garment processing without damaging a cloth by allowing a temperature of a space in which clothes are accommodated to be maintained at an appropriate temperature for processing clothes.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control method for a garment processing apparatus including a steam generator for supplying steam to a space in which clothes are accommodated, the method comprising: a heating step of heating water contained in the steam generator; And supplying the steam intermittently so that the temperature of the space in which the clothes are accommodated is maintained at a predetermined proper temperature.

Here, the steam supplying step may include a continuous supplying step of continuously injecting steam until the appropriate temperature is reached; And an intermittent supply step of supplying steam intermittently so as to maintain the appropriate temperature. More preferably, the appropriate temperature is maintained at 60 ° C to 70 ° C.

In this case, the intermittent supply step may include a temperature sensing step of sensing a temperature of the space in which the clothes are received; And a temperature adjusting step of adjusting the temperature of the space in which the clothes are accommodated by comparing the detected temperature and the appropriate temperature. That is, the temperature control step injects steam when the sensed temperature is lower than the proper temperature.

Specifically, the temperature control step adjusts the amount of steam or the period of supplying steam to maintain the proper temperature by comparing the sensed temperature with the appropriate temperature, The steam generator is selectively turned on and off.

The method may further include a condition sensing step of sensing an initial condition in which the garment is processed prior to performing the heating step. At this time, it is preferable that the heating step and the steam supplying step are performed according to the predetermined operation contents corresponding to the initial conditions.

Therefore, the initial conditions include conditions such as water temperature of the water accommodated in the steam generator, information of the clothes to be accommodated, and appropriate temperature of the space in which the clothes are received, and the heating It is preferable to control the time for heating the water or the amount of the steam supplied.

According to the present invention, it is possible to save energy when steam is generated by controlling so as to include intermittent supply of steam so that the temperature of the space in which the clothes are accommodated can be maintained at a constant temperature.

Further, since the temperature of the space in which the clothes are accommodated can be maintained in an appropriate range while generating steam intermittently, the effect of treating clothes by steam can be remarkably improved.

Hereinafter, a first preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refresh processing apparatus that performs a function of supplying steam to improve the state of clothes. In the present embodiment, a control method according to the present invention will be described using a refresh processing device. However, the present invention is not limited to the refresh processing apparatus, and is applicable to all the control methods of the garment processing apparatus for supplying steam for processing garments.

In the refresh processing apparatus shown in Fig. 1, a receiving space 20 for accommodating clothes is formed inside a cabinet 10 forming an outer appearance. A door 30, which can be opened and closed for storing and collecting clothes, may be installed on the front surface of the cabinet 10.

In addition, a separate electric room 40 may be provided inside the cabinet 10, where various mechanical devices are installed. The electric vehicle compartment 40 may be provided with various devices for processing clothing stored in the accommodation space 20 according to the function of the clothes processing device.

In this embodiment, a steam generator 50 for supplying steam to the space in which the clothes are accommodated is installed. The steam generated by the steam generator 50 is supplied to the accommodation space 20 through which the clothes are received through the steam supply pipe (not shown).

Here, the steam generator 50 operates by a principle similar to that of a general steam generator 50 by heating water by a heating device to generate steam, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

If a separate function is required, other components such as a hot air supply device, a deodorizing device, a blower fan, etc. other than the steam generator 50 may be installed.

In the above-described clothes processing apparatus, the door is opened to accommodate the clothes in the accommodating space 20 therein. The steam generator 50 heats water using a heat generator, and then generates steam to supply the steam to the space in which the clothes are accommodated.

Therefore, when the steam is supplied into the accommodation space 20, the accommodation space 20 preferably has a closed space in order to improve the operation efficiency. Accordingly, the steam is supplied to the accommodation space for the predetermined time, and the clothes accommodated therein can be sterilized or the like.

Hereinafter, the temperature relationship between the steam generator and the accommodation space 20 during operation of the clothes processing apparatus will be described in detail with reference to Fig.

In the case of generating steam, the steam generator 50 drives the heating device to heat the water contained therein. Accordingly, the temperature of the water at the normal temperature is raised by the heating device to a point where it boils over a predetermined period of time, and the steam is supplied to the accommodation space 20 by the steam generator 50 from this point .

At this time, as shown in FIG. 2A, it is general that the heating device of the steam generating device 50 is continuously driven for a predetermined time during which the clothes are processed by the steam. In this case, steam is continuously generated by the heating device for the set time and supplied to the accommodation space. In addition, the temperature inside the receiving space continuously rises and maintains a constant temperature at a temperature of 80 ° C or higher while maintaining a thermal equilibrium state.

However, if the temperature of the space in which the clothes are treated is 60 ° C or higher, it is possible to sterilize the clothes, and thus maintaining the temperature of 80 ° C as described above may cause unnecessary power waste.

Further, in the case of a fiber having a low heat resistance, the clothing may be damaged if it is continuously exposed to the high temperature environment as described above.

2B, when the temperature of the accommodation space 20 in which the clothes are accommodated is maintained within a proper temperature range, .

Here, the appropriate temperature range can be set to a low temperature band among temperature bands which can be sterilized so as to relatively reduce consumption of energy, and is set to a temperature band that provides an optimal processing environment for the material of the clothes to be accommodated It is also possible. That is, it means a temperature range previously set by the user or the memory storage unit so as to configure an optimal garment processing environment according to the type of the processing or the type of the clothes to be processed.

As shown in FIG. 2B, the steam generator 50 continuously drives the heating device to heat the water, and when the steam is generated, the temperature of the receiving space continuously rises. Then, it is preferable that the temperature of the accommodation space is intermittently driven so as to maintain the temperature within the range of 60 to 70 ° C.

Therefore, compared to FIG. 2A, the steam generator 50 is intermittently driven to save energy, and at the same time, the temperature of 60 ° C or higher at which sterilization of clothes can be maintained. In addition, since the clothes are made of a material having a low heat resistance, the temperature range of the low-frequency band is maintained as compared with the case of Fig. 2B, and the clothes can be protected from thermal damage.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the proper temperature range is controlled to be maintained at 60 to 70 DEG C, but this is only an example and the present invention is not limited thereto. The optimum temperature range may be set differently according to the contents of the operation performed by the clothes processing apparatus, and the optimal storage temperature may be different depending on the material of the clothes, It is also possible to do.

Hereinafter, a steam injection control method of the clothes processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

When the clothes processing apparatus starts the steam stroke, it is preferable to first perform the initial step S1 of sensing the initial condition and setting the driving value.

The initial condition detected in the initial step S1 means various kinds of information required for a subsequent steam injection stroke. For example, information about the clothes to be accommodated, the temperature outside, the temperature of water contained in the steam generator, and the like can be sensed. However, it is of course also possible to detect information other than the above-mentioned examples according to the contents of the clothes processing apparatus being controlled.

When the initial condition is detected, it is possible to set various driving values using the initial conditions. The step of setting the driving value may be directly set by a user using the sensed initial condition, or may be automatically set by data stored in a memory.

As an example of the driving value set in the initial step S1, the appropriate temperature range of the steam injection stroke can be set by sensing information of the clothes accommodated in the clothes processing apparatus. At this time, it is preferable that the appropriate temperature range is set so as to provide an optimal storage environment according to the information of the sensed clothing. For convenience, it is assumed that the appropriate temperature range in the initial step S1 is set to T1 ° C or higher and T2 ° C or lower.

Meanwhile, in the initial step S1, contents of control contents such as the number of times of the steam injection stroke or the driving time of the steam injection stroke may be set in addition to the driving value set using the initial condition. However, it is of course possible that such control contents are set before detecting the initial condition. As an example, in this embodiment, the time during which the steam injection stroke proceeds can be set by the user as t _all .

After the initial step S1, a heating step S2 of heating the water contained in the steam generator by driving the heating device of the steam generator may be performed. Therefore, the water is heated by a heating device to a boiling point of 100 ° C at room temperature.

The heating step (S2) is a step of heating water to generate steam, in which steam is not generated and only the temperature of water is increased. Accordingly, since the steam is not supplied to the accommodation space, the temperature inside the accommodation space does not change greatly.

When the water is heated to a boiling point or higher by the heating step, the steam generating device may generate steam and supply the steam to the accommodating space. Accordingly, the temperature of the accommodation space rises as the hot steam is introduced into the accommodation space.

At this time, as the temperature of the water rises and steam is generated, it is possible to continuously enter the steam supply step without any other action in the heating step S2. Of course, when the boiling point of the water is reached, the steam supply step may be carried out by separately taking measures such as opening the flow path selectively.

In the present embodiment, it is preferable that the steam supply step is divided into a continuous supply step S3 and an intermittent supply step S4 according to the driving state of the heating device.

In the continuous feeding step (S3), the heating device is continuously driven as in the heating step. Accordingly, in this step, the steam is continuously generated by the steam generator and is supplied to the receiving space, so that the temperature inside the receiving space continuously rises (see FIG. 2B).

However, as described above, in the present embodiment, it is preferable that the inside of the accommodation space is maintained within the proper temperature range set in the initial step S1, and the continuous supply step S3 is performed at the upper limit temperature It is preferable to be performed only up to immediately before exceeding T2.

Therefore, the internal temperature T is compared with the upper limit temperature T2 of the predetermined proper temperature range while continuously sensing the temperature T in the receiving space while performing the continuous supply step S3. Therefore, at the time when the internal temperature T of the accommodation space reaches the upper limit temperature T2, it is preferable to end the continuous supply step S3 and enter the intermittent supply step S4.

In the intermittent supply step S4, it is preferable that the steam is intermittently supplied to the accommodation space so as to maintain the proper temperature range set in the initial step S1.

If the supply of steam is terminated after reaching the upper limit temperature (T2) of the appropriate temperature range in the continuous supply step (S3), the temperature is lowered due to heat exchange with the outside. Therefore, it is preferable that the heating device is intermittently driven intermittently so that the interior of the accommodation space can maintain an appropriate temperature range after the continuous supply step (S3).

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, when the internal temperature T reaches the upper limit temperature T2, it is preferable that the driving of the heating device is stopped and the generation of steam is temporarily stopped.

 A temperature sensing step of sensing a temperature inside the accommodation space so as to sense the temperature inside the accommodation space and maintaining the proper temperature range, and a temperature control step of comparing the sensed temperature with the appropriate temperature range, It is preferable to repeatedly perform the temperature adjustment step.

Here, the temperature sensing step may sense the temperature using a configuration such as a sensor formed in the accommodation space. At this time, it is preferable to continuously detect the temperature of the accommodation space, but it is also possible to perform the temperature sensing at a constant cycle.

Meanwhile, when the temperature inside the accommodation space is expected to exceed the proper temperature range through the temperature sensing step, the internal temperature can be adjusted using the steam generator.

The temperature control step will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. When the supply of steam is stopped and the driving of the heating device is terminated while the continuous supply step is completed, the temperature inside the receiving space may be lowered by heat exchange with the outside. Therefore, it is preferable to perform the temperature sensing step to compare the temperature inside the accommodation space with the lower limit temperature of the appropriate temperature range.

At this time, when the sensed value is higher than the lower limit temperature, the state in which the supply of steam is stopped can be continuously maintained. However, when the sensed value reaches the lower limit temperature by performing continuous temperature sensing, it is preferable that the heating device is driven to supply steam to the receiving space.

As the steam starts to be supplied into the accommodation space, the temperature of the interior rises again. In this case, it is preferable to compare the internal temperature of the accommodation space with the upper limit temperature of the appropriate temperature range in the temperature sensing step.

At this time, when the sensed value does not reach the upper limit temperature, the state of supplying steam can be continuously maintained. However, if the sensed value reaches the upper limit temperature by performing the continuous temperature sensing, it is preferable that the driving of the heating device is terminated and the supply of steam to the accommodation space is stopped.

In the intermittent supply step S4, the temperature sensing step continuously compares the temperature of the accommodation space with an appropriate temperature range, and the temperature adjustment step adjusts whether the steam is supplied or not according to the contents detected in the temperature sensing step The temperature inside the accommodation space can be controlled so as to maintain an appropriate temperature range.

On the other hand, it is preferably performed while the intermittent feed step (S4) is a steam injection stroke time (t _all) is set at the initial stage (S1). Therefore, it is desirable to determine the end of a continuously operating time t and the intermittent supplying step (S4) by comparing the t _all, as shown in FIG.

Here, the operation time t may be set to mean the operation time including the steam supply step from the heating step S2, and may be set to mean the operation time of the steam supply step. However, the processing of the garment by the steam injection stroke such as sterilization is performed in the intermittent supply step in which the temperature of the accommodation space is maintained in an appropriate temperature range, and only the time during which the intermittent supply step is performed is measured as the steam injection stroke time Lt; / RTI >

As described above, in the present embodiment, it is preferable to perform the drying step (S5) and the cooling step (S6) when the steam injection stroke ends. The drying step S5 is a step of supplying hot air and drying the moisture included in the clothes by supplying steam. The cooling step S6 is a step of warming clothes to be collected and worn immediately after the end of operation, It is preferable to carry out the step of cooling.

Therefore, according to the above-described embodiment, it is possible to save energy consumed in the clothes processing apparatus and to provide an optimal processing environment for the clothes to be accommodated.

Hereinafter, a second preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. However, repeated description of the same parts as those described in the first embodiment will be omitted.

As described above, in the first embodiment, it is determined whether or not the heating step S2 is finished by detecting the water temperature, and if the temperature of the accommodation space 20 is compared with the appropriate temperature range, Respectively. In addition, in order to grasp the supply time of steam at the intermittent supply stage, the internal temperature of the receiving space was continuously detected. As described above, the first embodiment provides a method of continuously sensing the internal state in the driving process, and reflecting the internal state.

The present embodiment also provides a steam injection control method of a clothes processing apparatus including an initial step S1, a heating step S2, a continuous feeding step S3, an intermittent feeding step S4 and a cooling step S6 . However, in the present embodiment, it is more preferable to set the subsequent control contents according to the initial conditions detected in the initial step S1.

For example, the control contents may be determined based on the values detected in the initial step S1, including the storage medium storing the optimum control values corresponding to the respective initial conditions through the experiment.

More specifically, in the present embodiment, information on the clothes accommodated in the initial step S1, the amount and temperature of water contained in the steam generator, and the temperature outside the clothes processing apparatus can be sensed. The initial information may be input directly by the user at the initial stage of the operation, or may be automatically input from a sensor or an external medium.

Then, the step of setting the control contents such as the driving value is performed according to the sensed initial information.

It is preferable that the time during which the heating step S2 is performed is set using information on the temperature of water contained in the steam generator. In the case of a steam generator using a heating device that supplies a constant calorific value, the time to reach the boiling point of water can be easily calculated by using the calorific value, the water temperature and the water quantity.

It is preferable that the appropriate temperature range to be maintained in the steam supply step of supplying steam to the accommodation space after the completion of the heating step S2 is set using information of the received clothes. In this regard, as described in the first embodiment, an appropriate temperature range can be set according to the clothing information so as to provide an optimum processing environment for each material of the clothes.

However, it is also possible that the appropriate temperature range is set differently according to the purpose of the user or the steam injection stroke in the initial stage.

When the steam supply step is started, a continuous supply step (S3) for continuously supplying steam into the receiving space is performed. Here, it is preferable that the time during which the continuous supplying step (S3) proceeds is set by using the external temperature of the clothes processing apparatus accommodated in the steam generating apparatus (50).

After the heating step S2 is completed, the continuous supply step S3 is continued until the temperature inside the accommodation space reaches the upper limit temperature T2 of the proper temperature range while the steam is supplied into the accommodation space. At this time, the air inside the accommodation space and the clothes processing apparatus are heated by the supplied steam, and the temperature of the accommodation space 20 rises.

However, since heat exchange is performed with the outside through the outer surface of the clothes processing apparatus, the time during which the temperature of the accommodation space reaches the upper limit temperature may vary depending on the temperature of the outside even if the same amount of steam is supplied. Therefore, it is possible to measure the progress time of the continuous supply step S3 according to the external temperature by experiment and set it in the initial step S1.

After the continuous supply step S3 is performed according to the set time as described above, the flow enters the intermittent supply step S4. At this time, the intermittent supply step S4 provides an environment in which clothes can be processed within the predetermined temperature range.

The intermittent supply step S4 according to the present embodiment may be configured to supply the heating device at predetermined intervals to maintain the proper temperature range. At this time, it is preferable that the period is set by using a preset appropriate temperature range and an external temperature.

In the case where the appropriate temperature range is formed within a narrow range, it is preferable that the steam is supplied in a short period of time as compared with the case where the wide range is formed. For example, if the appropriate temperature range is 60 to 70 캜, and the temperature of the receiving space can be maintained within the proper temperature range by a cycle having a pause period of 1 minute after 30 seconds of steam supply, Lt; 0 > C, it is preferable to form a short cycle in a form having a pause period of 35 seconds after 18 seconds of steam supply.

In addition, when the temperature of the outside is low, a relatively large amount of heat is discharged to the outside. Therefore, it is possible to maintain the proper temperature range by relatively increasing the supply time of the steam in the intermittent supply step S4. Therefore, it is preferable to use an external temperature to estimate the supply period of the steam in the intermittent supply step S4.

Meanwhile, the ending point of the intermittent supply step S4 may be set according to the purpose of performing user setting or steam injection in the initial step S1. It is also possible to set according to the information of the clothes input in the initial step S1.

Therefore, after the heating step S2 and the steam supplying step are performed in the initial step S1, the drying step S5 and the cooling step S6 are performed as in the first embodiment, And then terminates the operation.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a simple control method in that the following control contents can be set by using the information collected in the initial step S1. Although the present embodiment provides a method of setting the control contents by referring to only the information of clothes, the temperature of water contained in the steam generator, and the external temperature, It is also possible to additionally reflect and control the other information affecting the control contents.

It is possible to maintain the proper temperature range accurately in comparison with the first embodiment described above. As shown in FIG. 2B, the driving state of the heating device of the steam generator and the temperature change of the accommodation space are different by a predetermined interval. This is an error due to the time the water is heated to the boiling point by the heating device and the time the generated steam moves to the receiving space. Therefore, in the case of controlling the driving of the heating device after detecting the upper limit temperature and the lower limit temperature in the first embodiment, there is a possibility that a certain range of errors may occur. Therefore, when calculating the upper limit and the lower limit temperature, There was a need.

On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the operation is performed at an appropriate cycle according to the results calculated by the experiment, so that it is possible to maintain an appropriate temperature range more accurately.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a refresh processing apparatus that performs a function of supplying steam to improve the condition of clothes,

FIG. 2A is a graph showing the temperature of the accommodation space according to the operation time when steam is supplied by the conventional method,

FIG. 2B is a graph showing the temperature of the accommodation space according to the operation time when the steam is supplied by the control method according to the present embodiment,

3 is a flowchart showing a preferable method of controlling a garment processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, and Fig.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a relationship with the initial conditions reflected in the control contents in FIG.

Claims (15)

1. A control method for a clothes processing apparatus including a steam generating device for supplying steam to a space in which clothes are accommodated, A heating step of heating water contained in the steam generator; And A continuous supply step of continuously injecting steam until the temperature of the space in which the clothes are accommodated reaches a predetermined proper temperature, and an intermittent supply step of supplying steam intermittently so as to maintain a predetermined appropriate temperature range, A method for controlling a garment processing apparatus, comprising: delete The method according to claim 1, Wherein the intermittent supply step maintains the space in which the clothes are accommodated at 60 ° C to 70 ° C. The method according to claim 1, The intermittent supply step may include a temperature sensing step of sensing a temperature of a space in which the clothes are accommodated; And a temperature control step of controlling the temperature of the space in which the clothes are received by comparing the sensed temperature and the appropriate temperature range. 5. The method of claim 4, Wherein the temperature control step injects steam into the accommodation space when the sensed temperature is lower than the predetermined temperature range. 5. The method of claim 4, Wherein the temperature control step stops the steam injection when the detected temperature is in the predetermined temperature range or more. 5. The method of claim 4, Wherein the temperature control step compares the sensed temperature with the appropriate temperature to adjust an amount of steam or a supply period of steam to maintain an appropriate temperature. 8. The method of claim 7, Wherein the temperature control step selectively turns on / off the steam generator to adjust the amount of steam or the period of supplying steam. The method according to claim 1, Further comprising a condition sensing step of sensing an initial condition in which the garment is processed prior to performing the heating step. 10. The method of claim 9, Wherein the heating step and the steam supplying step are performed according to a predetermined operation content corresponding to the initial condition. 11. The method of claim 10, Wherein the initial condition includes at least one of a water temperature of the water accommodated in the steam generator, information of the clothes to be accommodated, and an appropriate temperature of the space in which the clothes are accommodated. 11. The method of claim 10, Wherein the condition detecting step detects the water temperature of the water accommodated in the steam generator and controls the heating time of the water in the heating step according to the water temperature. 11. The method of claim 10, Wherein the controller detects the information of the received clothes in the condition sensing step and controls the amount of steam supplied in response to the information of the clothes or the time for supplying the steam in the steam supplying step Way. 11. The method of claim 10, Wherein the controller detects the temperature of the space in which the clothes are received in the condition sensing step and controls the amount of steam supplied in response to the temperature or the time for supplying steam in the steam supply step. Way. The method according to claim 1, Further comprising a step of drying the clothes accommodated in the inside after the steam supply step is completed, and a step of lowering the temperature of the space in which the clothes are accommodated so that the user can easily take out the clothes. / RTI >

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