CLOTHES TREATING MACHINE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME

Abstract

A clothes treating machine is disclosed. The clothes treating machine includes a cabinet forming the external appearance of the clothes treating machine, the cabinet for keeping clothes, an air conditioning unit for supplying cool air into the cabinet, and a control unit for controlling the air conditioning unit based on the state of clothes kept in the cabinet.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2007-57918, filed on Jun. 13, 2007, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a clothes treating machine, and more particularly, to a clothes treating machine that is capable of keeping clothes at optimum temperature and humidity based on the state of the clothes.

2. Discussion of the Related Art

A clothes treating machine is a machine that keeps and protects clothes. Generally, clothes are simply kept in a predetermined place without special treatment to the clothes. For example, clothes are kept in a wardrobe, in a state in which the clothes are not exposed to the outside, to prevent dust from sticking to the clothes. Alternatively, clothes are hanged on a hanger in a state in which the clothes are exposed to the outside.

Therefore, keeping clothes using such a conventional clothes treating machine has the following problems.

First, when clothes are kept in a room-temperature, humid space, mold or tick is apt to be parasitic on the clothes. When the clothes are kept for a long period of time, therefore, the clothes may be easily damaged due to mold or tick.

Second, temperature and humidity greatly change according to seasons, with the result that it is difficult to optimally keep the clothes. Especially for luxury winter clothes such as fur, it is necessary to maintain the quality of the clothes through optimum keeping of the clothes in consideration of the prices of the clothes based on the wearable periods of the clothes. In the conventional clothes treating machine, however, it is not possible to provide an optimum keeping environment based on the materials for clothes.

Therefore, there is a high necessity for an improved clothes treating machine that is capable of appropriately protecting and keeping clothes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a clothes treating machine that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a clothes treating machine that is capable of effectively preventing the damage to clothes due to mold or tick, which may be caused during keeping the clothes.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a clothes treating machine that is capable of providing an optimum keeping environment based on the state of clothes kept in the clothes treating machine.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a clothes treating machine includes a cabinet forming the external appearance of the clothes treating machine, the cabinet for keeping clothes, an air conditioning unit for supplying cool air into the cabinet, and a control unit for controlling the air conditioning unit based on the state of clothes kept in the cabinet.

Preferably, the air conditioning unit supplies warm air to control the interior temperature of the cabinet.

Preferably, the clothes treating machine further includes a humidity control unit for controlling the interior humidity of the cabinet, the humidity control unit being controlled by the control unit.

Preferably, the humidity control unit includes desiccant for dehumidification.

Preferably, the clothes treating machine further includes a filter mounted in the cabinet for deodorizing or purifying air.

Preferably, the clothes treating machine further includes an air freshening unit mounted in the cabinet.

Preferably, the air freshening unit contains vegetable resin having an aromatic effect and an insect proofing effect.

Preferably, the clothes treating machine further includes a flow rate control unit mounted in the cabinet for controlling the flow rate of cool air and warm air supplied from the air conditioning unit.

Preferably, the cabinet is divided into a plurality of independent compartments.

Preferably, the control unit individually controls the interior temperature and humidity of each compartment.

Preferably, the clothes treating machine further includes ducts connected between the respective compartments and the air conditioning unit for defining flow channels along which cool air or warm air circulates, and a flow channel control unit for selectively opening and closing the respective ducts, the flow channel control unit being controlled by the control unit.

Preferably, the clothes treating machine further includes a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor for measuring the interior temperature and humidity of each compartment, respectively.

Preferably, the clothes treating machine further includes a display unit for displaying the temperature and humidity measured by the temperature sensor and the humidity sensor.

Preferably, the clothes treating machine further includes an input unit for allowing a user to directly establish an operation mode of the clothes treating machine.

Preferably, the control unit includes a storage part for storing proper operation modes based on the state of clothes kept in the cabinet, and the control unit automatically establishes a proper operation mode from the storage part.

Preferably, the clothes treating machine further includes an identification tag configured to be detachably attached to clothes for allowing information of the attached clothes to be inputted thereinto and an identification sensor for determining whether the clothes are received and confirming the clothes information from the identification tag, and the control unit automatically establishes the proper operation mode from the storage part depending upon the determination as to whether the clothes are received and the confirmation of the clothes information by the identification sensor.

Preferably, the clothes treating machine further includes a communication module for receiving weather information and clothes caring information from the outside, and the control unit automatically establishes the proper operation mode from the storage part depending upon the weather information and the clothes caring information received through the communication module.

In another aspect of the present invention, a method for controlling a clothes treating machine includes inputting information necessary to establish an operation mode of the clothes treating machine, establishing a proper operation mode based on the inputted information, and performing a keeping operation according to the established proper operation mode.

Preferably, the step of inputting the information includes determining whether clothes are received in a cabinet of the clothes treating machine and confirming information of the received clothes.

Preferably, the step of inputting the information further includes inputting weather information and clothes caring information through communication in real time.

Preferably, the step of establishing the proper operation mode includes confirming a proper operation mode based on the state of clothes kept in the clothes treating machine and automatically establishing the proper operation mode by the clothes treating machine.

Preferably, the step of establishing the proper operation mode includes displaying the state of clothes kept in the clothes treating machine and manually establishing the proper operation mode based on the state of the clothes by a user.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating a clothes treating machine according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cycle circuit diagram of an air conditioning unit mounted in the clothes treating machine;

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating the connection between the air conditional unit and compartments of the clothes treating machine;

FIG. 4 is a constructional view illustrating the connection between components of the compartments and the air conditional unit of the clothes treating machine;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating input and output relations of a control unit; and

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method for controlling a clothes treating machine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating a clothes treating machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the structure of the clothes treating machine according to this embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1.

In the clothes treating machine according to this embodiment of the present invention, a cabinet 10 forms the external appearance of the clothes treating machine. Also, the cabinet 10 has a clothes keeping space for keeping clothes defined therein. At the front of the cabinet 10 may be mounted a door 11, which can be opened and closed such that clothes can be received in the cabinet 10. In the cabinet 10 may be mounted an air conditioning unit 20 (see FIG. 2) for supplying cool air to the clothes received in the cabinet 10. Also, a display unit 70 for displaying a state in which the clothes are kept may be mounted at the front of the cabinet 10.

The respective components of the clothes treating machine will be described in detail.

First, the cabinet 10 forms the external appearance of the clothes treating machine. In the cabinet 10 is defined a clothes keeping space for keeping clothes. The cabinet 10 may be constructed in an airtight structure in which air in the cabinet 10 does not leak to the outside. Also, the cabinet 10 may be made of a material exhibiting low heat conductivity such that clothes keeping environment in the cabinet 10 is not affected by external conditions.

Also, the cabinet 10 may be divided into a plurality of compartments 30. For clothes, optimum keeping environments required depending upon materials and uses of the clothes may be different. For this reason, the clothes treating machine according to this embodiment includes several independent compartments 30, and clothes keeping environments required based on the clothes kept in the respective compartments 30 are individually prepared for the respective compartments 30. Consequently, housing members constituting the respective compartments 30 are preferably made of a material exhibiting low heat conductivity.

In this embodiment, the cabinet 10 is divided into several compartments 30, although the cabinet 10 may not be divided such that the cabinet 10 can be used as a single space.

The door 11 may be mounted at the front of the cabinet 10 such that the door 11 can be opened and closed. In a state in which the door 11 is open, it is possible to put clothes in the cabinet 10. In a state in which the door 11 is closed, the clothes keeping environment in the cabinet is maintained. At a predetermined region of the door 11 where the door 11 is in contact with the cabinet 10 may be mounted a packing (not shown) such that the cabinet 10 is maintained in an airtight state.

Meanwhile, the air conditioning unit 20 may be mounted in the cabinet 10. In consideration of the clothes keeping space defined in the cabinet 10, it is preferred to mount the air conditioning unit 20 at the inside upper part of the cabinet 10. A detailed description of the air conditioning unit 20 will be given in the following.

The display unit 70 may be mounted at one side of the cabinet 10 for displaying a clothes keeping condition and operating state. The display unit 70 is a device that interfaces with a user. Preferably, the display unit 70 is mounted at the front of the cabinet 10.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating the structure of the air conditioning unit 20. Hereinafter, the structure of the air conditioning unit 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2.

In this embodiment of the present invention, the air conditioning unit 20 is mounted in the cabinet 10 (see FIG. 1) in which clothes are kept. In the conventional clothes treating machine, when clothes are not appropriately treated such that the clothes can be protected, the clothes may damaged due to mold or tick during keeping the clothes for a long period of time. Therefore, the clothes treating machine according to this embodiment is constructed in a structure to supply cool air into the clothes keeping space for protection against insects in consideration of a fact that mold or tick inhabits the clothes keeping space at room temperature or higher.

Also, in the conventional art, chemical treatment is carried out with respect to clothes in order to prevent the inhabitation of mold or tick and thus achieve an insect proofing effect. In this case, however, the clothes may be damaged due to chemicals. According to the present invention, on the other hand, it is possible to achieve an insect proofing effect, without damage to clothes, by controlling temperature in the cabinet through the supply of cool air. Also, the optimum keeping environments for most clothes are prepared to have temperatures lower than room temperature. Consequently, the present invention is more preferred in consideration of the clothes keeping environments as well as the insect proofing effect.

The air conditioning unit 20 may include a compressor 24, a condenser, an expander 22, and an evaporator. In the air conditioning unit 20, a refrigerant circulates according to a refrigerating cycle. The refrigerant circulates according to the following cycle. The compressor 24 adiabatically compresses a low-temperature, low-pressure gaseous refrigerant into a high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant. The high-temperature, high-pressure gaseous refrigerant is cooled/condensed by the condenser into a room-temperature, high-pressure liquid refrigerant. Also, the room-temperature, high-pressure liquid refrigerant passes through the expander 22, with the result that the room-temperature, high-pressure liquid refrigerant is changed into a low-temperature, low-pressure two-phase fluid. While passing through the evaporator, the refrigerant absorbs external heat, with the result that the refrigerant is evaporated into a gaseous state, and the gaseous refrigerant flows to the compressor 24. Consequently, the condenser performs heat treatment, while heating the surrounding air, to supply warm air, whereas the evaporator performs heat treatment, while cooling the surrounding air, to supply cool air.

In this embodiment, it is preferred that the air conditioning unit 20 further include a four-way valve 25 mounted at the connection between the compressor and a refrigerant pipe and a first heat exchange part 21 and a second heat exchange part 23 corresponding to the condenser and the evaporator, respectively.

As previously described, the air conditioning unit 20 is preferably mounted at the inner upper part of the cabinet 10. The first heat exchange part 21 is preferably mounted to perform heat exchange with the outside top or rear of the cabinet 10, and the second heat exchange part 23 is mounted, such that the second heat exchange part 23 communicates with the interior of the cabinet 10, to perform heat exchange.

The four-way valve 25 is constructed in a structure to switch between a refrigerant inlet pipe and a refrigerant outlet pipe such that the second heat exchange part 23, communicating with the interior of the cabinet 10, serves as an evaporator when it is necessary to supply cool air, and the second heat exchange part 23 serves as a condenser when it is necessary to supply warm air.

In the air conditioning unit 20 according to this embodiment, therefore, it is possible to supply either cool air or warm air into the cabinet according to the switching of the four-way valve 25. That is, the air conditioning unit 20 is constructed in a structure to control the interior temperature of the cabinet 10 through the adjustment of the direction in which the refrigerant flows in the air conditioning unit 20.

In this embodiment, it is possible to control the keeping temperature by the air conditioning unit 10, thereby providing optimum keeping environments based on the materials for clothes. Especially, luxury winter clothes are intensively worn in winter but are kept in the other seasons. Also, users wish to maintain the luxury winter clothes at an optimum keeping state to maximally extend the life span of the clothes, since the luxury winter clothes are very expensive. Consequently, when the clothes treating machine has such a temperature control function as in this embodiment, it is possible to keep the clothes at optimum keeping temperatures suitable for the materials of the clothes, thereby maximally extending the life span of the clothes while maintaining properties of the respective clothes.

Furthermore, the structure to supply warm air as in this embodiment has an advantage in that, clothes are heated by warm air in the clothes treating machine before the clothes are worn on a cold day, whereby users can wear the clothes in a warm state.

Meanwhile, the clothes treating machine according to this embodiment may include a air conditioning unit 20 that is capable of supply cool air and warm air. In this embodiment, therefore, the air conditioning unit 20 uses a refrigerant cycle of the compressor. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described construction. For example, the air conditioning unit may be constructed in a structure having a nitrogen cooling device and a fan to supply cool air or a structure having a heater and a fan to supply warm air. In addition, the air conditioning unit may be constructed to use a thermoelectric element if economic efficiency is acceptable.

FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram illustrating the connection between the air conditional unit and the compartments 30 in which clothes are kept, and FIG. 4 is a constructional view illustrating the connection between components of each compartment 30 and the air conditional unit. Hereinafter, the structure of the compartments 30 in the cabinet 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.

As previously described, the clothes treating machine according to this embodiment is constructed in a structure in which a plurality of the compartments 30 are independently defined in the cabinet 10, and the respective compartments constitute clothes keeping spaces for keeping clothes. The respective compartments 30 communicate with the air conditioning unit 20 to define cool air and warm air circulation channels. The cool air and warm air circulation channels are selectively opened and closed by flow channel control units 32.

Meanwhile, it is preferred that the flow channels communicating with the air conditioning unit 20 are defined for the respective compartments 30 to individually provide clothes keeping environments for the respective compartments 30. In this embodiment, the compartments 30 may include ducts 31 communicating with the air conditioning unit 20 for defining the flow channels. Also, the ducts 31 are individually provided for the respective compartments 30 to define the respective flow channels communicating with the air conditioning unit 20.

Also, the respective ducts may be selectively opened and closed by the flow channel control units 32. The ducts 31 of the respective compartments 30 communicate with the air conditioning unit 20. Consequently, when the air conditioning unit 20 performs heat exchange to control the temperature of one of the compartments 30, the ducts 31 communicating with the other compartments 30 are closed, whereby individual clothes keeping environments are maintained.

In this embodiment, the flow channel control units 32 are mounted at a position where air is suctioned from the air conditioning unit 20 into the respective compartments 30 and a position where air is exhausted from the respective compartments 30. Also, the flow channel control units 32 as well as the air conditioning unit 20 may be controlled by a control unit 50 (see FIG. 5).

Also, when the air circulation channels of the respective compartments 30 are defined by the flow channel control units 32, the flow rate of the air circulating along the flow channels in the cabinet 10 may be controlled by flow rate control units 33. Also, the flow rate control units 33 may be controlled by the control unit 50. Consequently, it is possible to control the flow rate of the cool air or the warm air introduced from the air conditioning unit 20, whereby controlling the temperature change rate. Also, when air-blowing operations are required in the respective compartments 30, the flow rate control units 33 are controlled to control the intensity of the air blown.

In this embodiment, therefore, the flow rate control units 33 are implemented by blowing fans 33 mounted at positions where air is suctioned from the air conditioning unit 20 into the respective compartments 30. The blowing fans 33 are constructed to guide the circulation of air from the air conditioning unit 20 to the respective compartments 30 and control the flow rate of air introduced into the respective compartments 30 based on the rotational speeds of the respective blowing fans 33. Also, the operations of the respective blowing fans 33 may be controlled by the control unit 50.

However, the flow rate control units 33 are not limited to the blowing fans 33 according to this embodiment. Also, the flow rate control units 33 may not be mounted at the positions where air is introduced into the respective compartments 30 but any other positions.

FIG. 4 is a constructional view illustrating the connection between components of each compartment and the air conditional unit. Hereinafter, the construction for preparing optimum keeping environments of the clothes treating machine will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4.

In this embodiment, a humidity control unit 34 may be mounted in the cabinet 10 for controlling the humidity of air. The humidity control unit 34 controls the humidity of air, under the control of the control unit 50 (see FIG. 5) to control the interior humidity of each compartment 30. Mold or tick inhabits each compartment 30 at a specific humidity environment. Consequently, it is possible to maintain the interior of the cabinet 10 at low humidity through the operation of the humidity control unit 34, thereby improving an insect proofing effect. Also, it is possible to provide optimum keeping environments based on clothes by the humidity control unit 34.

In this embodiment, therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the humidity control unit 34 is mounted in the cabinet 10 for controlling the humidity of air. In this embodiment, the humidity control unit 34 may be implemented by a desiccant rotor including desiccant. The desiccant rotor is constructed in a structure to control the humidity of air, through a dehumidifying process for absorbing or suctioning moisture from the surrounding air at room temperature to remove the moisture and a reproduction process for evaporating the suctioned moisture at high temperature to remove the moisture, using desiccant.

In this embodiment, therefore, when a dehumidifying operation is carried out under the control of the control unit 50, the humidity control unit 34 performs the dehumidifying process. On the other hand, when a humidifying operation is carried out under the control of the control unit 50, the humidity control unit 34 performs the reproduction process. In this way, the humidity is controlled.

In this embodiment, the humidity control unit 34 including the desiccant is adopted to control the humidity; however, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated humidity control unit 34. For example, it is possible that a bypass valve is connected to the expander 22 of the air conditioning unit 20, and the second heat exchange part 23 performs condensation, expansion, and evaporation to control the humidity. However, it is preferred to simultaneously control the temperature and the humidity in order to provide optimum clothes keeping environments. Consequently, it is preferred to separately construct the humidity control unit 34. Of course, a humidifying unit and a dehumidifying unit may be separately provided to control the humidity.

Meanwhile, the clothes treating machine according to this embodiment may include a filter 35 for deodorizing or purifying air circulating in each compartment 30. This is because, when clothes which users have worn are directly kept in the clothes treating machine, the other clothes in the clothes treating machine may be affected by bad smells and dust from the clothes which the users have worn.

Also, an air freshening unit 36 may be provided to keep clothes in a fresh state. In this embodiment, therefore, the air freshening unit 36 may contain vegetable resin having an aromatic effect as well as an insect proofing effect.

The humidity control unit 34, the filter 35, and the air freshening unit 36 are preferably mounted on the air circulation channel, such that most air passes through the humidity control unit 34, the filter 35, and the air freshening unit 36, in consideration of operational efficiency. However, the arrangement of the humidity control unit 34, the filter 35, and the air freshening unit 36 on the air circulation channel shown in FIG. 4 is merely a possible example, and therefore, it is obvious that the humidity control unit 34, the filter 35, and the air freshening unit 36 may be arranged in different sequences.

Hereinafter, the operation of the clothes treating machine according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention will be described.

First, when the operation of the clothes treating machine is initiated, heat exchange is carried out at a region adjacent to the second heat exchange part 23 of the air conditioning unit 20.

With the operation of the air conditioning unit 20, the flow channel necessary for the operation is selectively formed by the flow channel control units 32. That is, the duct 31 of the compartment 30 in which air conditioning is required is opened by the flow channel control units 32 such that the flow channel is formed between the compartment 30 and the air conditioning unit 20, whereas the ducts 31 connected to the compartments 30 in which air conditioning is not required are closed. Consequently, the air circulation channel is formed only for the compartment 30 in which air conditioning is required.

Meanwhile, the blowing fan 33 mounted in the compartment 30 is operated to guide the circulation of air along the air circulation channel. At this time, it is possible to control the rotational speed of the blowing fan 33 to control the flow rate of air supplied into the compartment 30. Consequently, air heat-exchanged by the operation of the blowing fan 33 is supplied into the compartment 30, in which clothes are kept, through the duct 31, and is then discharged from the compartment 30 to form a flow channel along which the air flows toward the air conditioning unit 20.

The air in the compartment 30 circulates along the flow channel. Specifically, the air passes through the humidity control unit 34, with the result that the humidity of the air is controlled. Also, the air passes through the purification filter 35 and the air freshening unit 36, with the result that foreign matter is removed from the air and aroma is added to the air. After that, the air is supplied into the compartment 30.

Meanwhile, the clothes treating machine according to this embodiment of the present invention may further include a control unit 50 (see FIG. 5) for controlling the air conditioning unit 20. When the humidity control unit 34, the flow rate control units 33, the ducts 31 and/or the flow channel control units 32 are included in the clothes treating machine according to this embodiment of the present invention, the humidity control unit 34, the flow rate control units 33, the ducts 31 and/or the flow channel control units 32 may be controlled by the control unit 50.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating the construction of the clothes treating machine. Hereinafter, the operation of the control unit 50 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5.

In this embodiment, the clothes treating machine includes an air conditioning unit 20, a humidity control unit 34, a plurality of compartments 30, ducts 31 connected to the respective compartments 30, and flow channel control units 32. In addition, the clothes treating machine further includes a control unit 50 for controlling the air conditioning unit 20, the humidity control unit 34, the flow rate control units 33, and the flow channel control units 32. Consequently, it is possible for the control unit 50 to control temperature and humidity in a bundle based on operation modes required for the respective compartments 30.

Also, in this embodiment, the clothes treating machine further includes a temperature sensor 51 for measuring clothes keeping temperature and a humidity sensor 52 for measuring clothes keeping humidity. Preferably, the temperature sensor 51 and the humidity sensor 52 are mounted in the cabinet 10.

In this embodiment, the clothes treating machine is constructed in a structure in which the plurality of compartments 30 are provided, and independent clothes keeping environments are provided for the respective compartments 30. Consequently, the temperature sensor 51 and the humidity sensor 52 are preferably mounted in each compartment 30.

The temperature and humidity values measured by the temperature sensor 51 and the humidity sensor 52 are transmitted to the control unit 50. The control unit 50 compares the measured temperature and humidity values with a required clothes keeping environment to control the air conditioning unit 20 and the humidity control unit.

Also, the temperature and humidity values measured by the temperature sensor 51 and the humidity sensor 52 may be displayed on the display unit 70 mounted at the cabinet 10. Consequently, it is possible for a user to determine whether or not the clothes treating machine is being normally operated from the measured values displayed on the display unit 70.

Hereinafter, establishment of an operation mode controlled by the control unit 50 will be described.

The clothes treating machine according to this embodiment may include an input unit 60 for allowing a user to directly establish an operation mode. The control unit 50 controls the operation of the clothes treating machine according to the operation mode directly established through the input unit 60. In this embodiment, for example, the input unit 60 may be mounted at the front of the cabinet 1, as shown in FIG. 1.

Also, the control unit 50 may decide a proper operation mode to automatically establish the operation mode instead of the user's direct establishment of the operation mode. Factors deciding the optimum clothes keeping environment include the materials for clothes, weather at the time when clothes are worn, and the state of clothes during keeping the clothes. In addition, various kinds of clothes caring information are provided. Consequently, it is very difficult for a user to directly decide the proper operation mode. In the clothes treating machine according to this embodiment, therefore, it is possible for the control unit 50 to automatically establish the proper operation mode based on the state of the clothes.

Specifically, the control unit 50 according to this embodiment includes a storage part 53 for storing proper control modes based on the state of the clothes kept in the clothes treating machine. This is because the contents of keeping operations are different depending upon the materials of clothes and weather information. For example, fur is maintained in an optimum state at a temperature of 15° C. and a humidity of 55%. Also, in weather containing a large amount of yellow sand, it is required to remove yellow sand from clothes using the purification filter 35 at the time of blowing air. Proper operation modes based on the materials for clothes and various kinds of weather information are stored in the storage part 53. Consequently, the control unit 50 determines one of the proper operation modes from the storage part 53. The contents stored in the storage part 53 may be inputted at the stage of production. However, it is preferred to input or modify the contents later.

The storage part 53 stores various different proper operation modes based on the several variables, such as the materials for clothes, weather information, etc. It is preferred for the clothes treating machine according to this embodiment to be constructed in a structure to allow information corresponding to values of the variables to be inputted in order to determine or recommend one or more operation modes from the stored operation modes. Therefore, the clothes treating machine according to this embodiment may be constructed in a structure to collect the following information and transmit the collected information to the control unit 50.

First, the clothes treating machine according to this embodiment may include an identification tag 54 configured to be detachably attached to clothes, the identification tag 54 being also configured to allow clothes information to be inputted thereinto, and an identification sensor 55 for confirming the clothes information from the identification tag 54.

The identification tag 54 is configured to be detachably attached to clothes to be kept. Also, identification tag 54 is configured to allow clothes information, such as the materials for clothes to which the identification tag 54 is attached, to be inputted thereinto. Also, the identification sensor 55 is mounted at one side of the cabinet for confirming the clothes information from the identification tag 54. In this case, the identification sensor 55 determines whether or not clothes are received when the identification tag 54 is confirmed by the identification sensor 55. In addition, the identification sensor 55 confirms the information of the received clothes.

With the above-described construction, it is possible for the control unit 50 to confirm whether or not clothes are received and the information of the received clothes from the identification sensor 55 to acquire information necessary to decide a proper operation mode from the stored contents of the storage part 53. Also, when specific luxury clothes have not been received for a predetermined period of time, the control unit 50 may inform a user that the specific luxury clothes are not being kept in the clothes treating machine.

Also, the clothes treating machine according to this embodiment may include a communication module 56 to which weather information and clothes caring information are inputted. Consequently, it is possible to collect weather information and clothes caring information through the communication module 56. The communication module 56 is configured to communicate with an external server which supplies the above-mentioned information, preferably, a home network server.

Weather information and clothes caring information supplied from the server may be inputted to the communication module 56. For example, weather information for a time when a user wears clothes and additional information on keeping and caring of the clothes may be inputted to the communication module 56.

In this embodiment, the identification tag 54, the identification sensor 55, and the communication module 56 transmit the information on the state of clothes kept to the control unit 50. The control unit 50 utilizes the received information as the value of a variable necessary to determine a proper operation mode from the operation modes stored in the storage part 53. Consequently, it is possible for the control unit 50 to automatically establish a proper operation mode based on the input information such that the clothes treating machine can be operated at the established proper operation mode.

The contents of the proper operation mode recommended by the storage part based on the information inputted to the control unit and the above-described information may be displayed on the display unit 70. In this case, it is possible for the control unit 50 to automatically establish the operation mode based on the above-described information. Alternatively, it is possible for a user to directly establish the operation mode through the input unit 60 with reference to the recommended proper operation mode displayed on the display unit 70.

In the clothes treating machine according to this embodiment as described above, it is possible for a user to directly establish an operation mode through the input unit 60, or it is possible for the control unit 50 to automatically establish an proper operation mode from the proper operation modes stored in the storage part 53 according to the input information. Also, it is possible to display the input information and the operation modes stored in the storage part 53 such that a user can establish an operation mode with reference to those displayed on the display unit 70.

Hereinafter, the controlling operation of the control unit 50 according to this embodiment will be described.

A user puts clothes to which the identification tag 54 is attached in the clothes treating machine. In this case, the identification sensor 55, mounted in the clothes treating machine, identifies the identification tag 54, collects information on the determination as to whether the clothes are received in the clothes treating machine and information on the clothes received in the clothes treating machine, and transmits the collected information to the control unit 50. Also, the communication module 56, mounted in the clothes treating machine, receives weather information from a server for supplying weather information, preferably a home network server when a home network is constructed, and transmits the received weather information to the control unit 50. The control unit 50 determines a proper operation mode necessary to provide the optimum keeping environment from the operation modes stored in the storage part 53 according to the clothes state information and the weather information. In this case, it is possible to automatically establish the proper operation mode based on the determination of the control unit 50. Alternatively, it is possible for a user to directly establish the operation mode under a condition that the control unit 50 recommends the proper operation mode.

When the proper operation mode is established through the above-described process, the control unit 50 controls the air conditioning unit 20, the humidity control unit 34, the flow rate control unit 33, and the flow channel control unit 32, with respect to the compartment 30 in which the clothes are kept, according to the contents of the established operation mode. Also, the temperature sensor 51 and the humidity sensor 52, mounted in the compartment 30, measure temperature and humidity. The control unit 50 compares the measured temperature and humidity values with established values to perform the operation.

Hereinafter, a method for controlling the clothes treating machine with the above-stated construction according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6.

The method for controlling the clothes treating machine according to this embodiment includes an input step (S100) of inputting information necessary to establish an operation mode of the clothes treating machine, an establishment step (S110) of establishing a proper operation mode based on the input information, and an operation step (S120) of performing a keeping operation according to the established proper operation mode.

The respective steps will be described hereinafter in more detail.

First, necessary information is inputted to the control unit to establish the operation mode of the clothes treating machine (S100). The control method according to this embodiment is to control the keeping operation for keeping clothes. Consequently, a step of inputting variable information on the state of clothes necessary to decide the contents of the operation is required before others.

At the information input step (S100), user's direct input of the information is possible, or automatic input of the information is possible. According to this embodiment, the input step (S100) preferably includes a step of automatically recognizing and inputting the information.

Specifically, the input step (S100) includes a step (S101) of determining whether clothes are received in the cabinet and a step (S102) of confirming information of the received clothes. The step of determining whether clothes are received in the cabinet is carried out to determine whether the operation of the clothes treating machine is commenced, and the step of confirming the clothes information is considered when the operation mode is established depending upon properties of the clothes kept in the cabinet, such as the materials of the clothes, at a subsequent establishment step.

As previously described, the construction of the identification tag 54 in which the clothes information is inputted and the identification sensor 55 for identifying the identification tag 54 is an example of a preferred construction that is capable of implementing the step (S111) of determining whether clothes are received in the cabinet and the step (S102) of confirming the clothes information.

According to this embodiment, the input step (S100) further includes a step (S103) of inputting weather information and clothes caring information through communication. The step (103) of inputting the weather information and the clothes caring information is carried out to determine whether an additional measure is necessary for the keeping operation according to the inputted weather information and to acquire more preferable clothes caring information from the newly added clothes caring information.

Also, the construction in which the communication module 56 communicates with the home network server providing the above-mentioned information such that the input of the information is possible is an example of a preferred construction that is capable of implementing the step (103) of inputting the weather information and the clothes caring information.

According to this embodiment, the establishment step (S110) of establishing a proper operation mode based on the input information is carried out after the completion of the input step (S100). The establishment step (S110) is a step of deciding the contents to which the clothes treating machine performs the keeping operation.

At the establishment step (S110), automatic establishment of the proper operation mode by the clothes treating machine is possible, or user's direct establishment of the operation mode is possible.

When the proper operation mode is automatically established by the clothes treating machine at the establishment step (S110), the establishment step (S110) may include a step (S111) of determining the proper operation mode and a step (S112) of automatically establishing the operation mode according to the determination result.

At the step (S111) of determining the proper operation mode, a process for determining the proper operation mode with respect to the clothes based on the received clothes information inputted at the input step and weather information for a time when a user wore the clothes is carried out. The construction in which the clothes treating machine includes the storage part 53 for storing optimum keeping operation modes based on the state of the clothes is an example of a preferred construction that is capable of implementing the step (S111) of determining the proper operation mode.

On the other hand, when the operation mode is directly established by the user, the establishment step (S110) may include a step (S113) of displaying the input information and a step (S114) of establishing the operation mode by the user.

At the step (S113) of displaying the input information, a process for displaying the received clothes information inputted at the input step and the weather information for a time when the user wore the clothes is carried out. Subsequently, the step (S114) of establishing the operation mode by the user with reference to the displayed input information is carried out.

After the operation mode is established at the establishment step (S110), the operation step (S120) of performing the keeping operation according to the contents of the operation mode is carried out. The state information of clothes kept is inputted, and the keeping operation is carried out based on the clothes state information. Consequently, it is possible to keep the received clothes at the optimum condition.

As apparent from the above description, the clothes treating machine and the method for controlling the same according to the present invention has the following effects.

First, it is possible to effectively prevent the damage to clothes due to mold or tick, which may be caused during keeping the clothes for a long period of time.

Second, it is possible to control the keeping environment such as temperature and humidity and thus provide the optimum environment based on the state of clothes kept, thereby extending the life span of the clothes.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A clothes treating machine comprising:

a cabinet forming the external appearance of the clothes treating machine, the cabinet for keeping clothes;

an air conditioning unit for supplying cool air into the cabinet; and

a control unit for controlling the air conditioning unit based on the state of clothes kept in the cabinet.

2. The clothes treating machine according to claim 1, wherein the air conditioning unit supplies warm air to control the interior temperature of the cabinet.

3. The clothes treating machine according to claim 2, further comprising:

a humidity control unit for controlling the interior humidity of the cabinet, wherein

the humidity control unit is controlled by the control unit.

4. The clothes treating machine according to claim 3, wherein the humidity control unit includes desiccant for dehumidification.

5. The clothes treating machine according to claim 3, further comprising:

a filter mounted in the cabinet for deodorizing or purifying air.

6. The clothes treating machine according to claim 3, further comprising:

an air freshening unit mounted in the cabinet.

7. The clothes treating machine according to claim 6, wherein the air freshening unit contains vegetable resin having an aromatic effect and an insect proofing effect.

8. The clothes treating machine according to claim 2, further comprising:

a flow rate control unit mounted in the cabinet for controlling the flow rate of cool air and warm air supplied from the air conditioning unit.

9. The clothes treating machine according to claim 3, wherein the cabinet is divided into a plurality of independent compartments.

10. The clothes treating machine according to claim 9, wherein the control unit individually controls the interior temperature and humidity of each compartment.

11. The clothes treating machine according to claim 10, further comprising:

ducts connected between the respective compartments and the air conditioning unit for defining flow channels along which cool air or warm air circulates; and

a flow channel control unit for selectively opening and closing the respective ducts, wherein

the flow channel control unit is controlled by the control unit.

12. The clothes treating machine according to claim 11, further comprising:

a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor for measuring the interior temperature and humidity of each compartment, respectively.

13. The clothes treating machine according to claim 12, further comprising:

a display unit for displaying the temperature and humidity measured by the temperature sensor and the humidity sensor.

14. The clothes treating machine according to claim 13, further comprising:

an input unit for allowing a user to directly establish an operation mode of the clothes treating machine.

15. The clothes treating machine according to claim 13, wherein the control unit includes a storage part for storing proper operation modes based on the state of clothes kept in the cabinet, and the control unit automatically establishes a proper operation mode from the storage part.

16. The clothes treating machine according to claim 15, further comprising:

an identification tag configured to be detachably attached to clothes for allowing information of the attached clothes to be inputted thereinto; and

an identification sensor for determining whether the clothes are received and confirming the clothes information from the identification tag, wherein

the control unit automatically establishes the proper operation mode from the storage part depending upon the determination as to whether the clothes are received and the confirmation of the clothes information by the identification sensor.

17. The clothes treating machine according to claim 16, further comprising:

a communication module for receiving weather information and clothes caring information from the outside, wherein

the control unit automatically establishes the proper operation mode from the storage part depending upon the weather information and the clothes caring information received through the communication module.

18. A method for controlling a clothes treating machine, comprising:

inputting information necessary to establish an operation mode of the clothes treating machine;

establishing a proper operation mode based on the inputted information; and

performing a keeping operation according to the established proper operation mode.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein the step of inputting the information includes

determining whether clothes are received in a cabinet of the clothes treating machine, and

confirming information of the received clothes.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the step of inputting the information further includes inputting weather information and clothes caring information through communication in real time.

21. The method according to claim 18, wherein the step of establishing the proper operation mode includes confirming a proper operation mode based on the state of clothes kept in the clothes treating machine and automatically establishing the proper operation mode by the clothes treating machine.

22. The method according to claim 18, wherein the step of establishing the proper operation mode includes

displaying the state of clothes kept in the clothes treating machine, and

manually establishing the proper operation mode based on the state of the clothes by a user.