Clothes treating apparatus and method of the same

Abstract

The present invention relates to apparatus and method for treating clothes, which can prevent an operation pressure of a compressor of a heat pump from rising, excessively. The clothes treating apparatus includes a housing which forms a holding space for holding clothes, a heat pump for generating hot air for drying laundry in the holding space, a sensing unit mounted to a circulation passage of air being supplied to the holding space or an inlet passage of air introduced to the heat pump for measuring a temperature of the air, and a control unit for controlling a temperature of the housing to drop below a preset temperature if the temperature of the holding space is higher than a preset temperature.

1 . A clothes treating apparatus comprising:
 a housing which forms a holding space for holding clothes;   a heat pump for generating hot air for drying laundry in the holding space;   a sensing unit mounted to a circulation passage of air being supplied to the holding space or an inlet passage of air introduced to the heat pump for measuring a temperature of the air; and   a control unit for controlling a temperature of the housing to drop below a preset temperature if the temperature of the holding space is higher than a preset temperature.   
   
   
       2 . The apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the sensing unit is a temperature sensor. 
   
   
       3 . The apparatus as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the heat pump includes a compressor, a condenser, an expansion valve, an evaporator, and a fan for blowing heat from the condenser. 
   
   
       4 . The apparatus as claimed in  claim 3 , further comprising a steam generator for generating and supplying steam to the holding space. 
   
   
       5 . The apparatus as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein the control unit rotates the fan for dropping the temperature of the holding space below a preset temperature if the temperature of the holding space is higher than the preset temperature due to the heat pump or the steam generator. 
   
   
       6 . A method for controlling a clothes treating apparatus, comprising:
 a temperature measuring step for measuring a temperature of a holding space in a housing for holding clothes;   an adjusting step for adjusting the temperature of the holding space to be below a preset temperature if the temperature of the holding space measured in the temperature measuring step is higher than the preset temperature; and   supplying hot air step for supplying hot air to the holding space by selectively putting a heat pump into operation according to a temperature adjusted at the time the temperature of the holding space measured in the temperature measuring step is dropped below the preset temperature.   
   
   
       7 . The method as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the adjusting step further includes the step of determining the temperature of the holding space of being below the preset temperature. 
   
   
       8 . The method as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the adjusting step further includes the step of adjusting the temperature of the holding space by putting the fan of the heat pump into operation. 
   
   
       9 . The method as claimed in  claim 6 , wherein the temperature measuring step includes the step of measuring a temperature of a circulation passage of air being supplied to the holding space. 
   
   
       10 . The method as claimed in  claim 9 , wherein the temperature measuring step includes the step of measuring a temperature of an inlet passage of air being introduced to the heat pump. 
   
   
       11 . The method as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the determining step further includes a re-adjusting step for adjusting the temperature of the holding space by putting the fan into operation after a preset time period if the temperature of the holding space measured after the adjusting step does not drop below the preset temperature. 
   
   
       12 . The method as claimed in  claim 11 , wherein the re-adjusting step further includes an alarming step for informing a user if the temperature of the holding space does not drop below the preset temperature. 
   
   
       13 . The method as claimed in  claim 6 , further comprising a steam spray step for supplying steam to the holding space before the temperature measuring step.