Laundry treatment apparatus and control method thereof

Abstract

Disclosed is a control method of a laundry treatment apparatus including an accommodator in which clothes are accommodated, a circulation flow path for introducing air discharged from the accommodator into the accommodator, a heat exchanger including a fan for moving air along the circulation flow path, a first heat exchanger for cooling air introduced into the circulation flow path, and a second heat exchanger for heating air passing through the first heat exchanger, a storage for storing condensate of the air passing through the first heat exchanger, a drain tank for providing a space in which condensate is stored, a washer for washing the first heat exchanger by spraying water to the first heat exchanger, a drain for draining water of the storage, a flow path controller including a housing for receiving water from the drain, a washer water pipe for connecting the housing and the washer, a tank water pipe for connecting the housing and the drain tank, a disk rotatably provided inside the housing, and a disk through hole that is formed through the disk and sequentially opens the washer water pipe and the tank water pipe during rotation of the disk, and a position detector for detecting a position of the disk through hole.

1 - 13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . A method for controlling a laundry treatment apparatus, the laundry treatment apparatus including: an accommodator configured to accommodate clothes; a circulation flow path configured to provide air discharged from the accommodator to the accommodator; a heat exchanger including (i) a fan configured to cause the air to move along the circulation flow path, (ii) a first heat exchanger configured to cool the air in the circulation flow path, and (iii) a second heat exchanger configured to heat the air having passed through the first heat exchanger; a storage configured to store condensate from the air passing through the first heat exchanger; a drain tank configured to store the condensate; a washer configured to wash the first heat exchanger by spraying water to the first heat exchanger; a drain configured to discharge water from the storage; a flow path controller including (i) a housing configured to receive the water from the drain, (ii) a washer water pipe that connects the housing to the washer, (iii) a tank water pipe that connects the housing to the drain tank, and (iv) a disk that is rotatably provided inside the housing and defines a disk through hole, the disk through hole being configured to sequentially open the washer water pipe and the tank water pipe based on rotation of the disk; and a position detector configured to detect a position of the disk through hole, the method comprising:
 supplying air to the accommodator by operating the heat exchanger;   while supplying the air to the accommodator, executing a control command for moving the disk through hole to (i) a first position at which the washer water pipe is opened or (ii) a second position at which the tank water pipe is opened; and   determining, through the position detector, whether the disk through hole is positioned at a position corresponding to the control command.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 based on determining that the disk through hole is not positioned at the position corresponding to the control command, rotating the disk by supplying an overcurrent to a motor configured to rotate the disk.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein rotating the disk by supplying the overcurrent to the motor comprises:
 alternately rotating the disk in a clockwise rotation and in a counterclockwise rotation.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 after rotating the disk by supplying the overcurrent to the motor, repeating execution of the control command for rotating the disk and determination of the position of the disk through hole; and   based on determining that the disk through hole is not positioned at the position corresponding to the control command after repeating the execution of the control command, rotating the disk by supplying the overcurrent to the motor again.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 determining a number of performances of rotating the disk by supplying the overcurrent to the motor; and   notifying a user of a failure of the flow path controller based on the number of performances being greater than or equal to a preset reference number.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 determining whether a water level in the storage reaches a preset reference water level; and   based on determining that the water level reaches the preset reference water level, executing the control command and determining the position of the disk through hole.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein the preset reference water level is predetermined for washing the first heat exchanger. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the position detector includes a magnet fixed to the disk, and
 wherein the method further comprises detecting magnetic force of the magnet while the disk rotates to thereby determine the position of the disk through hole.   
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the housing comprises a housing cover that defines a plurality of supply inlets that are configured to face the disk through hole based on rotation of the disk, and
 wherein the method further comprises:
 supplying the water from the housing to the washer water pipe based on the disk through hole being disposed at the first position and facing one of the plurality of supply inlets; and 
 supplying the water from the housing to the tank water pipe based on the disk through hole being disposed at the second position and facing another of the plurality of supply inlets. 
   
     
     
         23 . A method for controlling a laundry treatment apparatus, the laundry treatment apparatus including: an accommodator configured to accommodate clothes; a circulation flow path configured to provide air discharged from the accommodator to the accommodator; a heat exchanger including (i) a fan configured to cause the air to move along the circulation flow path, (ii) a first heat exchanger configured to cool the air in the circulation flow path, and (iii) a second heat exchanger configured to heat the air having passed through the first heat exchanger; a storage configured to store condensate from the air passing through the first heat exchanger; a drain tank configured to store the condensate; a washer configured to wash the first heat exchanger by spraying water to the first heat exchanger; a drain configured to discharge water from the storage; a flow path controller including (i) a housing configured to receive the water from the drain, (ii) a washer water pipe that connects the housing to the washer, (iii) a tank water pipe that connects the housing to the drain tank, and (iv) a disk that is rotatably provided inside the housing and defines a disk through hole, the disk through hole being configured to sequentially open the washer water pipe and the tank water pipe based on rotation of the disk; and a position detector configured to detect a position of the disk through hole, the method comprising:
 supplying air to the accommodator by operating the heat exchanger;   determining whether a water level in the storage reaches a preset reference water level while supplying the air to the accommodator;   based on determining that the water level reaches the preset reference water level while supplying the air to the accommodator, performing a drainage operation for moving the condensate from the storage to the drain tank by controlling the flow path controller and the drain;   measuring the water level after the drainage operation is completed;   based on the water level measured after the drainage operation reaching the preset reference water level within a preset reference time, executing a control command for moving the disk through hole to (i) a first position at which the washer water pipe is opened or (ii) a second position at which the tank water pipe is opened; and   determining, through the position detector, whether the disk through hole is positioned at a position corresponding to the control command.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising:
 based on determining that the disk through hole is not positioned at the position corresponding to the control command, rotating the disk by supplying an overcurrent to a motor configured to rotate the disk.   
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising:
 after rotating the disk by supplying the overcurrent to the motor, repeating execution of the control command and determination of the position of the disk through hole; and   based on determining that the disk through hole is not positioned at the position corresponding to the control command after repeating the execution of the control command, rotating the disk by supplying the overcurrent to the motor again.   
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , further comprising:
 determining a number of performances of rotating the disk by supplying the overcurrent to the motor; and   notifying a user of a failure of the flow path controller based on the number of performances being greater than or equal to a preset reference number.   
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 24 , further comprising:
 stopping an operation of the fan based on determining that the disk through hole is positioned at the position corresponding to the control command; and   performing the drainage operation after stopping the operation of the fan.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , further comprising:
 measuring the water level based on completing the drainage operation after stopping the operation of the fan;   based on the water level measured after completion of the operation of the drain reaching the preset reference water level within the preset reference time, displaying (i) a failure of the drain or (ii) a request to empty the drain tank.   
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the position detector includes a magnet fixed to the disk, and
 wherein the method further comprises detecting magnetic force of the magnet while the disk rotates to thereby determine the position of the disk through hole.   
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the housing comprises a housing cover that defines a plurality of supply inlets that are configured to face the disk through hole based on rotation of the disk, and
 wherein the method further comprises:
 supplying the water from the housing to the washer water pipe based on the disk through hole being disposed at the first position and facing one of the plurality of supply inlets; and 
 supplying the water from the housing to the tank water pipe based on the disk through hole being disposed at the second position and facing another of the plurality of supply inlets.