Clothes care apparatus and method for controlling the same

Abstract

According to an embodiment, a clothes care apparatus includes a tub; a water level sensor configured to detect a water level in the tub; a heat exchanger disposed above the tub; a nozzle configured to spray water to the heat exchanger; a water supply valve configured to open or close a water supply flow path for supplying water to the nozzle; a drain line configured to guide condensate water generated by the heat exchanger or the water sprayed by the nozzle to the tub; and a controller.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A clothes care apparatus, comprising:
 a tub;   a water level sensor configured to detect a water level in the tub;   a heat exchanger disposed above the tub;   a nozzle configured to spray water to the heat exchanger;   a water supply valve configured to open or close a water supply flow path for supplying water to the nozzle;   a drain line configured to guide condensate water generated by the heat exchanger or the water sprayed by the nozzle to the tub; and   a controller configured to:
 detect a change in the water level in the tub based on a signal transmitted from the water level sensor, and 
 sequentially determine a state of each of the water supply valve, the drain line, and the nozzle based on the change in the water level in the tub. 
   
     
     
         2 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to determine that the water supply valve leaks based on an increase in the water level in the tub within a predetermined waiting time after the clothes care apparatus is turned on. 
     
     
         3 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to determine that the water supply valve is in a normal state based on maintaining a constant water level in the tub for a predetermined waiting time after the clothes care apparatus is turned on. 
     
     
         4 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to:
 perform a drying process based on the water supply valve being in a normal state, and   determine that the drain line is blocked based on maintaining a constant water level in the tub for a predetermined water level detection time after the drying process starts.   
     
     
         5 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to:
 perform a drying process based on the water supply valve being in a normal state, and   determine that the drain line is in a normal state based on an increase in the water level in the tub within a predetermined water level detection time after the drying process starts.   
     
     
         6 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to:
 based on the water supply valve and the drain line being in a normal state, perform a heat exchanger cleaning for a heat exchanger cleaning time by controlling the water supply valve to allow water to be sprayed to the heat exchanger, and   determine that the nozzle is blocked based on detecting that the water level in the tub is lower than a target water level after the heat exchanger cleaning time elapsed.   
     
     
         7 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the controller is configured to determine that the nozzle is blocked based on detecting that the water level in the tub is lower than the target water level after performing the heat exchanger cleaning a predetermined threshold number of times. 
     
     
         8 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the controller is configured to increase the heat exchanger cleaning time before performing a next heat exchanger cleaning after performing the heat exchanger cleaning. 
     
     
         9 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to:
 stop an operation of the clothes care apparatus based on a determination of at least one of a failure of the water supply valve, a blockage of the drain line, and a blockage of the nozzle, and   provide a first error message corresponding to the at least one of the failure of the water supply valve, a second error message corresponding to the blockage of the drain line, or a third error message corresponding to the blockage of the nozzle via a user interface.   
     
     
         10 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to suspend determination of a state of the drain line according to an operation course of the clothes care apparatus selected by a user. 
     
     
         11 . A method for controlling a clothes care apparatus, the method comprising:
 detecting a change in a water level in a tub using a water level sensor;   determining a state of a water supply valve based on the change in the water level in the tub, the water supply valve being connected to a nozzle configured to spray water to a heat exchanger;   determining a state of a drain line based on the change in the water level in the tub, the drain line being configured to guide condensate water generated by the heat exchanger or the water sprayed by the nozzle to the tub; and   determining a state of the nozzle based on the change in the water level in the tub.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the determining of the state of the water supply valve comprises determining that the water supply valve leaks based on an increase in the water level in the tub within a predetermined waiting time after the clothes care apparatus is turned on. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the state of the water supply valve is determined to be in a normal state based on maintaining a constant water level in the tub for a predetermined waiting time after the clothes care apparatus is turned on. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the determining of the state of the drain line comprises:
 performing a drying process based on the water supply valve being in a normal state; and   determining that the drain line is blocked based on maintaining a constant water level in the tub for a predetermined water level detection time after the drying process starts.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the determining of the state of the drain line comprises:
 performing a drying process based on the water supply valve being in a normal state; and   determining that the drain line is in a normal state based on an increase in the water level in the tub within a predetermined water level detection time after the drying process starts.