Clothes care apparatus and method for controlling the same

Abstract

The disclosure relates to a clothes care apparatus and a method for controlling the same. The clothes care apparatus may obtain mode operation information of a previous steam mode stored in a memory, based on receiving a water level detection signal corresponding to a preset water level from a water level sensor at a start of a current steam mode, and control a water supply and a heater based on the obtained mode operation information of the previous steam mode.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A clothes care apparatus, comprising:
 a steam chamber;   a water supply configured to supply water to the steam chamber;   a heater configured to heat water in the steam chamber;   a water level sensor disposed in the steam chamber and configured to detect a first reference water level and a second reference water level higher than the first reference water level;   a memory configured to store mode operation information of a previous steam mode; and   a processor configured to, based on receiving a water level detection signal corresponding to the second reference water level from the water level sensor at a start of a current steam mode, control the water supply and the heater based on the mode operation information of the previous steam mode.   
     
     
         2 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the mode operation information of the previous steam mode includes water temperature information and heater off information of the heater, and   the processor is configured to:
 determine whether to supply water based on the water temperature information over time. 
   
     
     
         3 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein:
 the processor is configured to:
 obtain a change time during which a water temperature of the steam chamber changes from a first reference water temperature to a second reference water temperature based on the water temperature information obtained over time, 
 determine that supplying the water is not required based on the obtained change time being greater than or equal to a reference time, and 
 determine that supplying the water is required based on the obtained change time being less than the reference time, and 
   the first reference water temperature is lower than the second reference water temperature.   
     
     
         4 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the processor is configured to:
 obtain a steam generation time from the water temperature information over time and the heater off information based on the obtained change time being less than the reference time,   obtain a water supply amount based on the obtained steam generation time,   control an operation of the water supply based on the water supply amount,   obtain a reaching time at which the water temperature of the steam chamber reaches the second reference water temperature based on the water temperature information over time,   obtain an off time at which the heater is turned off based on the heater off information, and   obtain a period of time between the obtained reaching time and the obtained off time as the steam generation time.   
     
     
         5 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an input interface; and   a temperature sensor configured to detect a water temperature of the steam chamber,   wherein the processor is configured to:
 obtain water temperature information over time based on the current steam mode being in operation and water temperature information being received from the temperature sensor, 
 control the memory to store the obtained water temperature information over time as mode operation information of the current steam mode, 
 change the mode operation information of the previous steam mode stored in the memory to the mode operation information of the current steam mode, 
 control the heater to be turned off based on a course received through the input interface and water temperature information received from the temperature sensor, and 
 control the memory to store an off time at which the heater is turned off as the mode operation information of the current steam mode. 
   
     
     
         6 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to:
 control the water supply to supply water based on the water level detection signal corresponding to the second reference water level not being received from the water level sensor at the start of the current steam mode, and   control the water supply to stop supplying the water based on the water level detection signal corresponding to the second reference water level being received from the water level sensor while the water supply is being controlled.   
     
     
         7 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 an input interface; and   a temperature sensor configured to detect a water temperature of the steam chamber,   wherein the processor is configured to:
 obtain water temperature information over time based on the current steam mode being in operation and water temperature information being received from the temperature sensor, 
 control the memory to store the obtained water temperature information over time as mode operation information of the current steam mode, 
 change the mode operation information of the previous steam mode stored in the memory to the mode operation information of the current steam mode, 
 control the heater to be turned off based on a course received through the input interface and water temperature information received from the temperature sensor, and 
 control the memory to store an off time at which the heater is turned off as the mode operation information of the current steam mode. 
   
     
     
         8 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 6 , further comprising:
 a display; and   a temperature sensor configured to detect a water temperature of the steam chamber,   wherein the processor is configured to:
 obtain a change time during which the water temperature of the steam chamber changes from a first reference water temperature to a second reference water temperature based on water temperature information received from the temperature sensor, 
 obtain a steam generation time between a reaching time at which the water temperature reaches the second reference water temperature and an off time at which the heater is turned off, 
 control the memory to store the obtained change time and the steam generation time as mode operation information of the current steam mode, and 
 control the display to display an error based on a water level detection signal corresponding to the first reference water level not being received and the water level detection signal corresponding to the second reference water level being received. 
   
     
     
         9 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the mode operation information of the previous steam mode includes water temperature information over time,   the processor is configured to:
 obtain a change time during which a water temperature of the steam chamber changes from a first reference water temperature to a second reference water temperature based on the water temperature information obtained over time, and 
 determine a water supply amount based on the obtained change time, and 
   the first reference water temperature is lower than the second reference water temperature.   
     
     
         10 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the mode operation information of the previous steam mode includes water temperature information over time and heater off information of the heater, and   the processor is configured to:
 obtain a current water level of the steam chamber based on the water temperature information over time, 
 obtain a water use amount based on the heater off information, and 
 determine a water supply amount based on the obtained current water level and the obtained water use amount. 
   
     
     
         11 . A method for controlling a clothes care apparatus, the method comprising:
 obtaining mode operation information of a previous steam mode stored in a memory, based on a water level detection signal corresponding to a preset water level being received from a water level sensor at a start of a current steam mode; and   controlling a water supply and a heater based on the obtained mode operation information of the previous steam mode.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the controlling of the water supply comprises:
 determining whether to supply water based on the obtained mode operation information of the previous steam mode, and   controlling the water supply to operate or stop based on whether the water is supplied.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein:
 the controlling of the water supply comprises:
 obtaining a change time during which a water temperature of a steam chamber changes from a first reference water temperature to a second reference water temperature based on the obtained mode operation information of the previous steam mode, 
 stopping the water supply based on the obtained change time being greater than or equal to a reference time, 
 obtaining a steam generation time from the obtained mode operation information based on the obtained change time being less than the reference time, 
 obtaining a water supply amount based on the obtained steam generation time, and 
 controlling an operation of the water supply based on the water supply amount, the obtaining of the steam generation time comprises: 
 obtaining a period of time between a reaching time at which the water temperature reaches the second reference water temperature and an off time at which the heater is turned off based on the obtained mode operation information of the previous steam mode, and 
 obtaining the obtained period of time as the steam generation time, and the first reference water temperature is lower than the second reference water temperature. 
   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 obtaining water temperature information over time based on water temperature information being received from a temperature sensor during operation of the current steam mode;   obtaining heater off information of the heater based on a course received through an input interface and the water temperature information received from the temperature sensor; and   storing the water temperature information over time and the heater off information as mode operation information of the current steam mode in the memory.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 controlling supply of the water to be performed based on the water level detection signal corresponding to the preset water level not being received from the water level sensor at the start of the current steam mode;   based on the water level detection signal corresponding to the preset water level being received during the water supply, controlling the water supply to stop supplying water and controlling the heater to be turned on;   controlling the heater to be turned off based on a course received through an input interface and water temperature information received from a temperature sensor;   storing, as mode operation information of the current steam mode, heater off information including an off time at which the heater is turned off, in the memory; and   storing water temperature information over time as the mode operation information of the current steam mode in the memory, based on the water temperature information being received from the temperature sensor.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 controlling the heater to be turned off based on a course received through an input interface and water temperature information received from a temperature sensor;   storing, as mode operation information of the current steam mode, heater off information including an off time at which the heater is turned off, in the memory; and   storing water temperature information over time as the mode operation information of the current steam mode in the memory, based on the water temperature information being received from the temperature sensor.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 when a water level of a steam chamber is incorrectly detected due to scale formation on a water level sensor, supplying water to the steam chamber up to a preset water level to normally operate a steam mode.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 when a water level of a steam chamber is incorrectly detected due to scale formation on a water level sensor, obtaining a water level of water stored in the steam chamber may be obtained, and normally operating a steam mode based on the obtained water level being an adequate water level for steam generation.