Clothes care apparatus

Abstract

A clothes care apparatus including a main body having a care compartment with an exhaust port and a supply port; a heat exchanger in the main body; a blowing fan in the main body to generate airflow supplied to the care compartment through the supply port; an exhaust flow path to guide airflow from the exhaust port to pass through the heat exchanger; a circulation flow path to guide airflow from the exhaust flow path to the fan; a bypass opening to connect the care compartment and the circulation flow path; and a bypass door to open and close the bypass opening. When the bypass opening is open, at least a portion of the airflow flows directly into the circulation flow path without passing through the exhaust flow path. When the bypass opening is closed, none of the airflow flows directly from the care compartment into the circulation flow path.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A clothes care apparatus comprising:
 a main body;   a care compartment in the main body, and including:
 a first exhaust port, 
 a second exhaust port, 
 a supply port, and 
 a bypass opening; 
   a heat exchanger disposed in the main body;   a filter disposed in the main body;   a blowing fan disposed in the main body and configured to generate airflow that is supplied to the care compartment through the supply port; and   a controller configured to:
 in response to receiving an input for a first course, control the blowing fan to discharge a portion of airflow from the care compartment through the first exhaust port to pass through the heat exchanger, and to discharge another portion of airflow from the care compartment through the second exhaust port to pass through the filter, and 
 in response to receiving an input for a second course, control the blowing fan to discharge a portion of airflow from the care compartment through the second exhaust port to pass through the filter, and to discharge another portion of airflow from the care compartment through the bypass opening to bypass the heat exchanger and the filter. 
   
     
     
         2 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an input button configured to obtain a user input, the user input including the input for the first course and the input for the second course.   
     
     
         3 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein
 the controller is configured to:
 in response to receiving the input for the first course, control the blowing fan to rotate at a first rotational speed, and 
 in response to receiving the input for the second course, control the blowing fan to rotate at a second rotational speed greater than the first rotational speed. 
   
     
     
         4 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a bypass door configured to open upon the second course and close the bypass opening upon the first course.   
     
     
         5 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein
 the bypass door is configured to open the bypass opening in response to a rotational speed of the blowing fan being greater than or equal to a predetermined rotational speed.   
     
     
         6 . The clothes care apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a first exhaust flow path to guide airflow discharged from the care compartment through the first exhaust port to pass through the heat exchanger;   a second exhaust flow path to guide airflow discharged from the care compartment through the second exhaust port to pass through the filter; and   a circulation flow path to communicate with the second exhaust flow path to guide airflow discharged from the care compartment through the bypass opening to bypass the heat exchanger and the filter and pass through the blowing fan to the supply port.   
     
     
         7 . A method of controlling a clothes care apparatus comprising a care compartment, a heat exchanger, a filter, and a blowing fan, the care compartment including a first exhaust port, a second exhaust port, a supply port, and a bypass opening, the method comprising:
 receiving an input for a first course or an input for a second course;
 in response to receiving the input for the first course, operating the blowing fan to generate airflow to:
 discharge a portion of airflow from the care compartment through the first exhaust port to pass through the heat exchanger, and 
 discharge another portion of airflow from the care compartment through the second exhaust port to pass through the filter; and 
 
 in response to receiving the input for the second course, operating the blowing fan to generate airflow to:
 discharge a portion of airflow from the care compartment through the second exhaust port to pass through the filter, and 
 discharge another portion of airflow from the care compartment through the bypass opening to bypass the heat exchanger and the filter. 
 
   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein
 the clothes care apparatus further comprises an input button configured to receive a user input, and   receiving the input for the first course or the input for the second course comprises receiving the user input through the input button.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein
 the operating the blowing fan comprises:
 operating the blowing fan at a first rotational speed in response to receiving the input for the first course, and 
 operating the blowing fan at a second rotational speed greater than the first rotational speed in response to receiving the input for the second course.