Method for controlling clothing treatment device, and clothing treatment device

Abstract

According to one embodiment, a method for controlling a clothing treatment device and a clothing treatment device in which the method is performed may be provided, the method characterized by comprising the steps of: performing a first rotation operation in which a driving part rotates a drum on the basis of at least one of a first rotation pattern and a second rotation pattern; and determining an amount of laundry accommodated in the drum on the basis of information detected in a rotation process, wherein the first rotation pattern comprises: a first acceleration section; and a second acceleration section in which the drum rotates at a faster rotational acceleration after passing the first acceleration section.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for controlling a laundry treating apparatus and the laundry treating apparatus, and more specifically, to a method for determining an amount of laundry received in a drum of a laundry treating apparatus and the laundry treating apparatus.[Background]

[0002] In general, a laundry treating apparatus refers to an apparatus that may wash and / or dry an object-to-be-treated such as laundry, bedding, a carpet, a rugs, and the like. That is, the laundry treating apparatus may perform only a washing or drying function or may perform both the washing and the drying. The washing is a concept that includes all of a washing cycle of removing foreign substances by applying a physical force to the laundry, a rinsing cycle of separating the foreign substances from the laundry, and a dehydration cycle of removing moisture from the laundry.

[0003] The laundry treating apparatus senses an amount of laundry of the laundry treating apparatus when performing the washing or the drying, and determines a load applied to the laundry, including a rotation speed and a switching degree of a rotation direction of a drum, an amount of water supplied, and an amount of hot air supplied, depending on the amount of laundry.

[0004] Specifically, when the amount of laundry is small, energy may be wasted when an excessive load is applied. On the other hand, when the amount of laundry is great, a desired washing or drying purpose may not be achieved when a small load is applied and an internal component of the laundry treating apparatus may be damaged when an excessive load is applied. Therefore, the sensing of the amount of laundry of the laundry treating apparatus is essential.

[0005] When measuring the amount of laundry, the existing laundry treating apparatus was able to directly measure the amount of laundry by having a load sensor. However, when the load sensor is disposed separately, not only does the number of components increase, but there is also a possibility of interference with a driver that rotates the drum.

[0006] As an existing technology to solve such problem, a technology of temporarily rotating the drum in which the laundry is accommodated with the driver and indirectly measuring the amount of laundry by calculating current, voltage, and counter electromotive force values applied to the driver has been used. However, such existing technology also caused inconvenience such as an increased waiting time of a user as repetitive sensing processes for sensing the amount of laundry are performed and thus an amount of laundry sensing time increases.[Summary][Technical Problem]

[0007] The present disclosure is to provide a method for reducing user inconvenience caused by excessive waiting time for sensing an amount of laundry of a laundry treating apparatus and at the same time improving accuracy of the amount of laundry sensing, and the laundry treating apparatus.[Technical Solutions]

[0008] Provided is a method for controlling a laundry treating apparatus including performing a first rotation operation where a driver rotates a drum based on at least one of a first rotation pattern and a second rotation pattern, and determining an amount of laundry accommodated in the drum based on information detected during a rotation process, wherein the first rotation pattern is a rotation pattern including a first acceleration section and a second acceleration section where the drum rotates with a higher rotational acceleration after the first acceleration section.

[0009] Provided is a laundry treating apparatus including a drum, a driver that rotates the drum, and a controller that controls the driver, wherein the controller controls the driver to perform a first rotation operation where the driver rotates the drum based on at least one of a first rotation pattern and a second rotation pattern, and determines an amount of laundry accommodated in the drum based on information detected during a rotation process, wherein the first rotation pattern is a rotation pattern including a first acceleration section and a second acceleration section where the drum rotates with a higher rotational acceleration after the first acceleration section.[Advantageous Effects]

[0010] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the amount of laundry sensing time may be shortened and the amount of laundry sensing accuracy may be improved.

[0011] According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the user's convenience of using the laundry treating apparatus may be improved.[Brief Description of the Drawings]

[0012] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 shows an operation scheme of a driver of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 4 shows an operating principle of a driver of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 5 shows a first rotation pattern according to an embodiment. FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of a laundry treating method according to an embodiment. FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of a laundry treating method for determining an amount of laundry by performing a first rotation operation based on a first rotation pattern and a second rotation operation based on a second rotation pattern according to an embodiment. FIG. 8 shows a graph in which a rotation speed changes based on a first rotation operation based on a first rotation pattern and a second rotation operation based on a second rotation pattern according to an embodiment. FIG. 9 shows a flowchart for a laundry treating method of determining an amount of laundry by performing a first rotation operation based on a second rotation pattern and a second rotation operation based on a first rotation pattern according to an embodiment. FIG. 10 shows a graph in which a rotation speed changes based on a first rotation operation based on a second rotation pattern and a second rotation operation based on a first rotation pattern according to an embodiment. FIGS. 11 and 12 show various first rotation patterns according to an embodiment. [Best Mode]

[0013] According to one embodiment, provided is a method for controlling a laundry treating apparatus including performing a first rotation operation where a driver rotates a drum based on at least one of a first rotation pattern and a second rotation pattern, and determining an amount of laundry accommodated in the drum based on information detected during a rotation process, wherein the first rotation pattern is a rotation pattern including a first acceleration section and a second acceleration section where the drum rotates with a higher rotational acceleration after the first acceleration section.

[0014] In one implementation, the performing of the first rotation operation may include rotating, by the driver, the drum based on the first rotation pattern, and the determining of the amount of laundry may include determining whether a center of gravity of the drum is out of a preset threshold range because of the amount of laundry based on information acquired by performing the first rotation operation, and determining whether the amount of laundry exceeds a preset threshold value based on the information acquired by performing the first rotation operation.

[0015] In one implementation, the method may further include performing a second rotation operation where the driver rotates the drum again based on at least one of the first rotation pattern and the second rotation pattern based on a result of the determination of the amount of laundry, the performing of the second rotation operation may include performing the second rotation operation based on the second rotation pattern when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum is out of the preset threshold range or when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum is not out of the preset threshold range, but the amount of laundry exceeds the preset threshold value, and the method may further include determining the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum based on information acquired by performing the second rotation operation.

[0016] In one implementation, the performing of the second rotation operation may include determining, by the driver, not to rotate the drum again when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum is not out of the preset threshold range and the amount of laundry does not exceed the preset threshold value.

[0017] In one implementation, the performing of the first rotation operation may include rotating, by the driver, the drum based on the second rotation pattern, and the determining of the amount of laundry may include determining whether the amount of laundry exceeds a preset threshold value based on information acquired by performing the first rotation operation.

[0018] In one implementation, the method may further include performing a second rotation operation where the driver repeatedly rotates the drum based on the second rotation pattern when it is determined based on the information acquired by performing the first rotation operation that the amount of laundry exceeds the preset threshold value, and performing the second rotation operation where the driver rotates the drum based on the first rotation pattern when it is determined based on the information acquired by performing the first rotation operation that the amount of laundry does not exceed the preset threshold value, and the method may further include determining the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum based on information acquired by performing the second rotation operation.

[0019] In one implementation, the determining of the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum based on the information acquired by performing, by the driver, the second rotation operation based on the first rotation pattern may include determining whether a center of gravity of the drum is out of a preset threshold range because of the amount of laundry based on the information acquired by performing the second rotation operation, and determining whether the amount of laundry exceeds the preset threshold value based on the information acquired by performing the second rotation operation.

[0020] In one implementation, the method may further include performing a third rotation operation where the driver repeatedly rotates the drum based on the second rotation pattern when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum is out of the preset threshold range or when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum is not out of the preset threshold range, but the amount of laundry exceeds the preset threshold value, and determining the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum based on information acquired by performing the third rotation operation.

[0021] In one implementation, the method may further include determining, by the driver, not to rotate the drum again based on the information acquired by performing the second rotation operation when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum is not out of the preset threshold range and the amount of laundry does not exceed the preset threshold value.

[0022] In one implementation, the first rotation pattern may include the first acceleration section, the second acceleration section, and at least one speed maintaining section, and the at least one speed maintaining section may be located at at least one of a start time point and an end time point of the first rotation pattern.

[0023] In one implementation, the first rotation pattern may be a rotation pattern further including a deceleration section after the second acceleration section.

[0024] In one implementation, at least one of a highest rotation speed in the first acceleration section, a highest rotation speed in the second acceleration section, and a lowest rotation speed in the deceleration section may be higher than a highest rotation speed in the second rotation pattern.

[0025] In one implementation, the second rotation pattern may include an accelerated rotation section and a decelerated rotation section.

[0026] In one implementation, the determining of the amount of laundry may further include determining whether friction torque information acquired during the rotation process exceeds a preset threshold torque value, determining that an error has occurred when it is determined that the friction torque information exceeds a preset threshold torque value, and outputting error information.

[0027] In one implementation, the outputting of the error information may include transmitting the error information to a user's terminal.

[0028] According to another embodiment, provided is a laundry treating apparatus including a drum, a driver that rotates the drum, and a controller that controls the driver, wherein the controller controls the driver to perform a first rotation operation where the driver rotates the drum based on at least one of a first rotation pattern and a second rotation pattern, and determines an amount of laundry accommodated in the drum based on information detected during a rotation process, wherein the first rotation pattern is a rotation pattern including a first acceleration section and a second acceleration section where the drum rotates with a higher rotational acceleration after the first acceleration section.[Detailed Description]

[0029] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings such that those skilled in the art may easily implement them. The following embodiments may be implemented in various different forms and the present disclosure may not be limited to the embodiments described herein.

[0030] For clear description, parts not relevant to the description have been omitted, and identical or similar components are given the same reference numerals throughout the present document. Additionally, some embodiments will be described in detail with reference to illustrative drawings. In adding reference numerals to components in each drawing, identical components may have the same reference numerals as much as possible even when they are shown in different drawings. Additionally, in describing the present disclosure, when it is determined that a detailed description of the related known component or function may obscure the gist of the embodiments, the detailed description may be omitted.

[0031] When describing the components of the embodiments, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), and the like may be used. Such terms are only used to distinguish a component from other components, and nature, sequence, order, or number of the corresponding component are not limited by the term. When it is described that components are "connected" or "coupled" to each other, it should be understood that the components may be directly connected or coupled to each other, another component may be "interposed" between the components, or the components may be "connected" or "coupled" to each other via another component.

[0032] In the present disclosure, it should be understood that terms such as "include", "composed of", or "have" are to specify the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the present document, and do not exclude in advance the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

[0033] In addition, when implementing the present disclosure, components may be subdivided for convenience of description, but such components may be implemented in one device or module or one component may be implemented in multiple devices or modules in a divided manner.

[0034] Advantages and features of the present disclosure and a method for achieving them will become clear with reference to the embodiments described in detail below along with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure may not be limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various different forms. Further, the embodiments are provided solely to ensure that the present disclosure is complete and to fully inform those skilled in the art of the present disclosure of the scope of the invention, and the present disclosure is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like components throughout the present document.

[0035] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0036] A laundry treating apparatus 100 according to one embodiment of the present disclosure may include a cabinet 110 that forms an outer appearance of the apparatus, a door 111 that opens and closes one side of the cabinet 110 to allow an object-to-be-washed to enter and exit the cabinet 110, a tub 120 disposed inside the cabinet 110 and supported by the cabinet 110, a drum 130 disposed inside the tub 120 and rotatable with the object-to-be-washed inserted therein, a driver 140 that applies a torque to the drum 130 to rotate the same, a detergent box 112 that contains detergent therein, an air supplier 170 that is disposed on the tub 120 and heats and circulates air in the tub 120, and a control panel 113 that receives a user input and displays a state of the laundry treating apparatus 100.

[0037] In this regard, the cabinet 110 has an object-to-be-washed input hole to allow entry and exit of the object-to-be-washed. The door 111 is pivotably coupled to the cabinet 110 to enable opening and closing of the object-to-be-washed input hole. The cabinet 110 has the control panel 113. The cabinet 110 may be constructed such that the detergent box 112 is extendable.

[0038] In one example, the tub 120 is disposed inside the cabinet 110 to be cushioned by a spring 122 and a damper 123. The tub 120 accommodates washing water therein. The drum 130 may be disposed inside the tub 120.

[0039] In addition, the drum 130 rotates with the object-to-be-washed accommodated therein. The drum 130 has a plurality of through-holes defined therein to allow washing water to pass therethrough. A lifter 131 that lifts the object-to-be-washed to a certain vertical level when the drum rotates may be disposed on an inner wall of the drum 130. The drum may be rotated by receiving a rotational force from the driver 140.

[0040] In this regard, a gasket 121 seals a space between the tub 120 and the cabinet 110. The gasket 121 is disposed between an inlet of the tub 120 and the object-to-be-washed input hole. The gasket 121 alleviates an impact transmitted to the door 111 when the drum 130 rotates, and at the same time, prevents washing water in the tub 120 from leaking to the outside. A circulation nozzle 165 that introduces washing water into the drum 130 may be disposed on the gasket 121.

[0041] In one example, the air supplier 170 sucks air inside the tub 120 from a rear side of the tub 120, heats the air, and supplies and circulates the air to a front side of the tub 120. The air supplier 170 may include a circulation duct 171 including an inlet connected to the rear side of the tub 120 and an outlet 172 connected to the front side of the tub 120, a blowing fan 174 that allows air within the circulation duct 171 to flow, and a heater 175 that heats air in the circulation duct 171.

[0042] Additionally, the driver 140 rotates the drum 130. The driver 140 may rotate the drum 130 at various speeds or directions. The driver 140 may be composed of a motor, a switching element that controls the motor, a clutch, and the like.

[0043] Additionally, the detergent box 112 accommodates therein the detergent such as laundry detergent, fabric softener, or bleach. The detergent box 112 is preferably constructed to be extendable from a front surface of the cabinet 110. When washing water is supplied, the detergent in the detergent box 112 is mixed with washing water and flows into the tub 120.

[0044] In one example, it is preferable that, inside the cabinet 110, there is a water supply 150 including a water supply valve 152 that adjusts an inflow of washing water from an external water source, a water supply passage 151 through which washing water introduced into the water supply valve flows to the detergent box 112, and a water supply pipe 153 through which washing water mixed with the detergent flows into the tub 120.

[0045] In addition, it is preferable that, inside the cabinet 110, there is a drainage 160 including a drain pipe 161 that discharges washing water in the tub 120, a pump 162 that discharges washing water in the tub, a circulation passage 164 that circulates washing water, the circulation nozzle 165 that allows washing water to flow into the drum 130, and a drainage passage 163 that discharges washing water to the outside. According to an embodiment, the pump 162 may be composed of a circulation pump and a drainage pump, and the circulation pump and the drainage pump may be connected to the circulation passage 164 and the drainage passage 163, respectively.

[0046] In addition, the control panel 113 may include an input unit 113a that receives various operation commands such as selection of a washing course or an operation time and reservation for each cycle from the user, a display 113b that displays an operating state of the laundry treating apparatus 100, and a controller 113c for controlling various components included in the laundry treating apparatus 100 to perform an operation based on the received various operation commands. The input unit 113a may include a user interface device such as a touch panel, a key, a button, and the like. The controller 113c may be composed of at least one of various components such as a processor, a RAM, a ROM, a CPU, an MCU, a graphics processing unit (GPU), and a bus. The RAM, the ROM, the CPU, the GPU, and the like may be connected to each other via the bus.

[0047] In one example, the laundry treating apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure as described above includes various washing courses such as a lingerie / wool course, a boiling course, a speed wash course, a functional laundry course, and a quiet course in addition to a standard course depending on a type or a function of the object-to-be-washed.

[0048] In this regard, each washing course is basically divided into a washing cycle, a rinsing cycle, and a dehydration cycle, and water supply, washing, rinsing, drainage, dehydration, drying, and the like are performed within each cycle.

[0049] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the laundry treating apparatus 100 according to an embodiment.

[0050] In the laundry treating apparatus 100 according to one embodiment, a driver 9 is controlled by a control operation of a controller P, and the driver 9 rotates the drum 4. The drum 4, the driver 9, and the controller P in FIG. 2 may respectively correspond to the drum 130, the driver 140, and the controller 113c in FIG. 1. The controller P may operate various components of the laundry treating apparatus 100 by receiving an operation signal or a control command from an input unit 14a. The input unit 14a may have a washing course and an option selection unit that allows the washing, rinsing, and dehydration cycles to be performed. Accordingly, the washing, rinsing, and dehydration cycles may be performed.

[0051] Additionally, the controller P may control a display 14b to display the washing course, a washing time, a dehydration time, a rinsing time, and the like, or a current operating state and the like.

[0052] In one example, the controller P controls the driver 9 to not only rotate the drum 4 but also control a rotation speed of the drum 4. The controller P may control the driver 9 based on a current detector 225 that detects an output current flowing through the driver 9, and a location sensor 235 that senses a location of the driver 9.

[0053] The current detected by the driver 9 and the location signal sensed by the driver 9 may be input to the controller P.

[0054] In one example, the laundry treating apparatus may omit the location sensor 235 and sense the location of the driver 9 via implementation of a separate algorithm. The (as known as sensorless driver) sensorless driver 9 may identify a location of a rotor or a stator in the driver 9 by measuring current or voltage output from the driver 9.

[0055] FIG. 3 shows an operation scheme of the driver 9 of the laundry treating apparatus 100 according to an embodiment.

[0056] Referring to FIG. 3, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may include an inverter 420 and an inverter controller 430 to control the rotor and the stator described above. Additionally, the driver 9 may further include a converter 410 that supplies DC power to be input to the inverter 420 or the like.

[0057] The inverter controller 430 may be formed separately from the controller P, and the controller P may perform the role of the inverter controller 430 at the same time. When the inverter controller 430 outputs a switching control signal (Sic) of a pulse width modulation (PWM) scheme to the inverter 420, the inverter 420 may perform a high-speed switching operation and supply AC power of a predetermined frequency to the driver 9, that is, a rotor 913 and a stator 911.

[0058] The inverter controller 430 may sense an amount of laundry based on current (io) detected by the current detector 225 or a location signal (H) sensed by the location sensor 235.

[0059] For example, while the tub 120 rotates, the amount of laundry may be sensed based on the current value (io) of the driver 9. The controller P may also sense an amount of eccentricity of the drum 4, that is, unbalance (UB) of the drum 4. Such amount of eccentricity sensing may be performed based on a ripple component of the current (io) detected by the current detector 225 or an amount of change in the rotation speed of the drum 4.

[0060] The laundry treating apparatus according to one embodiment may include the converter 410, the inverter 420, the inverter controller 430, a DC terminal voltage detector B, a smoothing capacitor C, and an output current detector E. Additionally, the laundry treating apparatus according to one embodiment may further include an input current detector A, a reactor L, and the like.

[0061] The reactor L is disposed between a commercial AC power source (vs) 405 and the converter 410 and performs a power factor correction or voltage boosting operation. Additionally, the reactor L may perform a function of limiting harmonic current caused by the high-speed switching of the converter 410.

[0062] The input current detector A may detect input current (is) input from the commercial AC power source 405. To this end, as the input current detector A, a current transformer (CT), a shunt resistor, and the like may be used. The detected input current (is), as a discrete signal in a form of a pulse, may be input to the inverter controller 430.

[0063] The converter 410 converts power from the commercial AC power 405 that has passed through the reactor L into DC power and outputs DC power. In the drawing, the commercial AC power source 405 is shown as a single-phase AC power source, but the commercial AC power source 405 may also be a three-phase AC power source. An internal structure of the converter 410 also varies depending on a type of the commercial AC power source 405.

[0064] In one example, the converter 410 may be composed of a diode and the like without the switching element, and may perform a rectification operation without the separate switching operation. For example, in the case of the single-phase AC power source, four diodes may be used in a bridge form, and in the case of the three-phase AC power source, six diodes may be used in the bridge form. As the converter 410, a half bridge-type converter with two switching elements and four diodes connected may be used, and as the three-phase AC power source, six switching elements and six diodes may be used. When the converter 410 has the switching element, the voltage boosting operation, power factor improvement, and DC power conversion may be performed by the switching operation of the corresponding switching element.

[0065] The smoothing capacitor C smoothes the input power and stores the same. In the drawing, one element is illustrated as the smoothing capacitor C, but multiple elements may be disposed to ensure element stability. The converter 410 may be connected to an output terminal, but DC power may also be input directly. For example, DC power from a solar cell may be input directly to the smoothing capacitor C or may be DC / DC converted and then input. Because the DC power is stored, both terminals of the smoothing capacitor C may also be referred to as dc terminals or dc link terminals.

[0066] The DC terminal voltage detector B may detect a voltage (Vdc) of the dc terminals, which are both ends of the smoothing capacitor C. To this end, the DC terminal voltage detector B may include a resistor element, an amplifier, and the like. The detected DC terminal voltage (Vdc) may be input to the inverter controller 430 as a discrete signal in a pulse form.

[0067] The inverter 420 may be composed of a plurality of inverter switching elements, and may convert the smoothed DC power (Vdc) into three-phase AC power (va, vb, and vc) of a predetermined frequency by on / off operations of the switching element and output the three-phase AC power to a three-phase synchronous motor 230. In this regard, the three-phase synchronous motor 230 may be understood as a component corresponding to the driver 9. In the inverter 420, each of upper arm switching elements Sa, Sb, and Sc that are connected to each other in series and each of lower arm switching elements S'a, S'b, and S'c that are connected to each other in series become a pair, and a total of three pairs of upper and lower arm switching elements are connected to each other in parallel (Sa&S'a, Sb&S'b, and Sc&S'c). A diode is connected in inverse parallel to each switching element Sa, S'a, Sb, S'b, Sc, and S'c. The switching elements in the inverter 420 perform the on / off operations thereof based on the inverter switching control signal (Sic) from the inverter controller 430. As a result, the three-phase AC power with the predetermined frequency is output to the three-phase synchronous driver 9.

[0068] The inverter controller 430 may control the switching operation of the inverter 420. To this end, the inverter controller 430 may receive the output current (io) detected by the output current detector E.

[0069] The inverter controller 430 outputs the inverter switching control signal (Sic) to the inverter 420 to control the switching operation of the inverter 420. The inverter switching control signal (Sic), as the switching control signal (Sic) of the pulse width modulation (PWM) scheme, is generated and output based on the output current value (io) detected by the output current detector E.

[0070] FIG. 4 shows an operating principle of a driver of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment. Specifically, FIG. 4 shows a specific structure in which the laundry treating apparatus of the present disclosure controls the driver 9 via the inverter controller 430.

[0071] The output current detector E detects the output current (io) flowing between the inverter 420 and the three-phase driver 9. In other words, the current flowing through the driver 9 is detected. The output current detector E may detect all output currents (ia, ib, and ic) of respective phases or may detect output currents of two phases using three-phase balance. The output current detector E may be located between the inverter 420 and the driver 9, and the current transformer (CT), the shunt resistor, and the like may be used for the current detection. When the shunt resistor is used, three shunt resistors may be located between the inverter 420 and the driver 9, or one end of each shunt resistor may be connected to each of the three lower arm switching elements S'a, S'b, and S'c of the inverter 420. In one example, using the three-phase balance, only two shunt resistors may be used. In one example, when one shunt resistor is used, the corresponding shunt resistor may be disposed between the capacitor C described above and the inverter 420.

[0072] The detected output current (io), as the discrete signal in the pulse form, may be applied to the inverter controller 430, and the inverter switching control signal (Sic) is generated based on the detected output current (io). Hereinafter, the detected output current (io) will be described as the three-phase output currents (ia, ib, and ic).

[0073] In one example, the three-phase driver 9 is equipped with the stator and the rotor, and as AC power of each phase with a predetermined frequency is applied to a coil of the stator of each phase (phase a, b, or c), the rotor rotates. Such driver 9 may include, for example, a surface-mounted permanent-magnet, a synchronous motor (SMPMSM), an interior permanent magnet synchronous motor (IPMSM), a synchronous reluctance motor (Synrm), and the like. Among those, the SMPMSM and the IPMSM are permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) using permanent magnets, while the Synrm has no permanent magnet.

[0074] In one example, when the converter 410 has the switching element, the inverter controller 430 may control the switching operation of the switching element in the converter 410. To this end, the inverter controller 430 may receive the input current (is) detected by the input current detector A. In addition, the inverter controller 430 may output a converter switching control signal (Scc) to the converter 410 to control the switching operation of the converter 410. Such converter switching control signal (Scc), as a switching control signal of the pulse width modulation (PWM) scheme, may be generated and output based on the input current (is) detected by the input current detector A.

[0075] In one example, the location sensor 235 may sense the location of the rotor of the driver 9. To this end, the location sensor 235 may include a Hall sensor. The sensed rotor location (H) is input to the inverter controller 430 and used as a basis for speed calculation or the like.

[0076] The inverter controller 430 may include an axis converter 510, a speed calculator 520, a current command generator 530, a voltage command generator 540, an axis converter 550, and a switching control signal outputter 560.

[0077] The axis converter 510 may receive the three-phase output currents (ia, ib, and ic) detected by the output current detector E and convert the three-phase output currents into two-phase currents (iα and iβ) in a stationary coordinate system. The axis converter 510 may convert the two-phase currents (iα and iβ) in the stationary coordinate system into two-phase currents (id and iq) in a rotating coordinate system.

[0078] The speed calculator 520 may calculate a speed based on the location signal (H) of the rotor input from the location sensor 235. In other words, the speed may be calculated by dividing the location signal by time. The speed calculator 520 may output the calculated location and the calculated speed based on the input location signal (H) of the rotor.

[0079] The current command generator 530 generates a current command value (i*q) based on a A calculated speed (ω̂ r ) and a speed command value (ω*r). For example, the current command generator 530 may perform PI control in a PI controller 535 and generate the current command value (iq) based on a difference between the calculated speed (ω̂ r ) and the speed command value (ω*r). In the drawing, the q-axis current command value (i*q) is exemplified as the current command value, but unlike the drawing, a d-axis current command value (i*d) may also be generated together. In one example, a value of the d-axis current command value (i*d) may also be set to 0.

[0080] In one example, the current command generator 530 may further include a limiter (not shown) that limits a level of the current command value (i*q) so as not to exceed an allowable range. Next, the voltage command generator 540 generates d-axis and q-axis voltage command values (v*d and v*q), based on d-axis and q-axis currents (id and iq) axis-converted by the axis converter to a two-phase rotating coordinate system and the current command values (i*d and i*q) from the current command generator 530 and the like. For example, the voltage command generator 540 may perform the PI control in a PI controller 544 and generate the q-axis voltage command value (v*q), based on a difference between the q-axis current (iq) and the q-axis current command value (i*q). In addition, the voltage command generator 540 may perform the PI control in a PI controller 548 and generate the d-axis voltage command value (v*d), based on a difference between the d-axis current (id) and the d-axis current command value (i*d). In one example, a value of the d-axis voltage command value (v*d) may be set to 0, corresponding to a case in which the value of the d-axis current command value (i*d) is set to 0.

[0081] In one example, the voltage command generator 540 may further include a limiter (not shown) that limits a level of the d-axis and q-axis voltage command values (v*d and v*q) so as not to exceed the allowable range.

[0082] In one example, the generated d-axis and q-axis voltage command values (v*d and v*q) are input to the axis converter 550.

[0083] The axis converter 550 receives a location (θ̂ r ) calculated by the speed calculator 520 and the d-axis and q-axis voltage command values (v*d and v*q) and performs axis conversion. First, the axis converter 550 performs conversion from the two-phase rotating coordinate system to a two-phase stationary coordinate system. In this regard, the location (θ̂ r ) calculated by the speed calculator 520 may be used.

[0084] Further, the axis converter 550 performs conversion from the two-phase stationary coordinate system to a three-phase stationary coordinate system. Via such conversion, the axis converter 550 outputs three-phase output voltage command values (v*a, v*b, and v*c).

[0085] The switching control signal outputter 560 generates and outputs the switching control signal (Sic) for the inverter based on the pulse width modulation (PWM) scheme based on the three-phase output voltage command values (v*a, v*b, and v*c).

[0086] The output inverter switching control signal (Sic) may be converted into a gate driving signal by a gate driver (not shown) and input to a gate of each switching element in the inverter 420. As a result, each of the switching elements Sa, S'a, Sb, S'b, Sc, and S'c in the inverter 420 performs the switching operation.

[0087] In one example, the switching control signal outputter 560 may generate and output the inverter switching control signal (Sic) that combines a two-phase pulse width modulation scheme with a three-phase pulse width modulation scheme, in relation to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0088] For example, in an accelerated rotation section to be described later, the inverter switching control signal (Sic) by the three-phase pulse width modulation scheme may be generated and output, and in a constant-speed rotation section, the inverter switching control signal (Sic) by the two-phase pulse width modulation scheme may be generated and output to detect a counter electromotive force.

[0089] FIG. 5 shows a first rotation pattern according to an embodiment.

[0090] Referring to FIG. 5, it may be seen that the drum 4 is rotated by the laundry treating apparatus 100 based on the first rotation pattern based on a relationship between the rotation speed of the drum and time.

[0091] According to one embodiment, the first rotation pattern may include a first acceleration section 520 and a second acceleration section 530. The second acceleration section 530 may proceed after the first acceleration section 520. A rotational acceleration in the second acceleration section 530 may be greater than a rotational acceleration in the first acceleration section 520.

[0092] According to one embodiment, the second acceleration section 530 starts immediately after the first acceleration section 520 included in the first rotation pattern ends, so that a rotation speed at the end of the first acceleration section 520 may correspond to a rotation speed at the start of the acceleration section 530.

[0093] According to one embodiment, the first rotation pattern may include the first acceleration section 520, the second acceleration section 530, and a deceleration section 540. The deceleration section 540 may start after the second acceleration section 530.

[0094] According to one embodiment, a magnitude of acceleration in the deceleration section 540 may be smaller than a magnitude of acceleration in at least one of the first acceleration section 520 and the second acceleration section 530.

[0095] According to one embodiment, the magnitude of the acceleration in the deceleration section 540 may be equal to the magnitude of the acceleration in the second acceleration section 530.

[0096] According to one embodiment, a duration of the first acceleration section 520 may be greater than a duration of the second acceleration section 530.

[0097] According to one embodiment, the duration of the second acceleration section 530 may be greater than a duration of the deceleration section 540. According to one embodiment, when the magnitude of the acceleration in the deceleration section 540 is equal to the magnitude of the acceleration in the second acceleration section 530, because of a difference in the duration, a rotation speed at an end of the deceleration section 540 may be higher than a rotation speed at a start of the second acceleration section 530.

[0098] According to one embodiment, at least one of a start time point and an end time point of the first rotation pattern may include a speed maintaining section. That is, at least one speed maintaining section may be located at least one of the start time point and the end time point of the first rotation pattern. Referring to FIG. 5, as the speed maintaining section starts at the start time point of the first rotation pattern, the rotation may be maintained at a constant speed for a certain time when the first rotation pattern starts.

[0099] According to one embodiment, the reason why the graph shown in FIG. 5 is indicated discontinuously may be because it was determined by the controller P that the first rotation pattern was started in a state in which the drum has rotated until the rotation speed thereof reaches a rotation speed set in advance with respect to the start time point of the first rotation pattern. In other words, the controller P may determine that the first rotation pattern starts after it is detected that the drum 4 rotates until the rotation speed thereof reaches the rotation speed set in advance with respect to the start time point of the first rotation pattern. Based on the start time point of such first rotation pattern, the rotation operation of the drum 4 may be performed based on the plurality of sections constituting the first rotation pattern, such as the first acceleration section 520 and the second acceleration section 530.

[0100] According to one embodiment, when it is determined that the plurality of sections included in the first rotation pattern have all been performed, the controller P may control the driver 9 to end the rotation operation of the drum 4 by the first rotation pattern. According to one embodiment, the controller P may determine start and end of the plurality of sections included in the first rotation pattern based on at least one of a preset rotation speed and a preset time period for the plurality of sections included in the first rotation pattern. For example, when the controller P determines to rotate the drum 4 in the first rotation pattern, a time point when the drum 4 starts to rotate at the speed preset with respect to the start time point of the first rotation pattern may be determined as the start time point of the first rotation pattern, and the plurality of various sections including the first acceleration section 520, the second acceleration section 530, and the like may be progressed based on a plurality of time periods preset based on the start time point of the first rotation pattern. However, the description of the embodiment as described above is one example for describing exemplary process of determining the start and end time points of the plurality of sections (e.g., the acceleration section, the deceleration section, the speed maintaining section, and the like) included in various rotation patterns for the rotation operation of the drum 4 to be performed by the controller P. Therefore, there is no need to limit the characteristics of the rotation pattern of the embodiments of the present disclosure thereto.

[0101] According to one embodiment, the controller P may control the driver 9 to rotate the drum 4 based on a second rotation pattern. According to one embodiment, unlike the first rotation pattern, the second rotation pattern may include a single acceleration section. According to one embodiment, the second rotation pattern may include the acceleration section and a deceleration section that starts after the acceleration section.

[0102] According to one embodiment, at least one of the highest rotation speed in the first acceleration section 520, the highest rotation speed in the second acceleration section 530, and the lowest rotation speed in the deceleration section 540 in the first rotation pattern may be higher than the highest rotation speed in the second rotation pattern. For example, the first acceleration section 520 and the second acceleration section 530 are sections where the rotation speed increases and the deceleration section 540 is a section where the rotation speed decreases, so that the highest rotation speeds in the first acceleration section 520 and the second acceleration section 530 may respectively be rotation speeds at the end time points of the first acceleration section 520 and the second acceleration section 530, and the lowest rotation speed in the deceleration section 540 may be a rotation speed at the end time point of the deceleration section 540.

[0103] According to one embodiment, the controller P may determine the amount of laundry by acquiring acceleration / deceleration torque generated during the rotation of the drum 4. For example, when rotating the drum 4 based on the second rotation pattern that includes the deceleration section and the acceleration section, the controller P may measure the acceleration / deceleration torque acquired as the rotation speed of the drum 4 increases until it reaches a preset rotation speed during the acceleration section and then decreases, and calculate an inertia based on the acceleration / deceleration torque to perform amount of laundry determination.

[0104] According to one embodiment, the lowest rotation speed in the deceleration section 540 in the first rotation pattern may be higher than the highest rotation speed in the first acceleration section 520 and lower than the highest rotation speed in the second acceleration section 530.

[0105] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of a laundry treating method according to an embodiment.

[0106] In step S610, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform a first rotation operation in which the driver 9 rotates the drum 4 based on at least one of the first rotation pattern and the second rotation pattern, according to an embodiment.

[0107] According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may start rotating the drum 4 in the first rotation pattern or may start rotating the drum 4 in the second rotation pattern to determine the amount of laundry. According to one embodiment, the controller P may determine to rotate the drum 4 using a combination of the first rotation pattern and the second rotation pattern.

[0108] In step S620, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 based on information detected during the rotation process in step S610, according to one embodiment. According to one embodiment, the process of determining the amount of laundry may include acquiring various measurement values (the acceleration / deceleration torque, a moment of inertia, the current detected by the current detector 225, the location signal (H) sensed by the location sensor 235, and the like) that may vary by the amount of laundry included in the drum 4 and determining whether the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 satisfies preset conditions. According to one embodiment, the controller P may determine whether various conditions are satisfied, such as whether a center of gravity of the drum is out of a preset threshold range because of the amount of laundry contained in the drum 4 and whether the amount of laundry exceeds a preset threshold value.

[0109] In step S630, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform a second rotation operation in which the driver 9 rotates the drum again based on at least one of the first rotation pattern and the second rotation pattern based on the determination result of the amount of laundry in step S620 according to one embodiment. According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may rotate the drum 4 based on a speed maintaining section to maintain a rotation speed at a time point when the first rotation operation ends between the end of the first rotation operation and the start of the second rotation operation, and a process of determining whether to perform the second rotation operation may be performed during such speed maintaining section. According to one embodiment, when the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum may be determined based on information detected during the rotation even before the end of the first rotation operation, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may not need to perform step S630 in the speed maintaining section, and may start the second rotation operation as soon as the first rotation operation is completed or may end the rotation operation of the drum 4 for determining the amount of laundry.

[0110] FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of a laundry treating method for determining an amount of laundry by performing a first rotation operation based on a first rotation pattern and a second rotation operation based on a second rotation pattern according to an embodiment.

[0111] In step S710, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform the first rotation operation in which the driver 9 rotates the drum 4 based on the first rotation pattern, according to one embodiment.

[0112] In step S722, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine whether the center of gravity of the drum 4 is out of the preset threshold range because of the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 based on information acquired by performing the first rotation operation. In other words, determining whether the center of gravity of the drum 4 is out of the preset threshold range may be a determination of how eccentric the weight of the drum 4 is relative to a center of rotation of the drum 4.

[0113] According to one embodiment, when the drum 4 is eccentric because of the amount of accommodated laundry, vibration resulted from the rotation of the drum 4 may be relatively great. Accordingly, to determine whether the center of gravity of the drum 4 is out of the preset threshold range because of the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine whether the magnitude of the vibration (or a magnitude of noise caused by the vibration) resulted from the rotation of the drum 4 is greater than a preset threshold magnitude.

[0114] According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine the amount of laundry by acquiring vibration information acquired during the rotation of the drum 4 for determining the amount of laundry. For example, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may preset a relationship between the magnitude of the vibration and the amount of laundry and determine an amount of eccentricity or the like corresponding to the information on the magnitude of the vibration acquired during the rotation of the drum 4 (for example, when the drum 4 is determined to have a vibration magnitude of 15mm (shaking of a rotation axis by 15mm or more) when rotating because of the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4, it is determined that the amount of eccentricity is equal to or greater than the preset threshold range).

[0115] When it is determined based on the information acquired by performing the first rotation operation according to one embodiment that the center of gravity of the drum 4 is not out of the preset threshold range because of the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4, in step S724, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine whether the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 exceeds the preset threshold value based on the information acquired by performing the first rotation operation. According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may further include a weight sensor associated with the drum 4, and may determine whether the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 exceeds the preset threshold value by measuring a weight of the laundry based on the weight information acquired via the weight sensor.

[0116] According to one embodiment, the preset threshold value may be set differently depending on a threshold weight of the laundry that may be accommodated in the drum 4 of the laundry treating apparatus 100. For example, when the weight of the laundry that may be accommodated in the laundry treating apparatus 100 is 20kg, whether the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 exceeds the preset threshold value may be determined by determining whether the weight of the accommodated laundry exceeds 17kg.

[0117] The determination of whether the center of gravity of the drum 4 is out of the preset threshold range because of the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 based on the information acquired as the laundry treating apparatus 100 performs the first rotation operation or the determination of whether the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 exceeds the preset threshold value based on the information acquired by performing the first rotation operation may be made by various criteria based on various information measured on the rotating drum 4. For example, the determination may be made based on changes in the acceleration / deceleration torque, the moment of inertia, the current, the location signal, the vibration, and the like that are detected or calculated during the object-to-be-treated rotation process that the laundry treating apparatus 100 may handle depending on the weight, a volume, and the like calculated by the object-to-be-treated such as the laundry accommodated in the drum 4. In addition, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine whether the center of gravity of the drum 4 is out of the preset threshold range because of the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 based on the information acquired by performing the first rotation operation or whether the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 exceeds the preset threshold value based on the information acquired by performing the first rotation operation by combining various conventional technologies.

[0118] According to one embodiment, when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum 4 is out of the preset threshold range, or when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum 4 is not out of the preset threshold range, but the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 exceeds the preset threshold value, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform the second rotation operation of rotating the drum 4 again based on the second rotation pattern in step S730. In other words, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine whether to determine the amount of laundry based on the results of performing the first rotation operation based on the determination of the conditions in steps S722 and S724, or whether to determine the amount of laundry by performing the second rotation operation in addition to the first rotation operation. In the case of the first rotation pattern, rapid amount of laundry determination in a state with relatively small amount of laundry and amount of eccentricity is available, and in the case of the second rotation pattern, accurate amount of laundry determination in a state with relatively great amount of laundry and / or amount of eccentricity is available. Therefore, the rapid and accurate amount of laundry determination may be available because of the combination of the amount of laundry determination processes using the first rotation pattern and the second rotation pattern.

[0119] In step S740, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 based on the information acquired by performing the second rotation operation in step S730.

[0120] According to one embodiment, when it is determined based on the information acquired while performing the first rotation operation that the center of gravity is not out of the preset threshold range and the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 does not exceed the preset threshold value, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may omit the process of performing the second rotation operation of rotating the drum 4 again based on the second rotation pattern and perform the amount of laundry determination process based only on the first rotation operation, thereby rapidly performing an appropriate amount of laundry determination process.

[0121] FIG. 8 shows a graph in which a rotation speed changes based on a first rotation operation based on a first rotation pattern and a second rotation operation based on a second rotation pattern according to an embodiment.

[0122] Referring to FIG. 8, an embodiment 800 that performs the amount of laundry determination based on the first rotation pattern and an embodiment 850 that performs the amount of laundry determination based on the combination of the first rotation pattern and the second rotation pattern are shown.

[0123] According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform the amount of laundry determination based on performing of the first rotation operation based on the first rotation pattern. During a first rotation operation section 810, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform the rotation operation based on the first rotation pattern.

[0124] According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine whether the center of gravity of the drum 4 is out of the preset threshold range or the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 exceeds the preset threshold value based on the result of performing the first rotation operation. Such determination process may be performed based on information acquired during a first rotation operation section 810, and may be performed after the first rotation operation section 810 (e.g., a section 815 after the first rotation operation section 810 ends and before the second rotation operation starts or a during the first rotation operation section 810.

[0125] According to one embodiment, when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum 4 is out of the preset threshold range or when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum 4 is not out of the preset threshold range, but the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 exceeds the preset threshold value based on the information acquired during the first rotation operation section 810, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform the second rotation operation of rotating the drum 4 again based on the second rotation pattern.

[0126] Referring to FIG. 8, a section 820 in which the second rotation pattern is performed is shown as an example. According to one embodiment, the second rotation pattern may include an accelerated rotation section and a decelerated rotation section. According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform the second rotation operation by repeating the second rotation pattern one or more times. Referring to FIG. 8, when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum 4 is out of the preset threshold range or when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum 4 is not out of the preset threshold range, but the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 exceeds the preset threshold value, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform the second rotation operation of rotating the drum 4 again by repeating the second rotation pattern a plurality of times.

[0127] According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus may perform a process of determining the amount of laundry based on information acquired during a second rotation operation section 830.

[0128] FIG. 9 shows a flowchart for a laundry treating method of determining an amount of laundry by performing a first rotation operation based on a second rotation pattern and a second rotation operation based on a first rotation pattern according to an embodiment.

[0129] In step S910, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform the first rotation operation in which the driver 9 rotates the drum 4 based on the second rotation pattern according to one embodiment. According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus may perform the first rotation operation in which the second rotation pattern is included once.

[0130] In step S915, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine whether the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 exceeds the preset threshold value based on the information acquired by performing the first rotation operation.

[0131] According to one embodiment, when it is determined that the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 does not exceed the preset threshold value, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform the second rotation operation in which the driver 9 rotates the drum 4 again based on the first rotation pattern in step S921.

[0132] According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine whether the center of gravity of the drum 4 is out of the preset threshold range or whether the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 exceeds the preset threshold value based on information acquired based on a result performing step S921.

[0133] In step S922, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine whether the center of gravity of the drum 4 is out of the preset threshold range because of the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 based on information acquired by performing the second rotation operation according to one embodiment.

[0134] According to one embodiment, when it is determined based on the information acquired by performing the second rotation operation that the center of gravity of the drum 4 is not out of the preset threshold range because of the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4, in step S924, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine whether the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 exceeds the preset threshold value based on the information acquired by performing the second rotation operation.

[0135] According to one embodiment, when it is determined based on the information acquired by performing the second rotation operation that the center of gravity of the drum 4 is out of the preset threshold range or the center of gravity of the drum 4 is not out of the preset threshold range, but the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 exceeds the preset threshold value, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform a third rotation operation of repeatedly rotating the drum 4 based on the second rotation pattern in step S930. The number of repetitions of the second rotation pattern included in the third rotation operation performed in step S930 may be a preset number of times (e.g., 5 times).

[0136] According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine the number of times to repeat the second rotation pattern based on information acquired during the repeated rotation operation based on the second rotation pattern. For example, the rotation operation that repeats the second rotation pattern may be performed until a deviation of the amount of laundry, which is determined based on information acquired each time the second rotation pattern is repeated, becomes equal to or smaller than a preset threshold deviation.

[0137] In step S940, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 based on the information acquired by performing the third rotation operation in step S930. That is, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine the amount of laundry based on the information acquired via the first to third rotation operations.

[0138] According to one embodiment, when it is determined based on the information acquired by performing the second rotation operation that the center of gravity of the drum 4 is not out of the preset threshold range and the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 does not exceed the preset threshold value, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine the amount of laundry based on the information acquired based on the rotation operations performed in steps S910 and S921.

[0139] FIG. 10 shows a graph in which a rotation speed changes based on a first rotation operation based on a second rotation pattern and a second rotation operation based on a first rotation pattern according to an embodiment.

[0140] Referring to FIG. 10, an embodiment 1000 of performing the amount of laundry determination based on a first rotation operation section 1010 based on the second rotation pattern and a second rotation operation section 1020 based on the first rotation pattern, and an embodiment 1050 of performing the amount of laundry determination based on a first rotation operation section 1010 based on the second rotation pattern, a second rotation operation section 1020 based on the first rotation pattern, and a third rotation operation section 1030 that repeats the second rotation pattern are shown.

[0141] According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform the amount of laundry determination based on the performing of the first rotation operation based on the second rotation pattern. The laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform the rotation operation based on the second rotation pattern during the first rotation operation section 1010 and may perform the rotation operation once based on the second rotation pattern during the first rotation operation section 1010.

[0142] According to one embodiment, after the first rotation operation section 1010 is ended, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform the second rotation operation based on the first rotation pattern. The second rotation operation section 1020 based on the first rotation pattern may be performed only when it is determined based on information acquired in the first rotation operation section 1010 that the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 does not exceed the preset threshold value.

[0143] According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform the third rotation of rotating the drum 4 a plurality of times preset based on the second rotation pattern based on the information acquired by performing the second rotation operation based on the first rotation pattern. According to one embodiment, when it is determined based on information acquired in the second rotation operation section 1020 that the center of gravity of the drum 4 is out of the preset threshold range or the center of gravity of the drum 4 is not out of the preset threshold range, but the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 exceeds the preset threshold value, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may perform the third rotation operation of rotating the drum 4 based on the second rotation pattern a preset number of times (e.g., 5 times).

[0144] According to one embodiment, when it is determined based on the information acquired in the first rotation operation section 1010 that the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 exceeds the preset threshold value, the rotation operation based on the first rotation pattern may not be performed, and the rotation operation of rotating the drum 4 a preset number of times based on the second rotation pattern may be immediately performed. In other words, when it is determined based on the information acquired in the first rotation operation section 1010 based on the single second rotation pattern that the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum 4 exceeds the preset threshold value, the drum 4 may continue to rotate in the second rotation pattern. In this case, the number of consecutive rotations of the drum 4 may be greater than the preset number of times. The number of rotations based on the second rotation pattern may correspond to a sum of one rotation in the first rotation operation section 1010 and five rotations in the third rotation operation section 1030.

[0145] However, the number of times the second rotation pattern is repeated does not need to be limited to the number of times described above. The present disclosure may be performed broadly within the scope that may be easily changed based on a technology in which the second rotation pattern is repeated several times in the third rotation operation section 1030.

[0146] FIGS. 11 and 12 show various first rotation patterns according to an embodiment.

[0147] Referring to FIG. 11, the first rotation pattern may include a first acceleration section 1120, a second acceleration section 1130, a deceleration section 1140, and one or more speed maintaining sections 1110 and 1150. The one or more speed maintaining sections 1110 and 1150 may be disposed at one or more of a start time point and an end time point of the first rotation pattern. That is, at the start point and / or the end point of the first rotation pattern, a constant speed may be maintained without acceleration or deceleration.

[0148] According to one embodiment, in the first rotation pattern, the second acceleration section 1130 may start after the first acceleration section 1120.

[0149] According to one embodiment, the deceleration section 1140 may start after the second acceleration section 1130.

[0150] Referring to FIG. 12, the first rotation pattern may include a first acceleration section 1220, a second acceleration section 1230, and one or more speed maintaining sections 1210 and 1240. That is, unlike the first rotation pattern in FIG. 11, the deceleration section 1140 may be omitted in the first rotation pattern in FIG. 12. The one or more speed maintaining sections 1210 and 1240 may be disposed at one or more of a start time point and an end time point of the first rotation pattern.

[0151] According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine the amount of laundry based on the information acquired during the rotation operation performed based on the amount of laundry determination process according to various embodiments described above, and may perform various laundry treating processes based on a time required to treat the laundry, rotation strength and pattern required to treat the laundry, whether there is difficulty in operating the laundry treating apparatus 100, and the like, based on the result of such determination.

[0152] According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine whether an error has occurred based on the information acquired while the above-described first rotation operation, second rotation operation, and third rotation operation processes are performed. According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine whether friction torque information acquired during the rotation operation exceeds a preset threshold torque value.

[0153] According to another embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may compare a time at which the amount of laundry determination operation was started with a current time, and determine whether a time elapsed after the amount of laundry determination operation was started exceeds a threshold time. When it is determined that the time elapsed after the amount of laundry determination operation was started exceeds the threshold time at the current time, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may output error information pre-assigned regarding a condition on whether the time elapsed after the amount of laundry determination operation was started exceeds the threshold time. For example, in the laundry treating apparatus 100, laundry may be stuck during the rotation of the drum 4, and in this case, a time required for the laundry treating apparatus 100 to determine that the amount of laundry determination process has been ended may become greater than a preset threshold time (e.g., 70 seconds). In this case, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may determine that an error has occurred in the process of determining the amount of laundry and output error information.

[0154] According to one embodiment, when it is determined that the error has occurred, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may output the error information including information related to the error that has occurred.

[0155] According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may include the display 113b (i.e., the display) included in the control panel 113 to display the error information. As the error information may be displayed on the display 113b, the error information may be provided to the user.

[0156] According to another embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may output the error information via a user device associated with the laundry treating apparatus 100. According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may be registered in a server via user information for a user authenticated via a network, and the server may store the laundry treating apparatus 100 in association with the user device assigned to the authenticated user. According to one embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus 100 may transmit the error information to the associated user device via the network to allow the error information to be displayed on the user device owned by the user.

[0157] Various substitutions, modifications, and changes may be made on the present disclosure described above without departing from the technical idea of the present disclosure by those with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs, so that the present disclosure is not limited by the embodiment described above and the accompanying drawings. Additionally, the embodiments described in the present disclosure may not be applied in a limited manner, but all or some of the embodiments may be selectively combined with each other such that various modifications may be made.

[0158] Because the above-described contents may be subject to the various substitutions, modifications, and changes without departing from the technical spirit of the embodiments by those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present disclosure belongs, the present disclosure is not limited by the embodiment described above and the accompanying drawings.

Claims

1. A method for controlling a laundry treating apparatus, the method comprising: performing a first rotation operation where a driver rotates a drum based on at least one of a first rotation pattern and a second rotation pattern; and determining an amount of laundry accommodated in the drum based on information detected during a rotation process, wherein the first rotation pattern is a rotation pattern including a first acceleration section and a second acceleration section where the drum rotates with a higher rotational acceleration after the first acceleration section.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing of the first rotation operation includes rotating, by the driver, the drum based on the first rotation pattern, wherein the determining of the amount of laundry includes: determining whether a center of gravity of the drum is out of a preset threshold range because of the amount of laundry based on information acquired by performing the first rotation operation; and determining whether the amount of laundry exceeds a preset threshold value based on the information acquired by performing the first rotation operation.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: performing a second rotation operation where the driver rotates the drum again based on at least one of the first rotation pattern and the second rotation pattern based on a result of the determination of the amount of laundry, wherein the performing of the second rotation operation includes performing the second rotation operation based on the second rotation pattern when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum is out of the preset threshold range or when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum is not out of the preset threshold range, but the amount of laundry exceeds the preset threshold value, wherein the method further includes determining the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum based on information acquired by performing the second rotation operation.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the performing of the second rotation operation includes determining, by the driver, not to rotate the drum again when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum is not out of the preset threshold range and the amount of laundry does not exceed the preset threshold value.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the performing of the first rotation operation includes rotating, by the driver, the drum based on the second rotation pattern, wherein the determining of the amount of laundry includes determining whether the amount of laundry exceeds a preset threshold value based on information acquired by performing the first rotation operation.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: performing a second rotation operation where the driver repeatedly rotates the drum based on the second rotation pattern when it is determined based on the information acquired by performing the first rotation operation that the amount of laundry exceeds the preset threshold value; and performing the second rotation operation where the driver rotates the drum based on the first rotation pattern when it is determined based on the information acquired by performing the first rotation operation that the amount of laundry does not exceed the preset threshold value, wherein the method further includes determining the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum based on information acquired by performing the second rotation operation.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the determining of the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum based on the information acquired by performing, by the driver, the second rotation operation based on the first rotation pattern includes: determining whether a center of gravity of the drum is out of a preset threshold range because of the amount of laundry based on the information acquired by performing the second rotation operation; and determining whether the amount of laundry exceeds the preset threshold value based on the information acquired by performing the second rotation operation.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: performing a third rotation operation where the driver repeatedly rotates the drum based on the second rotation pattern when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum is out of the preset threshold range or when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum is not out of the preset threshold range, but the amount of laundry exceeds the preset threshold value; and determining the amount of laundry accommodated in the drum based on information acquired by performing the third rotation operation.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising: determining, by the driver, not to rotate the drum again based on the information acquired by performing the second rotation operation when it is determined that the center of gravity of the drum is not out of the preset threshold range and the amount of laundry does not exceed the preset threshold value.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first rotation pattern includes the first acceleration section, the second acceleration section, and at least one speed maintaining section, wherein the at least one speed maintaining section is located at at least one of a start time point and an end time point of the first rotation pattern.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the first rotation pattern is a rotation pattern further including a deceleration section after the second acceleration section.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one of a highest rotation speed in the first acceleration section, a highest rotation speed in the second acceleration section, and a lowest rotation speed in the deceleration section is higher than a highest rotation speed in the second rotation pattern.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the second rotation pattern includes an accelerated rotation section and a decelerated rotation section.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining of the amount of laundry further includes: determining whether friction torque information acquired during the rotation process exceeds a preset threshold torque value; determining that an error has occurred when it is determined that the friction torque information exceeds a preset threshold torque value; and outputting error information.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the outputting of the error information includes transmitting the error information to a user's terminal.

16. A laundry treating apparatus comprising: a drum; a driver configured to rotate the drum; and a controller configured to control the driver, wherein the controller is configured to: control the driver to perform a first rotation operation where the driver rotates the drum based on at least one of a first rotation pattern and a second rotation pattern; and determine an amount of laundry accommodated in the drum based on information detected during a rotation process, wherein the first rotation pattern is a rotation pattern including a first acceleration section and a second acceleration section where the drum rotates with a higher rotational acceleration after the first acceleration section.

Images