Clothes treating system and control method therefor

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Solution Overview

Problem

Users face difficulties in determining the appropriate course settings for their clothes treating devices based on external environment conditions, such as season or weather, and in understanding the functions and effects of different courses, leading to inconvenient manual consultations and incorrect detergent usage.

Innovation Solution

A clothes treating system that includes an external terminal for communicating with the device, displaying recommended courses and settings based on environmental data, and providing real-time guidance through NFC communication, Wi-Fi connectivity, and voice support, allowing users to easily select optimal courses and settings.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If multiple courses are provided in the course selection unit, then the adaptability of the clothes treating device is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates because users have difficulty determining which course and setup factors are appropriate

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecourse varietyVSAvoidcourse selection difficulty
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by automatically acquiring external environment information (temperature, humidity, dust concentration) and pre-determining recommended courses and setup factors before the user needs to make a selection. This eliminates the user's difficulty in determining appropriate settings by having the system already prepared the optimal configuration based on current environmental conditions.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables self-service by autonomously selecting the appropriate course and setup factors without requiring user expertise or manual consultation. The clothes treating device automatically processes environmental data and determines the optimal washing parameters, allowing the device to serve itself in making intelligent decisions about treatment parameters.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Loss of information

If manual text is provided for describing functions and effects, then the information completeness is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates because users must read the manual text whenever using each course

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefunction description completenessVSAvoidmanual consultation inconvenience
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The external terminal acts as an intermediary between the clothes treating device and the user. It receives environment information and course determination information from the device, then presents this information in a user-friendly format that explains the recommended course and its rationale without requiring users to consult separate manual texts. The terminal mediates the complex device information into accessible guidance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system moves the information presentation from a traditional static manual text format to a dynamic digital interface on an external terminal. This dimensional change allows information to be displayed contextually based on environmental conditions and selected courses, providing relevant function descriptions and effects only when needed rather than requiring users to read comprehensive manuals.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Ease of operation

If the system provides recommended courses based on external environment information, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases due to additional communication and information processing components

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecourse determination easeVSAvoidsystem structure
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The external terminal serves as an intermediary that handles the complexity of communicating with clothes treating devices. It manages the acquisition of environment information, the interpretation of device capabilities, and the presentation of recommended courses to users. This intermediary approach allows the terminal to absorb the system complexity while maintaining simplicity for the end user.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The external terminal is designed as a universal platform that can interface with multiple types of clothes treating devices and handle various environmental information sources. By creating a multi-functional terminal that can manage different device protocols and environmental data formats, the system distributes complexity management across a versatile component rather than increasing complexity within each individual device.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP3176298B1Clothes treating system and control method therefor
Publication Date: 2020.12.30 LG ELECTRONICS INC
  • EP3176298B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3176298B1 patent drawingFigure 2(a)~2(b)
  • EP3176298B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

The present invention relates to a clothes treating system and a control method therefor and, more particularly, to a clothes treating system comprising an external terminal and a clothes treating device adapted to be able to communicate with the external terminal, wherein the clothes treating device comprises a power input unit, a course selection unit adapted for selecting a course among preconfigured courses, and an execution input unit for driving the clothes treating device according to the selected course; and the external terminal is adapted to display information on an external environment and one or more recommended courses preconfigured on the basis of the information on the external environment, after power is input to the clothes treating device and before an execution command is input through the execution input unit.