Clothing treatment apparatus having camera, and control method therefor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional laundry treating apparatuses face challenges in optimally treating laundry without accurate user input on the type, purpose, or properties of the laundry, leading to suboptimal treatment processes and difficulties in determining if the laundry is properly treated during the process.
Innovation Solution
A laundry treating apparatus and control method that uses time-series images from a camera to determine the movement state of laundry and control the drum's RPM for optimal spreading and spinning, providing feedback control and evaluation information to ensure optimal treatment, and offering augmented reality or animation for intuitive user understanding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a camera is used to detect laundry type and treatment purpose, then the accuracy of object recognition is improved, but the ability to guarantee optimal treatment during the process deteriorates because the camera can only extract information before treatment
Solution Approach 1:
The camera captures images of laundry before treatment to extract type and treatment purpose information, enabling the system to pre-determine the appropriate treatment course. This preliminary detection allows the washing machine to automatically select and execute the optimal treatment protocol based on the detected laundry characteristics.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors treatment progress and provides feedback to adjust the treatment process. By comparing actual treatment status with expected outcomes, the system can dynamically modify parameters to ensure optimal treatment is achieved throughout the process, not just based on initial detection.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the user manually inputs laundry type and treatment purpose, then the treatment course can be customized, but the ease of operation deteriorates because users cannot accurately recognize or input this information
Solution Approach 1:
The washing machine automatically detects laundry type and treatment purpose using the camera, eliminating the need for users to manually input this information. The system serves itself by autonomously identifying laundry characteristics and selecting the appropriate treatment course, thereby maintaining customization while dramatically improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The manual input mechanism (user pressing buttons or typing) is replaced with an automated optical detection system. The camera-based detection system automatically captures and analyzes laundry images, substituting the mechanical user input process with an automated visual recognition system that determines treatment parameters without user intervention.
3Productivity
If the drum RPM is increased to perform spinning process, then the productivity is improved, but the stability deteriorates if the laundry is not properly spread, causing treatment failure or delay
Solution Approach 1:
Before increasing drum RPM for the spinning process, the system uses the camera to detect whether the laundry is properly spread within the drum. This preliminary check ensures that the laundry is in the correct state before high-speed spinning begins, preventing treatment failures or delays that would occur if spinning started with improperly distributed laundry.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the drum RPM based on real-time camera feedback about laundry spread status. Rather than immediately transitioning to high-speed spinning, the drum speed is modulated to allow laundry to spread properly first, then increased to optimal spinning speed once uniform distribution is confirmed, thereby maintaining both productivity and stability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables optimal laundry treatment by determining if the laundry is properly spread and treated, preventing delays or failures in the spinning process, and providing users with clear treatment status and evaluation information, enhancing user satisfaction and confidence.
Implementation Method 1
generating time-series images of movement of the laundry by capturing image of an inside of the drum while the laundry moves over time
Implementation Method 2
causing a drum to move laundry inside the drum... increasing the RPM of the drum to perform a spinning process
Data Source
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AI summary
The present application relates to a laundry treating apparatus. More specifically, the present application relates to a laundry treating apparatus having a camera and a control method thereof. One embodiment of the present application provides a method for controlling a laundry washing apparatus, the method including: driving a drum to move laundry inside the drum; capturing an inside of the drum while the laundry moves over time, thereby to generate time-series images of the laundry movement; identifying a current movement state of the laundry based on the time-series images; feedback-controlling revolutions per minute (RPM) of the drum based on the movement state of the laundry to increase a laundry spread value; and after the laundry spread value has increased, further increasing the RPM of the drum to perform a high speed spinning process.