Patent Application
20240426036
This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0080893, filed on Jun. 23, 2023, and 10-2024-0003698 filed on Jan. 9, 2024, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein.
The present disclosure relates to a laundry treating apparatus providing a plurality of courses for treating laundry, a laundry treating system, and a method of controlling the laundry treating system.
A laundry treating apparatus is an apparatus capable of performing various laundry treatment courses, such as a washing course for removing contamination from clothes, bedding, etc. (hereinafter referred to as laundry) introduced into a drum and a drying course for removing moisture from laundry.
A laundry treating apparatus may include a cabinet defining an external appearance thereof and a drum provided in the cabinet to accommodate laundry. In addition, in a case in which water is used in laundry treatment courses, a tub may be provided in the cabinet, and the drum may be mounted in the tub.
A laundry treating apparatus including a display part and a search part in order to provide a plurality of treatment courses to a user is disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2014-0023986.
The user may operate the laundry treating apparatus using the search part or the like and may identify various treatment courses through the display part. The user may select one of the various treatment courses in order to treat laundry.
However, as laundry treating conditions or characteristics become diverse, the types of laundry treatment courses also become diverse. Accordingly, the user may experience inconvenience in identifying the course that is necessary or suitable for the user.
Even if the laundry treating apparatus is set to allow the user to easily identify and select some of various courses through the search part, the user may have inconvenience because it is difficult to figure out the characteristics of each course only through the display part and it takes time to select a course during use of the laundry treating apparatus.
Therefore, it is an important task in this technical field to develop a laundry treating apparatus in which a course necessary or suitable for a user among various executable courses is effectively identified and conveniently provided to the user and, even if the user does not identify the courses through the laundry treating apparatus, a course suitable for the user is effectively provided to the user, thereby solving the inconvenience in using the laundry treating apparatus.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a laundry treating apparatus capable of conveniently providing a course necessary or suitable for a user among various courses, a laundry treating system, and a method of controlling the laundry treating system.
In addition, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a laundry treating apparatus capable of setting a user personalized course among various courses without use thereof, a laundry treating system, and a method of controlling the laundry treating system.
In addition, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a laundry treating apparatus capable of setting a user personalized course in advance and providing the same to the user before use thereof, a laundry treating system, and a method of controlling the laundry treating system.
A laundry treating system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a laundry treating apparatus and an external device, and the external device may include a terminal and/or a server.
At least one of a plurality of courses executable in the laundry treating apparatus may be determined to be a personalized course for a user by the external device, and the personalized course may be provided to the laundry treating apparatus.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the personalized course may be set in advance in the laundry treating apparatus in a purchase and delivery process of the laundry treating apparatus, and accordingly, the user may conveniently use the personalized course necessary or suitable for the user without separately setting a course immediately after installation of the laundry treating apparatus.
The above-described laundry treating system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes the laundry treating apparatus and the external device.
The laundry treating apparatus includes a drum configured to rotate while accommodating laundry, and performs a course for treatment of the laundry through rotation of the drum.
The external device is provided outside the laundry treating apparatus, determines, among a plurality of courses, a personalized course based on information provided by the user, and determines a course group that includes the personalized course among the plurality of courses and is to be provided to the laundry treating apparatus.
The laundry treating apparatus may store the course group transmitted from the external device and may provide courses included in the course group to the user to allow the user to select the courses.
The course group may include the personalized course and a default course predetermined in the external device from among the plurality of courses.
If the information is not provided by the user, the external device may determine the course group to exclude the personalized course and to include the default course.
The external device may include a terminal configured to receive the information input by the user and a server configured to communicate with the terminal, and the terminal or the server may determine the personalized course based on the information. The external device may determine a plurality of personalized courses based on the information.
The external device may receive a plurality of pieces of information from the user through multiple input processes in which the user inputs the information, and may determine at least one personalized course based on the plurality of pieces of information.
In an input process in which a plurality of selection objects is provided to the user so as to be selected by the user, the external device may collect the information through an object selected by the user from among the plurality of selection objects.
The information may include at least one of the number of family members of the user, presence or absence of a pet, presence or absence of a baby, or the main type of laundry.
If the information is provided again by the user after the course group is determined, the external device may re-determine the personalized course and the course group based on the information provided again.
The external device may be configured such that, after the course group is determined, the course group is reset by the user and is re-constituted by courses designated by the user.
The external device may receive the information from the user through an input process in which the user provides the information and may determine the personalized course before the laundry treating apparatus is installed so as to perform the course.
The laundry treating apparatus may include a controller configured to receive the course group from the external device and to store the received course group during the initial communication with the external device after installation of the laundry treating apparatus.
The external device may be configured to allow the user to change courses of the course group stored in the laundry treating apparatus, and the laundry treating apparatus may be configured to receive the course group changed by the user from the external device and to store the received course group.
The course group may include a user course allowing the user to determine a default set value of an option through the external device.
A default set value of an option of each course belonging to the course group may be stored in the laundry treating apparatus. With respect to one of the courses of the course group, if the number of times the user has changed the default set value to a predetermined set value exceeds a reference number, the laundry treating apparatus may store the predetermined set value as the default set value for the corresponding course.
A laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a cabinet, an accommodation part, and a controller.
The accommodation part is rotatably provided in the cabinet and accommodates laundry. The controller is provided in the cabinet and controls rotation of the accommodation part to perform a course for treatment of the laundry.
The controller may store, among a plurality of courses, a course group determined by and transmitted from an external device provided outside the cabinet and may provide courses of the course group to a user to allow the user to select the courses.
The course group may include a personalized course determined based on information provided by the user through the external device.
The information may be provided to the external device through multiple input processes in which the user inputs the information, and the course group transmitted to the controller may include at least one personalized course.
The information may be provided to the external device through an input process in which the user inputs the information, and in the input process, the information may be provided to the external device by the user selecting at least one of a plurality of selection objects provided to the user.
The controller may receive the course group including the personalized course from the external device and may store the received course group during the initial communication with the external device.
A method of controlling a laundry treating system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes inputting, by a user, information to an external device provided outside a laundry treating apparatus including a drum configured to rotate while accommodating laundry.
The control method includes determining, by the external device, a personalized course based on the information input by the user from among a plurality of courses performed to treat the laundry in the laundry treating apparatus.
The control method includes determining, by the external device, a course group including the personalized course to be provided to the laundry treating apparatus.
The control method may include transmitting, by the external device, the course group to the laundry treating apparatus to store the course group in the laundry treating apparatus.
The control method may include providing, by the laundry treating apparatus, courses of the course group to the user to allow the user to select the courses.
In the inputting information, a plurality of pieces of information may be input to the external device through multiple input processes in which the user inputs the information. The external device may determine at least one personalized course based on the plurality of pieces of information, and the determined at least one personalized course may be included in the course group.
In the inputting information, the information may be input to the external device through an input process in which the user inputs the information. In the input process, a plurality of selection objects may be provided to the user so as to be selected by the user, and the user may select at least one of the plurality of selection objects to input the information to the external device.
In the transmitting the course group to the laundry treating apparatus to store the course group in the laundry treating apparatus, the laundry treating apparatus may receive the course group including the personalized course from the external device and may store the received course group during the initial communication with the external device.
The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the disclosure and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the disclosure. In the drawings:
Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, to make the description of the present disclosure thorough and to fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art.
However, the present disclosure is not limited to aspects disclosed herein and may be implemented in various different forms. In the drawings, in order to clearly describe the present disclosure, descriptions of elements which are not related to the present disclosure are omitted, and the same or similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals even when they are depicted in different drawings.
In the following description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, redundant description of the same elements will be omitted.
When an element is referred to as being “connected to” or “coupled to” another element, it may be directly connected to or coupled to the other element, or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another element, there may be no intervening elements present.
Further, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.
As used herein, singular forms may be intended to include plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
Further, in the following description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, the terms “comprising,” “including,” or “having” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, or combinations thereof.
Further, as used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. In the following description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, “A or B” may include “A”, “B” or “both A and B”.
The cabinet 10 may have any of various shapes as needed, such as a polyprismatic shape or a cylindrical shape. As shown in
If the cabinet 10 includes a plurality of panels, the plurality of panels may include at least some of a front panel, a rear panel, a top panel, a bottom panel, and a pair of side panels.
The cabinet 10 may include a laundry introduction port 11 through which laundry is introduced into the cabinet 10. The laundry introduction port 11 may be an inlet formed in one surface of the cabinet 10 so as to allow a user to introduce laundry into the cabinet 10 therethrough.
The laundry introduction port 11 may be formed in the front panel or the top panel of the cabinet 10. That is, the embodiment of the present disclosure may take a front loading form in which the laundry introduction port 11 is formed in the front panel or a top loading form in which the laundry introduction port 11 is formed in the top panel.
Although the laundry treating apparatus 1 shown in
In addition, the cabinet 10 may be provided with a laundry door 19 to open or close the laundry introduction port 11. The laundry door 19 may be mounted to the cabinet 10 in various manners, so long as the laundry door 19 is capable of opening or closing the laundry introduction port 11. According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
The laundry door 19 may be rotated about the hinge to determine opening or closing of the laundry introduction port 11. For example, the laundry door 19 may be rotated away from the cabinet 10 about the hinge to open the laundry introduction port 11, or may be rotated so as to come into close contact with the cabinet 10 about the hinge to close the laundry introduction port 11.
In addition, the cabinet 10 may be provided with a door locking part to lock the laundry door 19. The door locking part may secure the laundry door 19 so that the laundry introduction port 11 is maintained in a closed state by the laundry door 19.
The embodiment of the present disclosure may include a controller 80. The controller 80 is electrically connected to the door locking part to control the operational state of the door locking part, thereby controlling the closed state of the laundry door 19.
For example, the door locking part may be controlled by the controller 80 to lock the laundry door 19 in a closed state so that the laundry door 19 in a closed state is not opened. If the locking state of the door locking part is released, the laundry door 19 may be automatically rotated to open the laundry introduction port 11 or may be freely manipulated by the user to be opened. The controller 80 will be described later in more detail.
In addition, the cabinet 10 may be provided with an input/output part 110. The input/output part 110 may include an input part and/or an output part. The input part may generate an input signal in response to manipulation by the user, and the output part may provide various types of information to the user in response to an output signal from the controller 80.
The input part and the output part may be located together or may be provided separately and spaced apart from each other. Each of the input part and the output part may be provided in plural, and the plurality of input parts and the plurality of output parts may be located at various positions on the cabinet 10.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in
The output part may include a display part 115 configured to output a screen to provide visual information to the user. The output part may include a display outputting a screen and a screen frame surrounding the display.
The display part 115 may be connected to the controller 80 and may output a screen to provide necessary information to the user through the display. In addition, the output part may further include a speaker to provide audible signals, e.g., various alarm sounds, to the user.
The input part may generate various input signals in response to manipulation by the user. For example, the input part may include at least one button configured to be physically manipulated by the user, a touch panel configured to detect user touch in response to contact with the user's hand or the like, and a microphone configured to receive a voice signal from the user.
For reference, in the present disclosure, the button includes a physical button configured to be physically changed by manipulation by the user and a touch button configured to generate an electrical signal in response to contact with the user's hand or the like. That is, in the present disclosure, various types of buttons may be provided in various shapes as needed.
The touch panel may be provided in the display part 115 to detect user touch input onto the screen or may be provided outside the display part 115 on the front panel.
The input part may include a power button. If the power button is operated, power may be applied to various components of the laundry treating apparatus 1.
The laundry treating apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may be connected to an external power source, and power may be applied to some components. However, the remaining components may be maintained in a standby state or a sleep state, in which power is not applied thereto.
If the power button is operated in the sleep state, power may also be applied to the remaining components, so that the remaining components may enter a power-on state or a wake-up state, in which the remaining components are ready to perform a laundry processing course.
The embodiment of the present disclosure may include a power standby part configured to receive power from an external power source at all times regardless of the standby state or the power-on state. If the power button is operated in the sleep state, the power standby part may allow the application of power to the other components, such as the controller 80.
However, if necessary, the laundry treating apparatus 1 may be configured such that all the components thereof enter either the power-off state or the power-on state without the power standby part.
The input part may include an execution button. The execution button may be defined as a pause button. The embodiment of the present disclosure may perform various courses for treating laundry accommodated in the drum 20 under the control of the controller 80. The user may manipulate the execution button to command execution or pause of the course.
In addition to the above-described plurality of buttons, the input part according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may include various buttons as needed in order to improve user convenience.
The laundry treating apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure shown in
Referring to
The tub 30 may be disposed in the cabinet 10, may include a space defined therein to accommodate water, and may be formed in any of various shapes. The tub 30 may include a tub opening 31 formed in one surface thereof so as to face the laundry introduction port 11 in the cabinet 10.
In one example, the tub 30 may have a cylindrical shape in which a space is defined, and the tub opening 31 may be formed in the front surface of the tub 30 so as to face the laundry introduction port 11. Laundry introduced into the cabinet 10 through the laundry introduction port 11 may be introduced into the tub 30 through the tub opening 31.
The drum 20 may be provided in the tub 30. The drum 20 may be formed in any of various shapes, so long as the drum 20 includes a space defined therein. The drum 20 may be configured to be rotatable by a driving part 70.
The drum 20 may include a drum opening 21 formed in the surface thereof facing the tub opening 31. For example, the drum opening 21 may be formed in the front surface of the drum 20 so as to face the tub opening 31. The inside of the drum 20 may communicate with the outside through the drum opening 21, the tub opening 31, and the laundry introduction port 11.
Laundry put into the laundry introduction port 11 by the user may enter the drum 20 through the laundry introduction port 11, the tub opening 31, and the drum opening 21. The laundry introduction port 11, the tub opening 31, and the drum opening 21 may be aligned with each other in a direction parallel to a rotary shaft of the drum 20.
In the present disclosure, the drum 20 may be defined as an accommodation part because laundry is accommodated therein. That is, the laundry treating apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may include the drum 20 or the accommodation part.
The drum 20 may have a circular section in order to easily rotate about the rotary shaft thereof. For example, the drum 20 may be formed in a cylindrical shape. In addition, the drum 20 may include a plurality of through-holes formed in the peripheral surface thereof.
Because the drum 20 is mounted in the tub 30 in which water is accommodated, the water in the tub 30 may enter the drum 20 through the through-holes in the drum 20, and thus may be provided to the laundry.
The rotary shaft of the drum 20 may be connected to the driving part 70 to receive rotational force. That is, the laundry treating apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure may include the driving part 70 to rotate the drum 20.
The driving part 70 may be provided outside the tub 30, and the rear surface of the drum 20 may be connected to the rotary shaft. The driving part 70 may be directly connected to the rotary shaft or may be indirectly connected to the rotary shaft via a belt or the like.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the laundry treating apparatus 1 may perform a course for treating laundry through rotation of the drum 20 by the driving part 70. The controller 80 to be described later may control the driving part 70 to control rotation of the drum 20, thereby performing the course.
In addition, the embodiment of the present disclosure may include a water supply part 40. The water supply part 40 may be connected to an external water source provided outside the cabinet 10, such as a water supply of a city, to supply water to the inside of the cabinet 10.
The water supply part 40 may include a water supply valve to control flow of water. Water supplied from outside the cabinet 10 may flow along a water supply pipe to be directly supplied to the inside of the tub 30 or to be supplied to the detergent part 50.
The detergent part 50 may store detergent and may supply the detergent to the inside of the tub 30 or the drum 20. The detergent part 50 may supply the detergent to the inside of the tub 30 through a detergent pipe connected to the tub 30.
If the water supply pipe is connected to the detergent part 50, the detergent part 50 may supply the detergent to the inside of the tub 30 through the detergent pipe together with the water supplied through the water supply pipe.
In addition, the embodiment of the present disclosure may include a drain part 60. The controller 80 may control the drain part 60 to perform a drain process in order to discharge the water in the tub 30 to the outside during the washing course or the like.
The drain part 60 may include a drain pipe connected to the tub 30 to guide the water in the tub 30 to the outside, a drain valve mounted in the drain pipe to control flow of the water, and a drain pump mounted in the drain pipe to generate flow of the water.
In addition, the embodiment of the present disclosure may include the controller 80. The controller 80 may be communicatively connected to various components consuming power to control operation of the components. The controller 80 may be divided into a plurality of parts as needed or may include various detailed components.
For example, the controller 80 may functionally include a communication part for communication with external or other components, a storage part for storage of information, and a calculation part for processing of information. In addition, the controller 80 may include sub-controllers provided for respective components and a main controller communicatively connected to the sub-controllers to control the sub-controllers.
The detailed components of the controller 80 divided according to the functions thereof or the components that are controlled thereby may be disposed so as to be spatially separated from each other, or at least some of the detailed components of the controller may be spatially or functionally integrated with each other as needed.
Referring to
In addition, the cabinet 10 may be provided therein with an air regulator 90 to provide hot dry air to laundry in the drum 20. The air regulator 90 may be provided in any of various forms.
For example, the air regulator 90 may be configured to consume electrical energy using a Peltier element or the like to heat air, may be configured to form an electromagnetic field to heat the drum 20 made of metal and thus to heat air, or may include a heat pump system using refrigerant to heat and dehumidify air.
Referring to
For example, the air discharged from the inside of the drum 20 to the outside of the drum 20 through the drum opening 21 may be introduced into the air passage and then may flow along the air passage in the air regulator 90.
The air regulator 90 may include a dehumidifying part. The dehumidifying part may cool the air flowing through the air passage through contact with the air, thereby condensing water vapor in the air.
Moisture condensed in the dehumidifying part may be separated from the air, and thus the air flowing along the air passage may be dehumidified so that the amount of water vapor is greatly reduced while passing through the dehumidifying part.
The air regulator 90 may include a temperature raising part. The temperature raising part may heat the air flowing along the air passage through direct contact or thermal contact with the air. The air flowing along the air passage may become hot and dry while passing through the dehumidifying part and the temperature raising part.
The air regulator 90 may include a fluid system including a fluid passing through the dehumidifying part and the temperature raising part. The fluid system may include a compressor, a condenser, a diffusion valve, and an expander. The dehumidifying part may correspond to the expander, and the temperature raising part may correspond to the condenser.
However, the disclosure is not limited to a structure in which the air regulator 90 includes the fluid system. The dehumidifying part and the temperature raising part may be implemented in any of various forms.
The air regulator 90 may include an air fan. The air fan may be located in a space communicating with the air passage, e.g., in the air passage, to generate flow of air. The air in the drum 20 may circulate while flowing through the air passage due to operation of the air fan.
That is, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the air regulator 90 dehumidifies and heats the air flowing along the air passage communicating with the inside of the drum 20 and supplies the dehumidified and heated air to the inside of the drum 20. In this way, hot and dry air is supplied to the inside of the drum 20 to remove moisture contained in laundry.
The air regulator 90 is not necessarily limited to the above-described air-circulation type. For example, the air regulator 90 may be of an exhaust type that supplies air introduced from the outside of the cabinet 10 to the inside of the drum 20 and discharges air in the drum 20 to the outside. Alternatively, the air regulator 90 may be of a static type that heats and dehumidifies air in the drum 20 without causing flow of air.
As shown in
For example, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the laundry treating apparatus 1 may include not only the water supply part 40, the tub 30, and the detergent part 50 in order to perform the laundry washing course, but may also include the air regulator 90 in order to perform the laundry drying course.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the laundry treating system may include an external device 2 as well as the above-described laundry treating apparatus 1. The external device 2 may be disposed outside the laundry treating apparatus 1, and the laundry treating apparatus 1 may be configured to perform communication with the external device 2.
For example, the controller 80 of the laundry treating apparatus 1 may communicate with the external device 2 through the above-described communication part. The communication part may communicate with the external device 2 in a manner of directly exchanging signals with the external device 2 or may communicate with the external device 2 via a communication device 5 disposed outside the laundry treating apparatus 1 and capable of communicating with the external device 2.
The communication device 5 and the controller 80 may be communicatively connected to each other, and the communicative connection may employ a wireless method and a wired method. For example, the controller 80 may communicate with the communication device 5 in a wireless manner to exchange information with the external device 2.
The external device 2 may include various devices. For example, the external device 2 may include a terminal 3 such as a mobile phone or a computer provided to the user and may include a server 4 configured to communicate with the terminal 3 and the communication device 5.
Accordingly, the user may provide various types of information or transmit a command to the laundry treating apparatus 1 using the external device 2. For example, the user may change the settings of the laundry treating apparatus 1 or command execution of the course using the terminal 3 or the server 4.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, as will be described later, the external device 2 may be provided outside the laundry treating apparatus 1 and may determine a personalized course CP among a plurality of courses based on the information provided by the user.
In addition, the external device 2 may determine a course group CG that includes the personalized course CP among the plurality of courses and is provided to the user through the laundry treating apparatus 1. The course group CG may include at least one course including the personalized course CP. The personalized course CP and the course group CG will be described later in more detail.
In a purchase and delivery process P1, the user may purchase the laundry treating apparatus 1 in various ways. After purchase, the seller of the laundry treating apparatus 1 may deliver the laundry treating apparatus 1 to the user in various ways. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, during the purchase and delivery process P1, a course recommendation process P11, in which a course to be provided to the user through the laundry treating apparatus 1 is determined, may be performed.
For example, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, before the laundry treating apparatus 1 is installed to enable execution of the course, the above-described external device 2 may determine the personalized course CP based on the information received from the user through an input process P112 in which the user provides the information.
After the purchase and delivery process P1, an installation process P2 of the laundry treating apparatus 1 may be performed. In the installation process P2, the laundry treating apparatus 1 may be installed to be usable at an installation location requested by the user.
In the installation process P2, a course storage process P21 of the laundry treating apparatus 1 may be performed. In the course storage process P21, power may be applied to the laundry treating apparatus 1, and the controller 80 may be allowed to communicate with the external device 2 or the aforementioned communication device 5.
In such an initial communication process of the controller 80, the course storage process P21 may be performed. The controller 80 may receive information on the course group CG from the external device 2 and may store the same.
After the installation process P2, a use process P3 of the laundry treating apparatus 1 by the user may be performed. In the use process P3, the controller 80 may provide, based on the stored information on the course group CG, courses belonging to the course group CG so that the user may select the same.
In this case, the controller 80 may control the aforementioned output part to output the courses of the course group CG so that the user may recognize the same, and the user may select one of the courses belonging to the course group CG to command execution of the selected course.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, before the laundry treating apparatus 1 is provided to the user, courses necessary or suitable for the user may be set in advance in the laundry treating apparatus 1. Accordingly, use convenience may be improved.
In addition, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, a plurality of courses may be prepared in advance for the user, and courses suitable for the user among the plurality of courses may be conveniently classified and provided to the user.
Further, in the use process P3 of the laundry treating apparatus 1, the user may not need to identify each of the plurality of courses or directly classify the courses suitable for the user among the plurality of courses. Accordingly, use convenience may be improved.
The laundry treating apparatus 1 may be shipped with a default course CD among the plurality of courses pre-stored therein before being installed to be usable at the installation location. That is, the default course CD may be a course that is basically provided to the laundry treating apparatus 1 regardless of the personalized course CP determined by the external device 2.
The default course CD may be set such that deletion thereof from the laundry treating apparatus 1 is impossible. For example, the user may change the type of course stored in the laundry treating apparatus 1 using the input/output part 110 of the laundry treating apparatus 1 or the terminal 3. However, the default course CD may be a course that the user is not capable of deleting.
In addition to the default course CD, at least one course may be pre-stored in the controller 80 of the laundry treating apparatus 1 at the time of shipment of the laundry treating apparatus 1. In other words, a plurality of initial courses among the plurality of courses may be pre-stored in the controller 80 before installation of the product, and the plurality of initial courses may include the default course CD.
Accordingly, although the personalized course CP is not received from the external device 2, the controller 80 may provide the initial courses including the default course CD to the user. That is, after installation of the product at the installation location, the controller 80 may provide the initial courses to the user to allow the user to select the initial courses in a state in which communication with the external device 2 is not implemented.
However, the controller 80 may be set such that the user is capable of deleting the remaining courses other than the default course CD among the initial courses. For example, the user may add or delete the remaining courses other than the default course CD among the initial courses pre-stored in the laundry treating apparatus 1 through the input/output part 110 of the laundry treating apparatus 1 or the terminal 3, but is not capable of deleting the default course CD.
The personalized course CP determined by the external device 2 may be provided in plural, and information about the aforementioned course group may be provided from the external device 2 to the laundry treating apparatus 1 in various manners. That is, the courses may be updated in the laundry treating apparatus 1 in various manners.
For example, as described above, the laundry treating apparatus 1 may be shipped with the default course CD pre-stored therein. However, in a situation of communicating with the external device 2, the laundry treating apparatus 1 may receive and store information about the default course CD as well as information about the personalized course CP.
Alternatively, the external device 2 may determine the personalized course CP except for the default course CD among the plurality of courses, and the laundry treating apparatus 1 may receive and store only the information about the personalized course CP except for the information about the default course CD.
Alternatively, the external device 2 may determine the personalized course CP among the plurality of courses including the default course CD. That is, some of the plurality of personalized courses CP may be the default courses CD.
However, the laundry treating apparatus 1 may receive and store information about the remaining courses other than the default course CD pre-stored in the controller 80 among the plurality of personalized courses CP. The personalized course CP and the default course CD may be stored in the laundry treating apparatus 1 in various other manners.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the external device 2 may include the terminal 3, into which the information is input by the user, and the server 4 capable of communicating with the terminal 3, and the terminal 3 or the server 4 may determine the personalized course CP based on the information.
The course recommendation process P11 may include at least one of a suggestion process P111 in which the user is asked whether to implement determination of the personalized course CP through the external device 2, an input process P112 in which the user inputs information for determination of the personalized course CP, a provision process P113 in which the external device 2 determines the personalized course CP based on the information input by the user and notifies the user of the determined personalized course CP, or a modification process P114 in which the user determines whether to reflect the personalized course CP or modifies the personalized course CP.
For example, the terminal 3 that is operable by the user may be configured to output a screen, and the subscription screen C10 may be provided through the terminal 3.
In the subscription process P10, the user may purchase the laundry treating apparatus 1 and may also set a management service provided by the seller or the like. For example, in the subscription process, the user may select a management period, a management method, etc. of the laundry treating apparatus 1 and may make a contract with the seller or the like.
After confirming the purchase of the laundry treating apparatus 1, the user may proceed with the subscription process P10 through the external device 2 before installation of the laundry treating apparatus 1. That is, the external device 2 may execute the subscription process P10 before installation of the laundry treating apparatus 1, and the subscription screen C10 may be provided to the user through the terminal 3.
The subscription screen C10 may provide various types of information so that the user may determine the management period, the management method, etc. described above, and information related to the subscription process P10 may be input by the user.
The external device 2 may perform the course recommendation process P11 to provide the user with the course group CG including the personalized course CP, and may output a suggestion screen C111 during the suggestion process P111 in the course recommendation process P11.
The user may proceed with the course recommendation process P11 through the external device 2 before the delivery of the laundry treating apparatus 1 is completed, and may be provided with the suggestion screen C111 through the terminal 3.
The suggestion screen C111 may display text indicating that the user is capable of receiving the course group CG for the user among the plurality of courses through the external device 2 and may display a suggestion acceptance object D1111 for determination of execution of the course recommendation process P11 and a suggestion refusal object D1112 for skipping the course recommendation process P11.
For reference, entities defined as objects in the present disclosure may be displayed on the screen output through the display of the terminal 3 or the laundry treating apparatus 1, and the user may select a corresponding object through the terminal 3 or the input part.
The external device 2 or the controller 80 may recognize the user command depending on whether various objects defined in the present disclosure are selected by the user.
For example, if the suggestion acceptance object D1111 is selected by the user, the external device 2 may resume the course recommendation process P11, and if the suggestion refusal object D1112 is selected by the user, the external device 2 may omit determination of the personalized course CP and may terminate the course recommendation process P11.
If the user instructs the external device 2 to skip the course recommendation process P11 by selecting the suggestion refusal object D1112 and does not provide information for determination of the personalized course CP, the external device 2 may provide the user with the above-described course group CG including the default course CD or the initial courses except for the personalized course CP.
FIG. F 9 is a diagram showing input screens provided through the external device 2 during the input process P112 in the course recommendation process P11 of the purchase and delivery process P1.
Referring to
That is, information necessary for the external device 2 to determine the personalized course CP may be provided to the external device 2 through the input process P112 in which the user inputs the information. In the input process P112, the external device 2 may provide the user with an input screen on which various objects selectable by the user are displayed, and the user may input the information by selecting one of the various objects.
That is, in the input process P112, the user may select at least one of various selection objects D1122 provided to the user, whereby the information may be provided to the external device 2.
Although the first input screen C1121, the second input screen C1122, and the third input screen C1123 are illustrated in
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the external device 2 may receive information input by the user through the input screen in the input process P112. The information may be provided to the external device 2 through multiple input processes P112 in which the user inputs the information.
Referring to
The user may identify the content of the text displayed in the question area D1121 to determine the type of information that the user needs to input.
As an example of the present disclosure, the first input screen C1121 may display a question about the user's family members in the question area D1121 in order to receive information about the number of family members of the user.
In addition, at least one selection object D1122 that is selectable by the user may be displayed on the input screen. The selection object D1122 may correspond to information related to the answer to the question.
For example, a plurality of selection objects D1122 may be displayed on the input screen, and the plurality of selection objects D1122 may correspond to different information. Text indicating the information value corresponding to each of the selection objects D1122 may be displayed, so that the user may identify the information value corresponding to each of the selection objects D1122.
The user may check the content of the question and select the selection object D1122 corresponding to information that the user desires to input, thereby inputting information into the external device 2. In the first input screen C1121, the user may check a question about the number of family members through the text displayed in the question area D1121, and may select the selection object D1122 that matches the user from among the plurality of selection objects D1122 corresponding to “one”, “two”, and “three or more”.
As described above, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the subject matter about which information is required from the user may not be a direct subject matter about the course. The external device 2 may select a course advantageous or necessary for the user among various courses through the above-described survey process, and may provide the selected course to the user as the personalized course CP.
In the input process P112 in which the plurality of selection objects D1122 is provided to the user so as to be selectable by the user, the external device 2 may collect the information through the selection object selected by the user from among the plurality of selection objects D1122.
That is, as described above, the external device 2 may provide the user with the screens indicating different subject matters, i.e., the first input screen C1121, the second input screen C1122, and the third input screen C1123, and the user may input information by selecting one of the plurality of selection objects D1122 displayed on each of the screens.
In addition, the external device 2 may receive a plurality of pieces of information from the user through the multiple input processes P112 in which the user inputs the information, and may determine at least one personalized course CP based on the plurality of pieces of information.
That is, the external device 2 may determine, based on the plurality of different types of information collected during the input process P112, at least one personalized course CP that is to be recommended to the user among the plurality of courses pre-stored in the external device 2.
For example, a plurality of personalized courses CP may be determined based on one of the plurality of pieces of information input by the user, or one personalized course CP may be determined based on at least two pieces of information among the plurality of pieces of information.
A “next” object D1124, a “previous” object D1125, and a “skip” object D1123 may be displayed on the input screen. The “next” object D1124 may be an object that is selected to confirm information input by selecting one of the plurality of selection objects D1122 by the user.
For example, if the user selects the selection object D1122 that matches the user from among the plurality of selection objects D1122 and selects the “next” object D1124, the external device 2 may provide an input screen corresponding to a subject matter subsequent to the current subject matter. Alternatively, if the current subject matter is the last one, the external device 2 may terminate the input process P112.
If the “previous” object D1125 is selected, the external device 2 may re-display the previous input screen displayed immediately before the input screen currently displayed on the external device 2, e.g., the terminal 3. For example, if the “previous” object D1125 is selected by the user on the second input screen C1122, the first input screen C1121 may be displayed again on the terminal 3, and the user may re-select the selection object D1122 on the first input screen C1121.
If the “skip” object D1123 is selected, input of information related to the current subject matter may be omitted, and an input screen corresponding to the next subject matter may be provided. Alternatively, if the current input screen is the last one, the input process P112 may be terminated.
That is, if the “skip” object D1123 is selected by the user on the input screen, the external device 2 may omit provision of information related to the corresponding subject matter, and may execute the next process.
In the input process P112, the external device 2 may provide multiple input screens, and information may be input multiple times by the user. The multiple input screens may be related to different subject matters, and information related to various subject matters may be collected by the user.
That is, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the information input by the user may include at least one of the number of family members of the user, presence or absence of a pet, presence or absence of a baby, or the main type of laundry.
The user may input information related to the number of family members on the first input screen C1121, and the external device 2 may determine, based on the information input by the user, a course suitable for a large amount of laundry or a high-speed course suitable for a small amount of laundry to be the personalized course CP.
The user may input information related to presence or absence of a pet and/or a baby on the second input screen C1122, and the external device 2 may determine, based on the information input by the user, a course suitable for treatment of baby clothes or a course suitable for removal of pet hair to be the personalized course CP.
The user may input information related to the main type of laundry to be treated, i.e., the main type of laundry that the user usually wishes to wash, on the third input screen C1123, and the external device 2 may determine, based on the information input by the user, a course suitable for the main type of laundry to be the personalized course CP.
As described above, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, before installation of the laundry treating apparatus 1, information related to the user's lifestyle, environment, etc. may be collected through the external device 2, and an appropriate course may be analyzed and provided to the user through the external device 2.
The external device 2 may determine the personalized course CP for the user based on the user information input in the above-described input process P112, and may output the provision screen C113 to display the course group CG including the personalized course CP in the provision process P113.
Accordingly, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the course group CG transmitted to the controller 80 of the laundry treating apparatus 1 may include at least one personalized course CP. That is, the course group CG may include a personalized course CP determined based on the information provided by the user through the external device 2.
The external device 2 may determine a plurality of personalized courses CP based on the information input in the input process P112, and the plurality of personalized courses CP may be included in the course group CG.
The course group CG may include the personalized course CP among the plurality of courses pre-stored in the external device 2 and may include courses determined to be suitable for the user through the external device 2.
The courses of the course group CG may be displayed on the suggestion screen C111. The user may easily identify the courses belonging to the course group CG suggested by the external device 2 through the provision screen C113 in the provision process P113.
Various courses stored in the external device 2 may include a user course CU. The user course CU may be a course in which the user directly determines set values D232 of various options and stores the determined set values in the external device 2.
A course determined as requested by the user may be included in the course group CG that is provided by the laundry treating apparatus 1 due to the characteristics thereof. That is, the course group CG may include a user course CU in which the user determines a default set value of an option through the external device 2.
The provision screen C113 may include at least one of an application object D1131, a re-input object D1132, or a direct setting object D1133. The application object D1131, the re-input object D1132, and the direct setting object D1133 may be displayed so as to be selectable by the user.
If the application object D1131 is selected by the user on the provision screen C113, the external device 2 may determine that the user approves that the course group CG provided on the provision screen C113 is provided by the laundry treating apparatus 1.
If the re-input object D1132 is selected on the provision screen C113, the external device 2 may re-perform the above-described input process P112. That is, after determination of the course group CG through the initial input process P112, if the input process P112 is performed again through selection of the re-input object D1132 by the user and information on the user is provided again, the external device 2 may re-determine the personalized course CP and the course group CG based on the re-provided information.
Therefore, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, even after the course group CG including the personalized course CP determined through the input process P112 is determined through the external device 2, the input process P112 and the provision process P113 may be performed again as requested by the user, and accordingly, the course group CG including the courses desired by the user may be repeatedly determined and provided.
If the direct setting object D1133 is selected on the provision screen C113, the external device 2 may reset the content related to the currently determined course group CG, and may terminate the course recommendation process P11. That is, even after the course group CG is determined through the input process P112, if the direct setting object D1133 is selected, the external device 2 may reset the course group CG and provide a course group CG consisting of the default courses CD or the initial courses, or may transmit a course group CG consisting of courses designated by the user to the laundry treating apparatus 1.
The modification process P114 may be performed by the user command even after the course recommendation process P11 is terminated through selection of the application object D1131 on the provision screen C113 or even after the course recommendation process P11 is terminated through selection of the direct setting object D1133 on the provision screen C113.
In the modification process P114, the user may directly edit the course group CG to be provided in the laundry treating apparatus 1 among the various courses prepared in the external device 2. The modification screen C114 may display courses belonging to the current course group CG. The user may perform setting such that one of the courses belonging to the current course group CG is excluded from the course group CG or one of the courses not belonging to the course group CG belongs to the course group CG.
That is, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the external device 2 may be configured to allow the user to change the courses of the course group CG stored in the laundry treating apparatus 1. The laundry treating apparatus 1 may be configured to receive the course group CG changed by the user from the external device 2 and store the received course group CG.
On the modification screen C114 shown in
The initial course may be provided in plural, and at least one of the plurality of initial courses may correspond to a default course CD that is undeletable from the laundry treating apparatus 1. The default course CD may also be provided in plural.
Similar to the default course CD, the initial course may be stored in the controller 80 of the laundry treating apparatus 1 before the laundry treating apparatus 1 is shipped. However, the remaining courses other than the default course CD among the initial courses may be deleted from the laundry treating apparatus 1 by the user.
If one of the initial courses is deleted through the external device 2, information on the deleted initial course may be transmitted to the controller 80 while the laundry treating apparatus 1 receives the personalized course CP from the external device 2 and stores the received personalized course CP, and the controller 80 may delete the initial course that the user intends to delete.
However, the possibility of deletion of the default course CD and the initial course is not necessarily limited as above. If necessary, the default course CD may be set to be deletable by the user, and the initial course may be set to be undeletable by the user.
In the installation process P2, the controller 80 of the laundry treating apparatus 1 may perform a communication connection process P211 in which the controller 80 is connected to the aforementioned communication device 5 so as to communicate therewith. The communication connection process P211 may be performed in the first booting process after the laundry treating apparatus 1 is placed at a location desired by the user.
However, the communication connection process P211 may also be performed as requested by the user in the use process P3 of using the laundry treating apparatus 1 after the installation process P2.
After the communication connection process P211, the controller 80 may perform a connection process P212 in which the controller 80 exchanges information with the aforementioned external device 2 through communication with the communication device 5. The controller 80 may also perform the connection process P212 through direct communication with the external device 2.
In the connection process P212, the controller 80 may be in a state capable of exchanging information with the external device 2. Accordingly, the controller 80 may be described as being in a state capable of communicating with the external device 2 through the connection process P212.
The controller 80 in a state capable of communicating with the external device 2, e.g., the server 4, may perform a storage process P213 of receiving information about the aforementioned course group CG from the external device 2 and storing the course group CG. That is, the controller 80 may store the course group CG determined through and transmitted from the external device 2, disposed outside the cabinet 10, among the plurality of courses.
Information about the plurality of courses may be pre-stored in the controller 80. In addition, list information of the courses belonging to the course group CG that is to be provided so as to be selectable by the user among the plurality of courses may be stored in the controller 80 through the storage process P213.
That is, although the plurality of courses is pre-stored in the controller 80, only the courses received as belonging to the course group CG may be displayed so as to be selectable by the user, and the remaining courses may not be displayed.
On the other hand, unlike the above description, in a state in which information about the plurality of courses is not stored in the controller 80, only information on the courses belonging to the course group CG may be stored in the controller 80 through the storage process P213.
That is, there may be various manners in which the course group CG is stored in the controller 80 through the storage process P213. However, as a result of performing the storage process P213, only the courses belonging to the course group CG among the plurality of courses may be set to be selectable by the user in the controller 80.
Accordingly, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the laundry treating apparatus 1 including the controller 80 may store the course group CG transmitted from the external device 2 and may provide the courses included in the course group CG to the user so that the user may select the courses.
During the initial communication with the external device 2, the controller 80 may receive the course group CG including the personalized course CP from the external device 2 and may store the received course group CG.
That is, in the laundry treating apparatus 1 or the laundry treating system according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the course group CG to be provided through the laundry treating apparatus 1 may be determined in advance through the external device 2 before the laundry treating apparatus 1 is installed at a location desired by the user. In addition, the laundry treating apparatus 1 may perform the course storage process P21 during the installation process P2 to store the courses of the course group CG so that the user may select the courses.
The laundry treating apparatus 1 or the controller 80 of the laundry treating apparatus 1 may receive the course group CG from the external device 2 and may store the received course group CG during the initial communication with the external device 2 after installation of the laundry treating apparatus 1.
That is, during the first booting process in the installation process P2, the laundry treating apparatus 1 may perform the communication connection process P211, the connection process P212, and the storage process P213 described above, with a result that the course group CG determined through the external device 2 may be automatically stored in the laundry treating apparatus 1 and provided even if neither the user nor the seller separately sets the courses.
The booting screen C21 may display various content. The booting screen C21 shown in
When the laundry treating apparatus 1 is completely ready for use in a state in which the booting screen C21 is output, the input/output part 110 may output the course selection screen C22 to allow the user to select a course. Courses of the course group CG provided to the laundry treating apparatus 1 may be displayed on the course selection screen C22.
In detail, the course selection screen C22 may include a course display area D221, and information indicating the type of course currently displayed on the course selection screen C22 may be displayed in the course display area D221. For example, text or a figure indicating the type of course, such as the name of the course, may be displayed in the course display area D221.
As described above, the courses of the course group CG determined through the external device 2 may be stored in the laundry treating apparatus 1 and provided to the user. For example, the courses of the course group CG may be displayed on the course selection screen C22, and the user may operate the aforementioned execution button to command execution of the course displayed on the course selection screen C22.
Some of the courses of the course group CG may be displayed on the course selection screen C22 due to limitation on the size of the output area of the display. For example, one of the courses of the course group CG may be displayed on the course selection screen C22, and the user may change the course displayed on the course selection screen C22 to another course by touching the display part 115 or using a moving input part.
The moving input part may be included in the input/output part 110 and may receive a user command to change an object output from the display part 115 or change a selected object.
The moving input part may be provided in various forms, such as a button, a knob, or a touch pad. The user may operate the moving input part to command display of a course desired to be executed on the course selection screen C22, and may operate the execution button in a state in which the course desired to be executed is displayed on the course selection screen C22 to command execution of the corresponding course.
The course selection screen C22 may include an option display area D222. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, courses may have a plurality of options, the set values D232 of which are changeable, and the current set value D232 of at least one option set in the course displayed on the course selection screen C22 may be displayed in the option display area D222.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the above-described course storage process P21 may be performed after output of the booting screen C21. When the course storage process P21 is terminated, the course selection screen C22 may be provided to the user.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, because the course storage process P21 is automatically performed by the controller 80 after application of power to the laundry treating apparatus 1 before output of the course selection screen C22 allowing selection of the course, use convenience may be improved.
In detail, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the set values D232 of the options of the current course may be displayed to the user through the course selection screen C22 in the use process P3 of the laundry treating apparatus 1.
In a situation in which the course selection screen C22 is output through the display part 115 of the laundry treating apparatus 1, an external course setting screen C23 allowing setting of the course may be output to the user through the terminal 3.
Information on the course currently output on the course selection screen C22 may be output on the external course setting screen C23. For example, the external course setting screen C23 may include an external option display area D231 in which the set values D232 of the options of the course are displayed.
A start object D233 and a reservation object D234 may be displayed on the external course setting screen C23.
The start object D233 may be an object that is selected to start the course after confirming the set values D232 of the options of the course displayed in the external option display area D231 to be the set values D232 of the options of the course.
The reservation object D234 may be an object that is selected to allow the course to be performed in a predetermined amount of time on the basis of the set values D232 of the options of the course displayed in the external option display area D231.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the user may change the set values D232 of the options through the external course setting screen C23 of the terminal 3. The options may be displayed on the external course setting screen C23 so as to be selectable by the user, and the user may select the options to change the set values D232 thereof.
As shown in
That is, if the set values D232 of the options are changed on the external course setting screen C23, the display part 115 may display the changed set values D232 of the options in the option display area D222 on the course selection screen C22 according to the change in the set values D232 on the external course setting screen C23.
Accordingly, the user may conveniently adjust the options of the course to be executed in the laundry treating apparatus 1 through the terminal 3 without operating the laundry treating apparatus 1. Further, a process or a button part for changing the set values D232 of the options may be removed from the laundry treating apparatus 1.
In detail, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, default set values of the options of each of courses included in the course group CG may be stored in the laundry treating apparatus 1. The plurality of set values D232 of each of the plurality of options may be pre-stored in the controller 80, and one of the plurality of set values D232 may be selected, thereby achieving setting of the corresponding option.
For example, the course for washing of laundry may include a rinsing cycle in which the drum 20 rotates with water stored in the tub 30 to rinse out contaminants or detergent remaining in the laundry.
In addition, in the laundry washing course, a rinsing option may be set as an option corresponding to the number of times the rinsing cycle is performed. In addition, the rinsing option may have a plurality of set values D232 corresponding to the number of rinsings, e.g., 1 time, 2 times, and 3 times.
If the set value D232 of the rinsing option of the course is set to 2 times, the rinsing cycle may be performed 2 times during execution of the course. In this way, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, detailed process of the course may be controlled by changing the set value D232 of the option.
A default set value of each option may be stored in the controller 80. The default set value may be the set value D232 of the option that is basically provided through the controller 80 before the set value D232 is changed by the user. If the set value D232 is not changed separately, the corresponding option of the corresponding course may be performed according to the default set value.
As described above, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the set value D232 of the option of the course may be changed by the user. For example, as shown in
The set value D232 of the option may be changed according to the user's preference. For example, the user may want a specific option of the course to be executed according to the user's preferred set value D232, rather than the default set value pre-stored in the controller 80, in a normal use environment.
In consideration thereof, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, with respect to a specific option of one of the courses of the course group CG, if the number of times the user has changed the default set value to the user's preferred set value D232 exceeds a reference number, the laundry treating apparatus 1 may store the user's preferred set value D232 as the default set value of the specific option.
As an example of the present disclosure, the process shown in
In detail, the user may change the set value D232 of a specific option of a certain course to be executed from the default set value to another value.
When the laundry treating apparatus 1 is used again after completion of the course, the controller 80 may store the other value as the default set value of the option. Thus, instead of the previous default set value, the other value may be provided as the set value D232 of the option of the course.
The set value D232 of a specific option changed by the user may be stored as the default set value of the specific option when the corresponding course is executed after change of the set value D232 of the option, when the corresponding course is completed, or when the laundry treating apparatus 1 is booted again after completion of the corresponding course.
In addition, a predetermined number of repetitions may be required to store the set value D232 of a specific option changed by the user as the default set value of the specific option. For example, if the corresponding course is repeatedly executed a predetermined number of times or greater according to the same set value D232 of the option, the controller 80 may store the set value D232 as the default set value of the corresponding option. The number of repetitions may set to various values, e.g., one to five.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, because the set value D232 of the option changed by the user according to the user's preference is stored as the default set value of the option, inconvenience in changing the set value of the option may be minimized.
Hereinafter, a duplicate description of the same components between the above-described laundry treating apparatus 1 and the laundry treating system will be omitted.
Referring to
In a suggestion acceptance determination step (S200), the external device 2 may determine whether the user approves of execution of the course recommendation process P11 through selection of the suggestion acceptance object D1111.
Upon determining in the suggestion acceptance determination step (S200) that the user refuses execution of the course recommendation process P11 by selecting the suggestion refusal object D1112, the external device 2 may perform a default course provision step (S210). In the default course provision step (S210), the external device 2 may store a course group CG consisting of the aforementioned default courses CD or initial courses, and may transmit the course group CG consisting of the default courses CD or the initial courses to the laundry treating apparatus 1 in the installation process P2 of the laundry treating apparatus 1.
Upon determining in the suggestion acceptance determination step (S200) that the user approves of execution of the course recommendation process P11 by selecting the suggestion acceptance object D1111, the external device 2 may perform an input step (S300).
In the input step (S300), information provided by the user may be input to the external device 2. The external device 2 may perform the above-described input process P112 and may receive information from the user.
In the step of inputting the information to the external device 2, the information may be input to the external device 2 through the input process P112 in which the user inputs the information. In the input process P112, the plurality of selectable selection objects D1122 may be provided to the user.
The user may select at least one of the plurality of selection objects D1122 to input the information to the external device 2. The input process P112 in which the user inputs the information may be performed multiple times, and accordingly, a plurality of pieces of information may be input to the external device 2.
In a personalized course determination step (S400), the external device 2 may determine a personalized course CP based on the user information input through the input process P112. In the personalized course determination step (S400), the external device 2 may determine a personalized course CP based on the information provided by the user from among the plurality of courses that are performed to treat laundry in the laundry treating apparatus 1.
The external device 2 may determine at least one personalized course CP based on the plurality of pieces of information input in the input step (S300), and the determined personalized course CP may be included in the course group CG.
In a course group provision step (S500), the external device 2 may determine a course group CG that includes the personalized course CP and is to be provided to the laundry treating apparatus 1 and may provide the course group CG to the user. The external device 2 may provide the suggested course group CG to the user through the aforementioned provision screen C113.
In a course application determination step (S600), the external device 2 may determine whether the user approves of storage of the course group CG. The external device 2 may determine whether the user wishes to confirm the content of the course group CG by selecting the application object D1131 on the provision screen C113 on which the content of the course group CG is displayed.
Although not shown in
In the step in which the course group CG of the external device 2 is transmitted to and stored in the laundry treating apparatus 1, the laundry treating apparatus 1 may receive the course group CG including the personalized course CP from the external device 2 and may store the received course group CG during the initial communication with the external device 2.
Upon determining in the course application determination step (S600) that the user does not wish to confirm the content of the course group CG and thus does not select the application object D1131, the external device 2 may perform a direct setting determination step (S700). In the direct setting determination step (S700), the external device 2 may determine whether the user wishes to directly determine courses of the course group CG.
For example, the external device 2 may determine whether the user wishes to directly determine courses of the course group CG by selecting the direct setting object D1133 on the provision screen C113 of the course group CG.
Upon determining in the direct setting determination step (S700) that the user wishes to directly select courses by selecting the direct setting object D1133 and to store the selected courses in the course group CG, the external device 2 may perform a course group reset step. In the course group reset step, the external device 2 may initialize the information on the previously determined course group CG.
For convenience of description, the course group reset step may be defined as a first course group reset step (S710). After the first course group reset step (S710), the user may directly edit courses that are to be included in the course group CG through the external device 2.
If the direct setting object D1133 is not selected in the direct setting determination step (S700), the external device 2 may perform a re-input determination step (S800). In the re-input determination step (S800), the external device 2 may determine whether the user wishes to initialize the information input in the above-described input step (S300) and to re-input information. For example, the external device 2 may determine whether the re-input object D1132 is selected by the user on the provision screen C113 on which the course group CG is displayed.
Upon determining in the re-input determination step (S800) that the user wishes to re-input information by selecting the re-input object D1132, the external device 2 may perform a course group reset step to initialize the information on the currently determined course group CG, and may again perform the above-described input step (S300). Here, the course group reset step may be defined as a second course group reset step (S810) for convenience of description.
In the second course group reset step (S810), the external device 2 may initialize the predetermined content of the course group CG, and may again perform the input step (S300) to determine a personalized course CP and a course group CG based on the information provided again to the user.
As is apparent from the above description, embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a laundry treating apparatus capable of conveniently providing a course necessary or suitable for a user among various courses, a laundry treating system, and a method of controlling the laundry treating system.
In addition, embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a laundry treating apparatus capable of setting a user personalized course among various courses without use thereof, a laundry treating system, and a method of controlling the laundry treating system.
In addition, embodiments of the present disclosure may provide a laundry treating apparatus capable of setting a user personalized course in advance and providing the same to the user before use thereof, a laundry treating system, and a method of controlling the laundry treating system.
The above description is merely illustrative of specific embodiments of the present disclosure, and it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present disclosure without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2023-0080893 | Jun 2023 | KR | national |
| 10-2024-0003698 | Jan 2024 | KR | national |
