Method and system for controlling clothing care machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10845772-B2
Application number	US-201515525744-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 27, 2015
Priority date	Nov 22, 2014
Publication date	Nov 24, 2020
Grant date	Nov 24, 2020

Abstract

A clothing care machine and a method and system for controlling the same are provided. The clothing care machine is provided with a steam generator and a steam handle. The steam handle is provided with a human body sensing component. The method includes: controlling the human body sensing component to sense whether the steam handle is operated by a user; and controlling an operation state of the steam generator according to a touch signal sensed by the human body sensing component. The method may realize an intelligent control of the steam generator according to an operation condition of the user.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for controlling a clothing care machine, wherein the clothing care machine is provided with a steam generator and a steam handle, and the steam handle is provided with a human body sensing component including a pressure sensor, and the method comprises:
controlling, by a processor executing instructions stored in a memory, the human body sensing component to sense whether the steam handle is operated by a user; and
controlling an operation state of the steam generator according to a touch signal sensed by the human body sensing component, including:
in response to receiving a pressure signal from the pressure sensor, determining whether a duration of the pressure signal is longer than or equal to a preset touch duration, wherein the pressure signal comprises at least one of a pressure range signal, a pressure value signal, or a pressure direction signal, and is obtained by the pressure sensor by detecting a size of a region applied with a pressure when the user is handling the steam handle; and
sending a heating instruction to control the steam generator to heat in response to determining that the duration of the pressure signal is longer than or equal to the preset touch duration.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein, controlling the human body sensing component to sense whether the steam handle is operated by a user comprises:
obtaining a mechanical turn-on instruction of a mechanical switch of the clothing care machine;
triggering the human body sensing component to sense whether the steam handle is operated by the user after the mechanical turn-on instruction is obtained; and
the method further comprises:
obtaining a mechanical turn-off instruction of the mechanical switch of the clothing care machine;
controlling the steam generator to stop heating after the mechanical turn-off instruction is obtained.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein:
the preset touch duration is a first preset touch duration; and
the human body sensing component further comprises an infrared sensor, and controlling the operation state of the steam generator according to the touch signal sensed by the human body sensing component further comprises:
in response to a human characteristic infrared signal being sensed by the infrared sensor, determining whether a duration of the characteristic infrared signal is longer than or equal to a second preset touch duration, wherein the characteristic infrared signal comprises a human temperature infrared signal and/or a human movement infrared signal; and
in response to determining that the duration of the characteristic infrared signal is longer than or equal to the second preset touch duration, sending the heating instruction to control the steam generator to heat.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein:
the preset touch duration is a first preset touch duration; and
the human body sensing component further comprises an electrical sensor, and controlling the operation state of the steam generator according to the touch signal sensed by the human body sensing component further comprises:
in response to a human electric signal being sensed by the electrical sensor, determining whether a duration of the electric signal is longer than or equal to a second preset touch duration, wherein the electric signal comprises at least one of a human electric potential signal, a human impedance signal, or a human bio-electrical signal; and
in response to determining that the duration of the electric signal is longer than or equal to the second preset touch duration, sending the heating instruction to control the steam generator to heat.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein, the electrical sensor comprises one of a copper sheet, a printed circuit board, a conductive cotton, and a conductive aluminum foil and any combination thereof, and, the electrical sensor is provided at one or more positions of an out side part, a top part and a bottom part of the steam handle.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the preset touch duration is a first preset touch duration;
the method further comprising:
determining whether a free duration within which the steam handle has not been sensed to be operated by any user is longer than or equal to a second preset touch duration;
in response to determining that the free duration is longer than or equal to the second preset touch duration, sending a stop heating instruction to control the steam generator to stop heating; and
in response to determining that the touch duration is longer than or equal to the first preset touch duration and the free duration is longer than or equal to the second preset touch duration, sending a heat preservation instruction to control the steam generator to enter into a standby state of heat preservation.

7. A system for controlling a clothing care machine, wherein the clothing care machine is provided with a steam generator and a steam handle, and the steam handle is provided with a human body sensing component, and the system comprises:
a processor; and
a memory for storing instructions executable by the processor,
wherein:
the human body sensing component includes a pressure sensor; and
the processor is configured to:
control the human body sensing component to sense whether the steam handle is operated by a user;
in response to receiving a pressure signal from the pressure sensor, determine whether a duration of the pressure signal is longer than or equal to a preset touch duration, wherein the pressure signal comprises at least one of a pressure range signal, a pressure value signal, or a pressure direction signal, and is obtained by the pressure sensor by detecting a size of a region applied with a pressure when the user is handling the steam handle; and
send a heating instruction to control the steam generator to heat in response to determining that the duration of the pressure signal is longer than or equal to the preset touch duration.

8. The system according to claim 7 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
obtain a mechanical turn-on instruction of a mechanical switch of the clothing care machine;
trigger the human body sensing component to sense whether the steam handle is operated by the user after the mechanical turn-on instruction is obtained;
obtain a mechanical turn-off instruction of the mechanical switch of the clothing care machine;
control the steam generator to stop heating after the mechanical turn-off instruction is obtained.

9. The system according to claim 7 , wherein:
the preset touch duration is a first preset touch duration; and
the human body sensing component further comprises an infrared sensor, and the processor is further configured to:
in response to a human characteristic infrared signal being sensed by the infrared sensor, determine whether a duration of the characteristic infrared signal is longer than or equal to a second preset touch duration, wherein the characteristic infrared signal comprises a human temperature infrared signal and/or a human movement infrared signal; and
send the heating instruction to control the steam generator to heat in response to determining that the duration of the characteristic infrared signal is longer than or equal to the second preset touch duration.

10. The system according to claim 7 , wherein:
the preset touch duration is a first preset touch duration; and
the human body sensing component further comprises an electrical sensor, and the processor is further configured to:
in response to a human electric signal being sensed by the electrical sensor, determine whether a duration of the electric signal is longer than or equal to a second preset touc

Assignees

• Foshan Shunde Midea Electrical Heating Appliances Mfg Co Ltd
• Midea Group Co Ltd

Inventors

• Yang Zhiqi
• He Zhijiang
• Xie Bo

Classifications

• D06F73/00 Primary

  Apparatus for smoothing or removing creases from garments or other textile articles by formers, cores, stretchers, or internal frames, with the application of heat or steam  (combined with external pressure means D06F71/00) · CPC title

• D06F87/00

  Apparatus for moistening or otherwise conditioning the article to be ironed or pressed (apparatus for smoothing or removing creases from garments or other textile articles by formers, cores, stretchers or internal frames, with the application of heat or steam D06F73/00 {; devices used in combination with a laundry dryer D06F58/203}) · CPC title

• D06F75/26

  Temperature control or indicating arrangements · CPC title

• D06F75/12

  the steam being produced from water supplied to the iron from an external source · CPC title

• D06F75/24

  Arrangements of the heating means within the iron; Arrangements for distributing, conducting or storing the heat · CPC title