Apparatus and method for treating shoes

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12178317-B2
Application number	US-202117356259-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 23, 2021
Priority date	Jun 24, 2020
Publication date	Dec 31, 2024
Grant date	Dec 31, 2024

Abstract

A shoe treating apparatus including a sensor part including at least one sensor, a motor part configured to control tilting of at least one shelf, and a processor electrically connected to the sensor part and the motor part is provided. The processor may identify an approach of a user by using the at least one sensor, and may generate, based on the identified user approach, a control signal for adjusting a tilt speed of the at least one shelf. Also, the processor may transmit the generated control signal to the motor part to adjust the tilt speed of the at least one shelf. A method of operating a shoe treating apparatus is also provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A shoe treating apparatus, comprising:
at least one storage space;
at least one shelf tiltably mounted in the at least one storage space;
at least one sensor;
a motor part configured to control tilting of the at least one shelf; and
a processor electrically connected to the at least one sensor and the motor part, the processor being configured to:
identify an approach of a user by using the at least one sensor,
generate, based on identifying the user approach, a control signal for adjusting a tilt speed of the at least one shelf, and
transmit the generated control signal to the motor part to adjust the tilt speed of the at least one shelf.

2. The shoe treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
identify a distance between the shoe treating apparatus and the user by using the at least one sensor, and
generate a control signal to adjust the tilt speed of the at least one shelf based on the identified distance.

3. The shoe treating apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
transmit the generated control signal to the motor part, and
adjust the tilt speed of the at least one shelf based on the identified distance.

4. The shoe treating apparatus of claim 3 , further comprising a memory,
wherein the processor is further configured to:
based on the identified distance, acquire tilt speed information of the at least one shelf, the tilt speed information being stored in the memory, and
control an operation of the motor part based on the acquired tilt speed information.

5. The shoe treating apparatus of claim 1 ,
wherein the processor is further configured to:
identify, by the at least one sensor, whether a door of the shoe treating apparatus is opened, and
based on the door being opened, stop an operation being performed in the at least one storage space while allowing the at least one shelf to continue tilting.

6. The shoe treating apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising an upper cabinet,
wherein the at least one storage space is in the upper cabinet,
wherein the operation is a normal treatment operation, and
wherein the processor is further configured to:
identify, by the at least one sensor, whether the door is closed, and
based on the door being closed, resume the normal treatment operation in the at least one storage space.

7. The shoe treating apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the processor is further configured to, when the door is identified as having been closed, allow the at least one shelf to tilt at a tilt speed corresponding to the normal treatment operation.

8. The shoe treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
identify a height of the user by the at least one sensor, and
based on the identified height of the user, adjust the tilt angle of the at least one shelf by the motor part.

9. The shoe treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one sensor comprises at least one of a camera, a door open/close sensor, a weight sensor, a distance measurement sensor, a knock-on sensor, a fingerprint sensor, or an infrared (IR) sensor.

10. The shoe treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one shelf includes a plurality of shelves, and
wherein the processor is further configured to control a tilting direction of each shelf of the plurality of shelves to be different from an adjacent one or more shelfs of the plurality of shelves.

11. The shoe treating apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
rotate at least two rotary members located at a right side surface of a first shelf of the plurality of shelves clockwise by the motor part, and
rotate at least two rotary members located at a right side surface of a second shelf disposed below the first shelf counterclockwise by the motor part to tilt the first shelf and the second shelf in different tilting directions.

12. The shoe treating apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
an upper cabinet;
a lower cabinet; and
a display,
wherein the at least one storage space comprises an upper cabinet storage space and a lower cabinet storage space, and
wherein the processor is further configured to control the display to display state information based on at least one of normal treatment on at least one shoe stored in the upper cabinet storage space and intensive treatment on at least one shoe stored in the lower cabinet storage space.

13. The shoe treating apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the state information comprises information indicating a state of normally treating the at least one shoe stored in the upper cabinet storage space by adjusting at least one of the temperature or humidity inside the upper cabinet based on at least one of a material, type, or condition of the at least one shoe stored in the upper cabinet storage space.

14. The shoe treating apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the state information comprises information indicating a state of intensively treating the at least one shoe stored in the lower cabinet storage space by performing at least one of a foreign substance removal function, a sanitizing and deodorizing function, a steaming and sanitizing function, a dehumidifying and drying function, or a nourishing and water-repellent coating function on the at least one shoe stored in the lower cabinet storage space based on at least one of a material, a type, or a condition of the at least one shoe stored in the lower cabinet storage space.

15. A method of operating a shoe treating apparatus, the method comprising:
identifying an approach of a user by using at least one sensor;
based on identifying the user approach, generating, by a processor, a control signal for adjusting a tilt speed of at least one shelf in at least one storage space of the shoe treating apparatus; and
adjusting the tilt speed of the at least one shelf on the basis of the generated control signal.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the generating of the control signal comprises:
identifying a distance between the shoe treating apparatus and the user using the at least one sensor; and
generating a control signal to adjust the tilt speed of the at least one shelf on the basis of the identified distance.

17. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:
identifying, by using the at least one sensor, whether a door of the shoe treating apparatus is opened; and
based on opening the door, stopping an operation being performed in the at least one storage space while allowing the at least one shelf to continue tilting.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein stopping the operation comprises:
identifying, by using the at least one sensor, whether the door of the shoe treating apparatus is closed; and
based on closing the door, resuming the normal treatment operation in the at least one storage space.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising, when the door is identified as having been closed, allowing the at least one shelf to tilt based on a tilt speed corresponding to the normal treatment operation.

20. The method of claim 18 , wherein the at least one shelf comprises a plurality of shelves, and
wherein resuming the normal treatment operation in the at least one storage space comprises controlling a tilting direction of each shelf of the plurality of shelves to be different from an adjacent one or more shelfs of the plurality of shelves.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Yoo Hyunsun
• Choi Jeong Guen
• Oh Joohyeon
• Lim Jae Myung
• Han Byoungjoon
• Lee Sang Yoon
• Kim Hyunju
• Seong Jeaseok

Classifications

• A61L2103/50

  Textiles, e.g. bedwear or towels · CPC title

• A61L2/07

  Steam · CPC title

• A61L2202/122

  Chambers for sterilisation · CPC title

• A61L2202/14

  Means for controlling sterilisation processes, data processing, presentation and storage means, e.g. sensors, controllers, programs · CPC title

• A61L2202/11

  Apparatus for generating biocidal substances, e.g. vaporisers, UV lamps · CPC title