EP-4741725-A1 - DEHUMIDIFIER AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING SAME

EP4741725A1EP 4741725 A1EP4741725 A1EP 4741725A1EP-4741725-A1

Abstract

A dehumidifier including an environmental sensor configured to measure temperature and humidity of air and produce corresponding sensor data; a water tank configured to store water generated by a dehumidifying operation of the dehumidifier; a water level sensor configured to detect that a water level in the water tank reaches a predetermined water level; and at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to calculate a cumulative amount of dehumidification based on sensor data collected from the environmental sensor and correction data, and, based on the water level sensor detecting that the water level in the water tank reaches the predetermined water level, update the correction data based on a difference between the cumulative amount of dehumidification and a predetermined amount of water corresponding to the predetermined water level.

Inventors

PARK, JEONGUK
KANG, HEECHAN
YOU, Hangeoroo
JO, Hyukbin
HAN, SEUNGYEON

Assignees

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20241015

Claims (15)

A dehumidifier comprising: an environmental sensor configured to measure temperature and humidity of air and produce corresponding sensor data; a water tank configured to store water generated by a dehumidifying operation of the dehumidifier; a water level sensor configured to detect that a water level in the water tank reaches a predetermined water level; and at least one processor configured to: calculate a cumulative amount of dehumidification based on sensor data collected from the environmental sensor, and correction data; and, based on the water level sensor detecting that the water level in the water tank reaches the predetermined water level, update the correction data based on a difference between the cumulative amount of dehumidification and a predetermined amount of water corresponding to the predetermined water level.
The dehumidifier of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: initialize the cumulative amount of dehumidification based on detection of a water emptying event.
The dehumidifier of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: detect the water emptying event based on a change from a state in which the water level sensor detects that the water level in the water tank reaches the predetermined water level, to a state in which the water level sensor does not detect that the water level in the water tank reaches the predetermined water level.
The dehumidifier of claim 1, wherein the water level sensor includes a first water level sensor configured to detect that the water level in the water tank reaches a first water level, and a second water level sensor configured to detect that the water level in the water tank reaches a second water level higher than the first water level, and the at least one processor is configured to: based on the first water level sensor detecting that the water level in the water tank reaches the first water level, update the correction data based on a difference between the cumulative amount of dehumidification and a first amount of water corresponding to the first water level.
The dehumidifier of claim 1, wherein the water level sensor includes a first water level sensor configured to detect that the water level in the water tank reaches a first water level, and a second water level sensor configured to detect that the water level in the water tank reaches a second water level higher than the first water level, and the at least one processor is configured to: based on the first water level sensor detecting that the water level in the water tank reaches the first water level, correct the cumulative amount of dehumidification to a first amount of water corresponding to the first water level, and based on the second water level sensor detecting that the water level in the water tank reaches the second water level, update the correction data based on a difference between the cumulative amount of dehumidification and a second amount of water corresponding to the second water level.
The dehumidifier of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: estimate a water level of the water tank based on the cumulative amount of dehumidification, and based on the water level sensor detecting that the water level of the water tank reaches the predetermined water level, correct the cumulative amount of dehumidification to the predetermined amount of water.
The dehumidifier of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: display the estimated water level of the water tank through an output interface of the dehumidifier or transmit information related to the estimated water level of the water tank to an external device through wireless communication.
The dehumidifier of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive a user input to set a designated water level notification, and based on the estimated water level of the water tank reaching the designated water level set according to the received user input, output sensory information indicating that the water level of the water tank reaches a designated water level, through an output interface of the dehumidifier, or notify an external device that the water level of the water tank reaches the designated water level, through wireless communication.
The dehumidifier of claim 6, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receive a user input to set a designated water level limit, and stop the dehumidifying operation in response to the estimated water level of the water tank reaching a designated water level set according to the user input.
The dehumidifier of claim 1, wherein the correction data includes a lookup table in which a correction amount corresponding to a temperature condition and a humidity condition is stored, and the at least one processor is configured to: update the lookup table by matching the temperature and humidity of air measured by the environmental sensor with the temperature condition and the humidity condition and by storing a difference between the cumulative amount of dehumidification and the predetermined amount of water as one of a plurality of factors for determining the correction amount.
The dehumidifier of claim 10, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: determine an average value of the plurality of factors stored in the lookup table as the correction amount.
The dehumidifier of claim 1, further comprising: an artificial intelligence model stored in a memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to train the artificial intelligence model by using the temperature and humidity of air measured by the environmental sensor and the difference between the cumulative amount of dehumidification and the predetermined amount of water, as training data, to output a correction amount.
A method for controlling a dehumidifier that includes an environmental sensor configured to measure temperature and humidity of air and produce corresponding sensor data, a water tank configured to store water generated by a dehumidifying operation of the dehumidifier, and a water level sensor configured to detect that a water level in the water tank reaches a predetermined water level, the method comprising: calculating a cumulative amount of dehumidification based on sensor data collected from the environmental sensor, and correction data; and based on the water level sensor detecting that the water level in the water tank reaches the predetermined water level, updating the correction data based on a difference between the cumulative amount of dehumidification and a predetermined amount of water corresponding to the predetermined water level.
The method for controlling the dehumidifier of claim 13, wherein the calculating of the cumulative amount of dehumidification includes initializing the cumulative amount of dehumidification based on detection of a water emptying event.
The method for controlling the dehumidifier of claim 14, further comprising: detecting the water emptying event based on a change from a state in which the water level sensor detects that the water level in the water tank reaches the predetermined water level to a state in which the water level sensor does not detect that the water level in the water tank reaches the predetermined water level.

Description

[Technical Field] The present disclosure relates to a dehumidifier configured to detect a water level of a water tank and a method for controlling the same. [Background Art] In general, a dehumidifier is a device that lowers indoor humidity by drawing humid air from indoor space into a main body of the dehumidifier, allowing the humid air to pass through a heat exchanger, which is composed of a condenser and an evaporator through which a refrigerant flows, to reduce humidity of the humid air and then discharging dehumidified air back into the indoor space. The dehumidifier uses a method of taking heat from the surrounding air by evaporating a liquid refrigerant from the evaporator, and as the refrigerant evaporates, a temperature of the evaporator decreases and a temperature of the air passing through the evaporator also decreases. Therefore, as the temperature around the evaporator decreases, moisture contained in the air is condensed and formed as dew on a surface of the evaporator. A water tank for storing condensed water formed on the surface of the evaporator may be provided inside the dehumidifier. If it is possible to accurately measure a water level of the water tank of the dehumidifier, various functions related to the water level of the water tank may be provided to a user, but the use of expensive sensors to detect the water level of the water tank is limited depending on the size, structure, and obstacles such as price increase of the dehumidifier. [Disclosure] [Technical Problem] The present disclosure is directed to providing a dehumidifier capable of accurately estimating a water level of a water tank based on sensor data collected from sensors, and a method for controlling the same. Further, the present disclosure is directed to providing a dehumidifier capable of providing various functions related to a water level of a water tank and a method for controlling the same. [Technical Solution] One aspect of the present disclosure provides a dehumidifier including an environmental sensor configured to measure a temperature and humidity of air and produce corresponding sensor data; a water tank configured to store water generated by a dehumidifying operation of the dehumidifier; a water level sensor configured to detect that a water level in the water tank reaches a predetermined water level; and at least one processor configured to calculate a cumulative amount of dehumidification based on sensor data collected from the environmental sensor and correction data, and, based on the water level sensor detecting that the water level in the water tank reaches the predetermined water level, update the correction data based on a difference between the cumulative amount of dehumidification and a predetermined amount of water corresponding to the predetermined water level. Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method for controlling a dehumidifier that includes an environmental sensor configured to measure temperature and humidity of air and produce corresponding sensor data, a water tank configured to store water generated by a dehumidifying operation of the dehumidifier, and a water level sensor configured to detect that a water level in the water tank reaches a predetermined water level, wherein the method includes calculating a cumulative amount of dehumidification based on sensor data collected from the environmental sensor and correction data; and, based on the water level sensor detecting that the water level in the water tank reaches the predetermined water level, updating the correction data based on a difference between the cumulative amount of dehumidification and a predetermined amount of water corresponding to the predetermined water level. [Description of Drawings] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a front perspective view of a dehumidifier according to one embodiment.FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a rear perspective view of the dehumidifier according to one embodiment.FIG. 3 illustrates a water tank separated from a main body of the dehumidifier according to one embodiment.FIG. 4 is a view for describing an example of components of the water tank of the dehumidifier according to one embodiment.FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram for describing dehumidification principle of the dehumidifier according to one embodiment.FIG. 6 is a view for describing an example of a water level sensor of the dehumidifier according to one embodiment.FIG. 7 is a control block diagram illustrating components of the dehumidifier according to one embodiment.FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a method for controlling the dehumidifier according to one embodiment.FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for updating correction data when the dehumidifier according to one embodiment detects the reaching of a first water level.FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method for updating correction data when the dehumidifier according to one embodiment detects the reaching