Laundry Treating Apparatus and Control Method Thereof

Abstract

A laundry treating apparatus capable of washing and drying laundry and a control method therefore are disclosed. The laundry treating apparatus includes a first laundry treating device (100) configured to process laundry based on preset operating conditions, a second laundry treating device (200) installed adjacent to the first laundry treating device (100) and configured to process laundry based on preset operating conditions independently of the first laundry treating device (100), first and second heaters installed respectively in the first (100) and second (200) laundry treating devices, and a control device to determine the order of priority upon operations of the first and second heaters in consideration of the preset operating conditions and to selectively operate only any one of the first and second heaters after operating the determined heater first.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a laundry treating apparatus capable of washing and / or drying laundry and a control method of the laundry treating apparatus.BACKGROUND ART[0002]As is known, a washing machine and a drying machine function complementary to each other and therefore, may be arranged parallel to each other so as to be used together as necessary. Recently, a laundry treating apparatus has been commercialized, which is a combination of an independent washing machine and drying machine. The laundry treating apparatus is manufactured in such a manner that the washing machine and drying machine have independent structures, but are functionally associated with each other. Alternatively, the laundry treating apparatus may consist of only a pair of washing machines or of a pair of drying machines as necessary. The laundry treating apparatus preferably has a unified design, to allow a user to recognize the laundry treating apparatus as a single system. Furth...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]In a laundry treating apparatus and a control method thereof according to the present invention, only any one of first and second heaters is controlled to be selectively operated during operations of first and second laundry treating devices. With the selective operation of the heaters, the present invention has the effect of controlling power consumption so as not to exceed available power. This consequently may assure stable operation of the laundry treating apparatus. Furthermore, according to the present invention, the first and second heaters are operated based on priority and various operation modes thereof in consideration of preset operating conditions, resulting in effective and efficient operation of the laundry treating apparatus.

Problems solved by technology

As mentioned above, the laundry treating apparatus substantially constitutes a single system and therefore, limited power is supplied to the single laundry treating apparatus.

However, in the case where individual devices, such as the washing machine and the drying machine, involved in the laundry treating apparatus are driven together, power consumption may exceed available power.

This may cause inappropriate operation of the laundry treating apparatus and, in the worst case, may cause breakage of the laundry treating apparatus.

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