Water purifier and control method thereof

A control method of a water purifier for recognizing a container,

• the water purifier comprising:
• a main body configured to form a seating surface on which the container is placed, and to discharge water into the container;
• a camera and a distance sensor that are disposed vertically over the seating surface and that face the seating surface;
• and
• a control unit configured to control operations of the main body, the camera, and the distance sensor, and to store reference image information and reference water discharge information on the container,
• the control method comprising:
• a photographing step for photographing, by the camera, the seating surface to generate real-time image information on the container;
• a scanning step for scanning, by the distance sensor, the seating surface to generate real-time distance information on the container;
• and
• a calculating step for analyzing the real-time image information and the real-time distance information to generate capacity information on the container,
• wherein the reference image information and the reference water discharge information are updated to include the real-time image information, the real-time distance information, and the capacity information.

A water purifier for recognizing a container and content contained in the container and discharging water, the water purifier comprising:

• a main body configured to form a seating surface on which the container is placed, and to discharge water into the container;
• a camera and a distance sensor that are disposed vertically over the seating surface and that face the seating surface;
• and
• a control unit configured to control operations of the main body, the camera, and the distance sensor,
• wherein the camera is configured to photograph the seating surface to generate real-time image information,
• wherein the distance sensor is configured to scan the seating surface to generate lowest point height information and highest point height information on the container before the water is discharged, and to generate real-time height information on a water surface after the water is discharged,
• wherein the control unit is configured to stop discharging the water before a real-time height exceeds the highest point height, and
• wherein the control unit is configured to compare at least one of the reference image information on the container or the reference image information on the content with the real-time image information, and to control the amount of water to be discharged according to the comparison result.

A water purifier for recognizing a container and content contained in the container and discharging water, the water purifier comprising:

• a main body configured to form a seating surface on which the container is placed, and to discharge water into the container;
• a camera and a distance sensor that are disposed vertically over the seating surface and that face the seating surface;
• and
• a control unit configured to control operations of the main body, the camera, and the distance sensor,
• wherein the camera is configured to photograph the seating surface to generate real-time image information,
• wherein the distance sensor is configured to scan the seating surface to generate lowest point height information and highest point height information on the container before the water is discharged, and to generate real-time height information on a water surface after the water is discharged,
• wherein the control unit is configured to stop discharging the water before a real-time height exceeds the highest point height,
• wherein two or more markers are provided on the seating surface, and
• wherein the control unit is configured to:
• store relative coordinates of the two or more markers;
• and
• calculate area information on the container based on the relative coordinates of the container and the plurality of markers in the real-time image information.