Wine cellar and method for controlling same

Abstract

A wine cellar includes a storage room for storing food, a cooling device for supplying cooled air to the storage room, a heating device for supplying heated air to the storage room and a fan for circulating outside air of the wine cellar and inside air of the storage room. A temperature sensor senses the temperature in the storage room. A processor determines an operation mode of the wine cellar on the basis of the sensed temperature of the storage room and a set temperature for the storage room, and selectively controls the cooling device or the heating device on the basis of the determined operation mode. When the determined operation mode is a heating mode, the processor controls the fan to allow the outside air to flow into the storage room, and controls the heating device to start supplying the heated air during the operation of the fan.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A wine cellar comprising:
 a storage room to store food;   a cooling device to supply cooled air to the storage room;   a heating device to supply heated air to the storage room;   a fan to circulate outside air of the wine cellar and inside air of the storage room;   a temperature sensor configured to sense temperature in the storage room; and   a processor configured to determine an operation mode of the wine cellar based on the sensed temperature of the storage room and a set temperature for the storage room, and selectively control the cooling device or the heating device based on the determined operation mode,   wherein the processor is further configured to, based on the determined operation mode being a heating mode, control the fan to introduce the outside air into the inside of the storage room, and control the heating device to start supplying the heated air during operation of the fan.   
     
     
         2 . The wine cellar of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a humidity sensor to sense humidity of the storage room,   wherein the processor is further configured to, based on the sensed humidity reaching a preset humidity during the operation of the fan, control the heating device to start supplying the heated air.   
     
     
         3 . The wine cellar of  claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to control the fan for a preset time, and based on the sensed humidity reaching the preset humidity after the preset time, control the heating device to start supplying the heated air. 
     
     
         4 . The wine cellar of  claim 3 , wherein the processor is further configured to, based on the sensed humidity not reaching the preset humidity after the preset time, control the fan again for the preset time. 
     
     
         5 . The wine cellar of  claim 3 , wherein the processor is further configured to calculate an average humidity of the detected humidity during the preset time, and based on the calculated average humidity reaching the preset humidity, control the heating device to start supplying the heated air. 
     
     
         6 . The wine cellar of  claim 2 , wherein the humidity sensor comprises a plurality of sensors disposed at different locations in the storage room to sense humidity, respectively, and
 wherein the processor is further configured to, based on all the humidity sensed by the plurality of humidity sensors, respectively, during the operation of the fan, reaching the preset humidity, control the heater to start supplying the heated air.   
     
     
         7 . The wine cellar of  claim 2 , further comprising:
 a second temperature sensor to sense outside temperature of the wine cellar,   wherein the preset humidity is set based on at least one of the outside temperature or the set temperature.   
     
     
         8 . The wine cellar of  claim 2 , wherein the preset humidity is 75%. 
     
     
         9 . A method for controlling a wine cellar comprising a cooling device, a heating device, and a fan, the method comprising:
 sensing temperature in a storage room of the wine cellar;   determining an operation mode of the wine cellar based on the temperature of the storage room and a set temperature for the storage room; and   selectively controlling the cooling device or the heating device based on the determined operation mode,   wherein the controlling comprises:   controlling the fan to introduce the outside air into the inside of the storage room; and   controlling the heating device to start supplying the heated air during operation of the fan.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the controlling further comprises:
 sensing humidity of the storage room,   wherein the controlling the heating device comprises, based on the sensed humidity reaching a preset humidity during the operation of the fan, controlling the heating device to start supplying the heated air.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the controlling the fan comprises controlling the fan for a preset time, and
 wherein the controlling the heating device comprises, based on the sensed humidity reaching the preset humidity after the preset time, controlling the heating device to start supplying the heated air.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the controlling further comprises:
 based on the sensed humidity not reaching the preset humidity after the preset time, controlling the fan again for the preset time.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the controlling the heating device comprises calculating an average humidity of the detected humidity during the preset time, and based on the calculated average humidity reaching the preset humidity, controlling the heating device to start supplying the heated air. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the sensing the humidity comprises sensing humidity using a plurality of humidity sensors disposed at different locations in the storage room, and
 wherein the controlling the heating device comprises, based on all the humidity sensed by the plurality of humidity sensors, respectively, during the operation of the fan, reaching the preset humidity, controlling the heater to start supplying the heated air.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 sensing outside temperature of the wine cellar,   wherein the preset humidity is set based on at least one of the outside temperature or the set temperature.