Patent Application
20210207312
The present invention relates to a laundry treatment apparatus.
Generally, laundry treatment apparatuses include an apparatus that washes laundry (a washing object or a drying object), an apparatus that dries laundry, and an apparatus that is capable of performing both washing and drying of laundry.
Conventional laundry treatment apparatuses are divided into a front-loading type, in which laundry is introduced into the apparatus through an opening provided in the front surface of the apparatus, and a top-loading type, in which laundry is introduced into the apparatus through an opening provided in the top surface of the apparatus.
A top-loading-type laundry treatment apparatus includes a cabinet, a tub provided inside the cabinet and having an opening in the top surface thereof, a drum rotatably provided inside the tub, and a door configured to open and close the opening.
In the conventional laundry treatment apparatus described above, a detergent storage unit and a detergent supply unit are provided inside the cabinet in order to supply detergent into the tub. The conventional detergent supply unit generally includes a discharge unit configured to guide the detergent inside the detergent storage unit to the tub and a water supply unit configured to interconnect a water source and the detergent storage unit.
That is, the detergent supply unit provided in the conventional laundry treatment apparatus has a structure in which water supplied from the water source, which is provided outside the laundry treatment apparatus, is supplied to the detergent storage unit so that the detergent stored in the detergent storage unit is supplied, together with water, to the tub. Accordingly, the conventional detergent supply unit may require the water supply unit to be configured so as to interconnect the water source and the detergent storage unit.
One object of the present invention devised to solve the problem lies in a laundry treatment apparatus capable of supplying detergent, stored in a detergent storage unit, to laundry without supplying water to the detergent storage unit.
In addition, another object of the present invention devised to solve the problem lies in a laundry treatment apparatus capable of washing the inside of a detergent storage unit using water present in a tub.
The object of the present invention can be achieved by providing a laundry treatment apparatus including a cabinet including an opening, a drawer body provided so as to be introduced into or removed from the cabinet through the opening, a drawer panel fixed to the drawer body to open and close the opening, a tub provided in the drawer body to provide a space in which water is stored, a drum rotatably provided inside the tub to provide a space in which laundry is stored, a detergent storage unit provided in the drawer panel to provide a space in which detergent is stored, and a detergent supply unit configured to supply the detergent, stored in the detergent storage unit, to the tub.
The detergent storage unit may include a storage device provided in the drawer panel to store the detergent therein, a detergent introduction opening, through which the detergent is introduced into the storage device, and a storage device door configured to open and close the detergent introduction opening.
The storage device may include a first body fixed inside the drawer panel, and a second body located outside the drawer panel to communicate with the first body, the second body being located between the opening and a top surface of the drawer body when the drawer panel closes the opening.
The detergent introduction opening may be provided in a top surface of the first body and a top surface of the second body.
The laundry treatment apparatus may further include a slope configured to guide the detergent inside the second body to the first body.
The detergent introduction opening may be provided in a top surface of the drawer panel.
The storage device door may include a cover configured to open and close the detergent introduction opening and located on the top surface of the drawer panel, a connection body configured to rotatably couple the cover to the storage device and provided by bending a portion of the cover towards a bottom surface of the drawer panel, and a guide provided so as to interconnect the cover and the connection body and configured to guide the detergent into the detergent introduction opening.
The storage device may be detachable from the drawer panel.
The detergent supply unit may include a detergent supply pipe configured to interconnect the storage device and the tub, and a valve configured to open and close the detergent supply pipe.
The detergent supply unit may include a chamber provided inside the drawer panel, a first flow path configured to interconnect the chamber and the storage device, a second flow path configured to interconnect the chamber and the tub, a first valve provided so as to open and close the first flow path and configured to allow the detergent in the first flow path to be introduced only into the chamber, a second valve provided so as to open and close the second flow path and configured to allow the detergent inside the chamber to be discharged only to the second flow path, and a piston provided so as to reciprocate inside the chamber in order to open and close the first valve and the second valve.
The detergent supply unit may include a detergent supply pipe configured to interconnect the storage device and the tub, a housing provided inside the drawer panel to accommodate at least a portion of the detergent supply pipe, and a pressure unit rotatably provided inside the housing and configured to move the detergent towards the tub or to move the water inside the tub to the storage device by changing a diameter of the detergent supply pipe when rotated.
The pressure unit may include a support frame rotatably provided inside the housing, and a roller provided on the support frame to apply pressure to the detergent supply pipe so that the diameter of the detergent supply pipe is reduced when the support frame is rotated.
The present invention may provide a laundry treatment apparatus capable of supplying detergent, stored in a detergent storage unit, to laundry without supplying water to the detergent storage unit.
In addition, the present invention may provide a laundry treatment apparatus capable of washing the inside of a detergent storage unit using water present in a tub.
Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Meanwhile, the configuration of an apparatus or a control method thereof, which will be given below, is merely intended to explain exemplary embodiments of the present invention, rather than limiting the technical scope of the present invention. Throughout the specification, the same reference numerals denote the same constituent elements.
As illustrated in
The cabinet 2 may serve to define the external appearance of the laundry treatment apparatus, and may also serve as the space in which the drawer 3 is accommodated. In either case, an opening 21, through which the drawer 3 is inserted, may be provided in the front surface of the cabinet 2.
The drawer 3 includes a drawer body 31 (see
The drawer panel 33 may be provided with a control panel 331 (see
The drawer body 31 may have any shape so long as it may be inserted into the cabinet 2 through the opening 21 and may provide the space in which the tub 4 is accommodated.
As illustrated in
The tub 4 includes a tub body 41, which is located inside the drawer body 31 and stores water therein, and a tub cover 43, which defines the top surface of the tub body 41. The tub body 41 may take the form of a cylinder having an open top side.
The tub cover 43 may include a tub introduction opening 431 for communication of the inside of the tub body 41 with the outside of the tub body, and a water supply opening 433, through which water is introduced into the tub body 41.
The tub introduction opening 431 may be provided under the first through-hole 351 provided in the drawer cover, and the water supply opening 433 may be provided under the second through-hole 353 provided in the drawer cover.
The tub introduction opening 431 is used to supply laundry to the inside of the tub body 41 or to discharge the laundry inside the tub body 41 to the outside of the tub body. The tub introduction opening 431 is opened and closed by a door 45, which is rotatably coupled to the tub cover 43.
The tub 4 having the above-described structure is coupled to the drawer body 31 via a tub support unit 6. The tub support unit 6 may be provided so as to interconnect a drawer bracket 311 provided on the drawer body 31 and a tub bracket 411 provided on the tub body 41.
One end of the tub support unit 6 may be shaped so as to be seated in the drawer bracket 311 and to be movable inside the drawer bracket 311. The other end of the tub support unit 6 may be shaped so as to support the tub bracket 411 and to be movable inside the tub bracket 411.
The drum 5, provided inside the tub 4, may include a cylindrical drum body 51 having a drum introduction opening 53 provided in the top surface thereof. Since the drum introduction opening 53 is located under the tub introduction opening 431, the laundry supplied through the tub introduction opening 431 may be supplied to the drum body 51 through the drum introduction opening 53.
A plurality of drum through-holes 59 may be provided in the bottom surface and the circumferential surface 55 of the drum body 51 for communication of the inside of the drum body 51 with the tub body 41.
The drum body 51 is rotated by a drive unit within the tub body 41. The drive unit may include a stator M1, which is located outside the tub body 41 and is fixed to the bottom surface of the tub body, a rotor M2, which is rotated by a rotating magnetic field provided by the stator, and a drive unit rotating shaft M3, which penetrates the bottom surface of the tub body 41 to interconnect the bottom surface 57 of the drum and the rotor M3. In this case, the drive unit rotating shaft M3 may be provided to form a right angle relative to the bottom surface of the tub body 41.
The laundry treatment apparatus 100 having the above-described structure functions to supply water to the tub 4 through a water supply unit 7 and to discharge the water stored in the tub 4 to the outside of the cabinet 2 through a drain unit 8.
The water supply unit 7 may include a first water supply pipe 71, which is connected to the water supply opening 433 provided in the tub cover, a second water supply pipe 73, which is connected to a water source located outside the cabinet, and a connection pipe 75, which is fixed to the tub cover 43 to interconnect the first water supply pipe and the second water supply pipe.
The first water supply pipe 71 may interconnect the water supply opening 433 and the connection pipe 75 through the second through-hole 353 provided in the drawer cover 35, and may be a bellows-shaped pipe (a pipe having a structure or formed of a material to enable a flexible change in length) in order to prevent the first water supply pipe 71 from being separated from the connection pipe 75 when the tub 4 vibrates.
In addition, in order to prevent the second water supply pipe 73 from being separated from the connection pipe 75 when the drawer 3 is removed from the cabinet 2, the second water supply pipe 73 may also be a bellows-shaped pipe. The second water supply pipe 73 is opened and closed by a water supply valve 77, which is controlled by a controller (not illustrated).
Unlike the illustration of the drawing, the water supply unit 7 may include a single water supply pipe, which interconnects the water source (not illustrated) located outside the cabinet and the water supply opening 433 provided in the tub cover. In this case, at least a portion of the water supply pipe may take the form of a bellows-shaped pipe.
The drain unit 8 may include a drain pump 81 fixed to the drawer body 31, a first drain pipe 83, which guides the water inside the tub body 41 to the drain pump 81, and a second drain pipe 85, which guides the water discharged from the drain pump 81 to the outside of the cabinet 2. In this case, the second drain pipe 85 may be a bellows-shaped pipe.
The laundry treatment apparatus 100 having the above-described structure functions to supply detergent to the tub 4 via a detergent storage unit 91 and a detergent supply unit 95, which are provided in the drawer panel 33. In the present invention, the reason why the detergent storage unit 91 and the detergent supply unit 95 are provided in the drawer panel 33 is to minimize the volume of the laundry treatment apparatus 100.
When the detergent storage unit 91 and the detergent supply unit 95 are provided in the drawer panel 33, the space between the drawer 3 and the tub 4 and the space between the tub 4 and the drum 5 may be minimized, and in turn, the minimization of these spaces may also enable the volume of the laundry treatment apparatus 100 to be minimized.
The detergent storage unit 91 may include a storage device 911, which is provided inside the drawer panel 33 to provide the space in which detergent is stored, a detergent introduction opening 913, which is provided in one surface of the drawer panel 33 for the introduction of detergent to the storage device 911, a storage device door 917, which opens and closes the detergent introduction opening, and a detergent discharge opening 915, through which the detergent inside the storage device is discharged.
The storage device 911 may have any shape so long as it may be provided inside the drawer panel 33 so as to provide the space in which the detergent is stored. The storage device 911 may be detachably provided inside the drawer panel. This configuration is made in consideration of the case in which the storage device 911 needs to be washed.
The detergent introduction opening 913 and the storage device door 917 may be provided in any one surface among the top surface of the drawer panel 33 (the surface provided with the control panel) and opposite side surfaces of the drawer panel (the surfaces extending from opposite sides of the top surface towards the ground).
The detergent supply unit 95 may include a detergent supply pipe 951, which supplies the detergent inside the storage device 911 to the tub 4, and a valve 953, which opens and closes the detergent supply pipe 951.
The detergent supply pipe 951 may be provided so as to interconnect the detergent discharge opening 915 and a detergent inlet portion 47 provided in the tub. The detergent inlet portion 47 may be located lower than the detergent discharge opening 915. This serves to allow the detergent inside the storage device 911 to move to the tub 4 due to the weight thereof when the valve 953 is opened.
The valve 953 may be provided so as to open and close the detergent supply pipe 951 in response to a control signal from the controller (not illustrated, a unit that controls the drive unit).
The laundry treatment apparatus 100 having the above-described structure functions to wash the detergent supply pipe 951 and the storage device 911 when the controller controls the valve 953 while the drum is rotated after water is supplied to the tub 4 through the water supply unit.
The reason for this is that, when the drum 5 is rotated in the state in which the valve 953 opens the detergent supply pipe 951, the water inside the tub 4 may be discharged from the tub through the detergent inlet portion 47 by centrifugal force and may be then supplied to the storage device 911 through the detergent supply pipe 951, and the water introduced into the storage device 911 may again move to the tub 4 when the rotation of the drum stops or the rotational speed of the drum is reduced.
Accordingly, the present invention may supply the detergent stored in the storage device 911 to the tub and may also wash the storage device 911 using the water inside the tub, without receiving water from the water source located outside the cabinet 1.
The chamber 971 and the first flow path 977 may be connected to each other through a first inlet port 973, and the chamber 971 and the second flow path 979 may be connected to each other through a second inlet port 975. In this case, the first valve 974 may be provided in the first inlet port 973, and the second valve 976 may be provided in the second inlet port 975.
The first valve 974 may be a check valve that is rotatable only towards the inside of the chamber 971, and the second valve 956 may be a check valve that is rotatable only away from the chamber 971.
In this case, when the piston 9711 moves far away from the first inlet port 973 or the second inlet port 975, the first valve 974 may open the first flow path 977 and the second valve 956 may close the second flow path 979. Thus, when the piston 9711 moves away from the first inlet port 973 or the second inlet port 975, the detergent inside the storage device 911 may be introduced into the chamber 971 through the first flow path 977.
On the other hand, when the piston 9711 moves towards the first inlet port 973 or the second inlet port 975, the first valve 974 may close the first flow path 977 and the second valve 956 may open the second flow path 979. Thus, the detergent introduced into the chamber 971 may move to the tub 4 through the second flow path 979.
A device that causes the piston 9711 to reciprocate inside the chamber 971 may be realized in any of various forms.
The pressure unit may include a support frame 995, which is rotatably provided inside the housing 993, and rollers 996, which are provided on the support frame to apply pressure to the detergent supply pipe 991 so that the diameter of the detergent supply pipe 991 is reduced when the support frame 995 is rotated. The support frame 995 may be fixed to a rotating shaft 997 provided on the motor.
The pressure unit having the above-described structure may function to move the detergent inside the detergent supply pipe 991 towards the tub 4, or may function to move the water inside the tub 4 to the storage device, depending on the rotating direction thereof.
That is, the detergent supply unit 99 having the structure illustrated in
However, since the water stored in the tub 4 may move to the storage device 911 when the support frame 995 is rotated in the clockwise direction, the detergent supply unit 99 in
The detergent supply units 95, 97 and 99 having the above-described structures may minimize the volume of the laundry treatment apparatus 100 since the storage device 911 is provided inside the drawer panel 33, but may cause inconvenience when the user introduces the detergent into the storage device 911 due to the small area of the detergent introduction opening 913.
That is, the area of the detergent introduction opening 913 according to the above-described embodiments is limited by the area of the top surface of the drawer panel 33 or the position of the control panel 331, and the small area of the detergent introduction opening 913 may make it difficult for the user to introduce the detergent into the storage device 911.
In order to solve the problem described above, the detergent supply unit 91 according to the present invention may take the forms illustrated in
The detergent supply unit 91 illustrated in
Specifically, the storage device door 917 according to the present embodiment may include a cover 917a, which opens and closes the detergent introduction opening 913, a connection body 917b, which connects the cover 917a to the storage device 911, and a shaft 917c, which rotatably couples the connection body 917b to the storage device 911.
In the case in which the detergent introduction opening 913 is located in the top surface of the drawer panel 33, the cover 917a may be provided so as to form a portion of the top surface of the drawer panel (provided so as to be exposed to the outside of the drawer panel), and the connection body 917b may be provided by bending a portion of the cover towards the bottom surface of the drawer panel (the ground on which the cabinet is supported).
In the case in which the cover 917a and the connection body 917b are provided so as to form the corner of the top surface of the drawer panel, when the cover 917a opens the detergent introduction opening 913, the user may introduce the detergent into the storage device 911 by supplying the detergent into the space S between one surface of the detergent introduction opening 913 (the surface opposite the surface connected to the connection body) and the cover 917a. Accordingly, the present embodiment may solve any problem that may occur due to the small area of the detergent introduction opening.
In this case, the storage device door 917 may further include guides, which are provided respectively on opposite side surfaces of the storage device door to guide the detergent, introduced into the storage device door 917, to the detergent introduction opening 913. The guides may include a first guide 917d, which interconnects one side surface of the cover 917a and one side surface of the connection body 917b, and a second guide (not illustrated), which interconnects the other side surface of the cover 917a and the other side surface of the connection body 917b.
The detergent storage unit 91, illustrated in
That is, the storage device 911 according to the present embodiment has a feature in that it includes a first body 911a fixed to the drawer panel 33 and a second body 911b located outside the drawer panel 33 so as to communicate with the first body 911a.
In this case, the detergent discharge opening 915, through which the detergent is discharged, may be provided in the bottom surface of the first body 911a, and the detergent introduction opening 913 may be provided in the top surface of the first body 911a and the top surface of the second body 911b. That is, the detergent introduction opening 913 may be provided in the entirety of the top surface of the first body and the top surface of the second body.
The second body 911b needs to be provided so as not to interfere with the opening 21 when the drawer 3 is removed from the cabinet 2 or inserted into the cabinet. Thus, when the drawer panel 33 closes the opening 21, the second body 911b needs to be provided so as to be located between the opening 21 and the drawer cover 35. Moreover, the second body 911b may further include a slope 911c on the bottom surface thereof in order to guide the detergent towards the detergent discharge opening 915. Accordingly, the present embodiment may also solve any problem that may occur due to the small area of the detergent introduction opening.
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2016-0007690 | Jan 2016 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2017/000049 | 1/3/2017 | WO | 00 |
