Laundry treating apparatus

This applicationNotice: More than one reissue application has been filed for the reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 9,309, 618 B2. These reissue applications are:

Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 9,309,618 B2claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to KoreanPatentApplication No. 10-2013-0083997 filed on Jul. 17, 2013, whose entire disclosure is hereby incorporated by reference.

1. Field

This relates to a laundry treating apparatus.

2. Background

A laundry treating apparatus may perform various operations such as, for example, washing, drying, deodorization, wrinkle removal, and the like related to laundry. Such a laundry treating apparatus may include a washer that washes laundry, a dryer that dries wet laundry, and a refresher that deodorizes laundry or removes wrinkles from the laundry.

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be noted herein that construction of an apparatus, which will hereinafter be described, and a control method of the apparatus are given only for illustrative purposes and embodiments are not limited thereto. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

A laundry treating apparatus may be capable of washing, drying, and deodorizing laundry and removing wrinkles from the laundry, but may still utilize a drum to receive laundry and a driving device to rotate the drum, with deodorization of laundry or removal of wrinkles from the laundry performed during rotation of the drum. If the laundry is placed in the drum while it is still wrinkled/not straightened, deodorization of laundry and/or removal of wrinkles from the laundry may be adversely affected. Furthermore, such a laundry treating apparatus does not include a device which may form a crease in a laundry item, requiring further treatment by, for example, an iron, after completion of washing or drying.

As shown in, a laundry treating apparatusas embodied and broadly described herein may include a cabinet, a laundry receiving deviceprovided in the cabinet, a supply device to supply at least one of air or moisture to the laundry receiving device, and a presserprovided in the laundry receiving device.

The laundry receiving deviceforms a receiving spacedefined in the cabinetto receive laundry. The receiving spacemay be opened and closed by a doorprovided at the cabinet.

A laundry support device to support laundry items may be provided in the cabinet. The laundry support device may include a laundry support bar(hereinafter, referred to as a ‘first laundry support bar’) provided in the receiving spaceand a laundry support bar(hereinafter, referred to as a ‘second laundry support bar’) provided at the door.

The first laundry support barmay extend in a width direction of the receiving space(a width direction of the door) or in a depth direction of the receiving space. In the exemplary embodiment shown in, the first laundry support barextends in the width direction of the receiving space.

In this case, laundry may be supported by the first laundry support barvia engagement with a hook H provided on a hangeron which laundry items are received. Alternatively, the laundry may be directly supported by the first laundry support bar, without the hanger. In any case, the laundry items may be spread in the receiving spacefor treatment.

The second laundry support barprovided at the doormay also keep the laundry in a spread state by supporting the hook H of the hanger. Alternatively, the second laundry support barmay extend in the width direction of the doorsuch that the laundry may be directly supported by the second laundry support barwithout the hanger.

A machinery compartmentmay be provided in the cabinet, isolated from the receiving space. The supply device may be provided in the machinery compartment.

As shown in, the machinery compartmentmay be disposed under the receiving space, and may be opened and closed by a machinery compartment door. In a case in which air or moisture to be supplied to the receiving spaceby the supply device is heated air or steam, the heated air or the steam may be uniformly supplied into the receiving spacewithout an additional blower. The supply device may include at least one of an air supply deviceto supply air (heated air or unheated air) to the receiving spaceand/or a moisture supply deviceto supply moisture (steam or mist) to the receiving space.

Hereinafter, a description will be provided of a laundry treating apparatus, as embodied and broadly described herein, based on a case in which the supply device includes both the air supply deviceand the moisture supply deviceand the air supply devicesupplies heated air to the receiving spaceand the moisture supply unitsupplies steam to the receiving space, simply for convenience of description.

The air supply devicemay include a circulation ductto circulate air in the receiving space, a heat exchangerto exchange heat with air flowing along the circulation duct, and a blowerto blow air along the circulation ductand into the receiving space.

The circulation ductcommunicates with the interior of the receiving spacethrough an air discharge portand an air suction portprovided in the receiving space. The air discharge portand the air suction portmay be formed through the bottom of the receiving spacesuch that the receiving spacemay communicate with the machinery compartmentthrough the air discharge portand the air suction port. In a case in which one end of the circulation ductprovided in the machinery compartmentis connected to the air suction portand the other end of the circulation ductis connected to the air discharge port, the circulation ductmay communicate with the interior of the receiving space.

The heat exchangermay dehumidify and heat air introduced into the circulation duct. In, a heat pump is provided as an example of the heat exchanger. In a case in which the heat exchangeris a heat pump, the heat exchangermay include an evaporator E provided in the circulation duct, a condenser C disposed inside the circulation duct, and a compressor P and an expansion device Ex disposed outside the circulation duct. The evaporator E, the compressor P, the condenser C, and the expansion device Ex may be connected to one another via a refrigerant pipe.

The compressor P may compress a refrigerant to a high pressure such that the refrigerant may be circulated along the refrigerant pipe. The evaporator E may absorb heat from air in the circulation ductto evaporate the refrigerant. The condenser C may discharge heat to air in the circulation ductto condense the refrigerant.

The blowermay be disposed in the circulation ductto circulate air in the receiving spacethrough the circulation duct. The blowermay be disposed between the condenser C and the air discharge port.

When the bloweris driven, air in the circulation ductmoves into the receiving spacethrough the air discharge portand air in the receiving spacemoves into the circulation ductthrough the air suction port. The air introduced into the circulation ductthrough the air suction portis cooled while passing though the evaporator E. The air having passed through the evaporator E is heated while passing through the condenser C.

When the air is cooled while passing through the evaporator E, moisture is removed from the air (dehumidification) and the moisture (condensed water) removed from the air remains on the surface of the evaporator E or in the circulation duct.

In a case in which the condensed water remains in the circulation duct, heat exchange efficiency of the heat exchangeris lowered. For this reason, the laundry treating apparatusmay include a drainage device to remove the condensed water produced by the evaporator E.

The drainage device may include a drainage tankdetachably provided at the machinery compartment doorand a drainage pipeand a drainage pumpto supply condensed water in the circulation ductto the drainage tank.

The shape of the drainage tankis not particularly restricted so long as the drainage tankprovides a space to store liquid. For example, the drainage tankmay include a drainage tank lidto discharge liquid stored in drainage tankand an inlet portto which the drainage pipeis detachably connected.

A check valve may be provided in the inlet portsuch that the drainage pipeis separated from the inlet portwhen the machinery compartment dooropens the machinery compartment, and the drainage pipeis inserted into the inlet portwhen the machinery compartment doorcloses the machinery compartment. Water in the drainage tankmay also be prevented from leaking out of the drainage tankwhen the drainage tankis separated from the machinery compartment door.

As shown in, the moisture supply devicemay include a storage deviceprovided in the machinery compartment, a heaterprovided in the storage device, and a moisture supply pipeto connect the storage deviceto a moisture discharge port.

The storage devicemay store water, the heatermay heat water stored in the storage deviceto convert the water into steam, and the moisture supply pipemay guide steam from the storage deviceto the receiving space. Consequently, the heatermay be provided adjacent to the bottom of the storage deviceand the moisture supply pipemay be disposed at the top (or the uppermost end) of the storage device.

Water is supplied to the storage devicethrough a water supply device. The water supply device may include a water supply tankdetachably provided at the machinery compartment door.

The storage devicemay also include a connection pipe, which is connected to the water supply tankwhen the machinery compartment doorcloses the machinery compartmentand is separated from the water supply tankwhen the machinery compartment dooropens the machinery compartment.

The shape of the water supply tankis not particularly restricted as long as the water supply tankis capable of storing liquid. For example, the water supply tankmay include a water supply tank lidto supply liquid into the water supply tank, an outlet portinto which the connection pipeis inserted, and a check valveprovided in the outlet port.

The water supply tankmay be detachably provided at the machinery compartment door, taking into consideration a case in which the laundry treating apparatusaccording to the current embodiment is installed remotely from a water supply source.

That is, in a case in which the laundry treating apparatusis provided adjacent to the water supply source, the storage devicemay receive water from the water supply source when necessary. On the other hand, in a case in which the laundry treating apparatusis installed remotely from the water supply source, water cannot be directly supplied, so the water supply tankmay provide for a supply of water to the moisture supply device.

Rather than supplying heated water or steam into a drum during rotation of the drum to deodorize laundry or remove wrinkles from the laundry, the laundry treating apparatusaccording to embodiments as broadly described herein supplies heated water or steam into the receiving spacewhile keeping laundry in a straight, spread out manner in the receiving space, thereby preventing the laundry from being wrinkled after the supply of steam or heated water is completed.

The pressershown inmay fix a crease in laundry received in the receiving space using steam and heated water supplied to the receiving space.

The pressermay be provided at any position in the receiving spaceas long as the steam and/or the heated water supplied into the receiving spacecan be supplied to laundry.shows a case in which the presseris provided at the inner circumferential surface of the door(the surface of the door forming one surface of the receiving space) by way of example.

The pressermay include a support deviceprovided at the inner circumferential surface of the doorto support laundry and a compression devicerotatably provided at the support deviceor the doorto compress the laundry supported by the support device.

The compression devicemay include a bodyrotatably coupled the inner circumferential surface of the dooror the support deviceand a meshprovided at the bodyto guide the steam or the heated water introduced into the receiving spaceto the laundry supported by the support device.

shows a case in which the bodyis coupled to the doorby a body hingeprovided at an inner peripheral surface of the door. An end of the bodyopposite the hinged end may be detachably fixed to the inner surface of the doorby attaching and detaching deviceand.

The attaching and detaching devicesandmay include a protrusionprovided at one of the dooror the bodyand a receiving grooveprovided at the other of the dooror the bodysuch that each protrusionmay be detachably coupled into a corresponding receiving groove.

The bodymay include a body through holeallowing the support devicetocommunicate with the receiving space. The meshmay be provided in the body through hole, which is formed through the body.

The support devicemay include a support plate fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the door, received in a presser receiving groovedepressed in the inner surface of the door.

The support plate may include a first support plateand a second support platespaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance although in certain embodiments the support plate may be a single plate or board.

The support deviceincludes the first support plateand the second support platesuch that a seam of a laundry item supported on this support devicemay be positioned in a space S defined between the first support plateand the second support plateto prevent unnecessary wrinkles from being formed on the laundry due to the seam when the laundry is compressed toward the support deviceby the compression device.

The first support plateand the second support platemay include through holesformed through the respective support platesand. The surfaces of the respective support platesandmay be spaced apart from the surface of the presser receiving grooveby a predetermined distance. As a result, heated air or steam supplied through the meshmay pass through the laundry supported by the respective support platesandand then be discharged into the receiving space.

The support devicemay also include an elastic memberto fix the respective support platesandto the presser receiving groovesuch that the laundry supported by the respective support platesandmay come into tight contact with the bodyof the compression devicein a state in which the respective support platesandare spaced apart from the surface of the presser receiving grooveby the predetermined distance.

In a case in which the support deviceincludes both the first support plateand the second support plate, the elastic membermay include a first elastic bodyto connect the first support plateto the presser receiving grooveand a second elastic bodyto connect the second support plateto the presser receiving groove.

The shape of the elastic memberis not particularly restricted as long as the elastic memberis capable of performing this function. In, the elastic memberhave a board or plate shape, by way of example.