Laundry treating apparatus and control method for the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10316447-B2
Application number	US-201715639649-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2017
Priority date	Nov 11, 2016
Publication date	Jun 11, 2019
Grant date	Jun 11, 2019

Abstract

A laundry treating apparatus includes a cabinet with first and second cabinet doors. A first washing apparatus processes laundry that is placed through the first cabinet door at the front. A second washing apparatus processes laundry that is placed through the second cabinet door at the top. The second washing apparatus includes: a tub that holds water and has an opening at a top that is accessible through the second opening of the cabinet; a tub cover that covers the top of the tub and defines an inlet through which the tub is accessible; a tub door on the tub cover that opens or closes the inlet of the tub cover separately from the second cabinet door opening or closing the second opening; a drum inside the tub configured to rotate about a vertical shaft; and a first sensor that generates a signal based on the tub door being open.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A laundry treating apparatus comprising:
a cabinet provided with an opening;
a cabinet door provided in the cabinet and configured to open or close the opening;
a tub configured to hold water and having an opening at a top of the tub that is accessible through the opening of the cabinet;
a tub cover arranged on the tub and provided to cover the top of the tub, the tub cover defining an inlet through which an inside of the tub is accessible;
a tub door provided at the tub cover and configured to open or close the inlet of the tub cover separately from the cabinet door opening or closing the opening;
a drum provided inside the tub and configured to rotate about a vertical rotational shaft inside the tub; and
a first sensor module configured to generate a signal based at least in part on sensing an open state of the tub door.

2. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one processor configured to control the laundry treating apparatus by operating the laundry treating apparatus in a driving mode based at least in part on the first sensor module sensing that the tub door of the tub is in a closed state.

3. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising a notification unit configured to output a notification that the laundry treating apparatus cannot be operated in the driving mode based at least in part on the first sensor module sensing that the tub door of the tub is in the open state.

4. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one processor configured to control the laundry treating apparatus by:
in a state of the laundry treating apparatus being operated in a driving mode, stopping the driving mode of the laundry treating apparatus based at least in part on the first sensor module sensing that the tub door of the tub is in the open state.

5. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to, in a state in which the laundry treating apparatus has been stopped from operating in the driving mode, start the driving mode of the laundry treating apparatus based at least in part on the first sensor module sensing that the tub door of the tub is in a closed state.

6. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a second sensor module configured to sense whether the cabinet door is in an open state or in a closed state,
wherein the laundry treating apparatus is configured to enable the first sensor module based at least in part on the second sensor module sensing that the cabinet door is in the closed state.

7. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising at least one processor configured to control the laundry treating apparatus by:
based at least in part on a determination, through the second sensor module, that the cabinet door is in the open state during operation of a driving mode of the laundry treating apparatus, stopping the driving mode of the laundry treating apparatus and disabling a sensing operation of the second sensor module.

8. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein:
in a state in which the cabinet door and the tub door are closed, the cabinet door is arranged to be spaced apart from a top surface of the tub door.

9. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the tub door comprises a first hinge and the cabinet door comprises a second hinge.

10. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 9 ,
wherein the tub door and the cabinet door are configured to be opened and closed by rotation about the first hinge and the second hinge, respectively, and
wherein:
the first hinge that rotates the tub door comprises a first shaft,
the second hinge that rotates the cabinet door comprises a second shaft, and
the first shaft and the second shaft are arranged in parallel with each other.

11. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first sensor module is configured to sense a change in distance between the cabinet door and the tub door.

12. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the first sensor module comprises:
a magnetic force generator provided in one of the cabinet door or the tub door, and
a magnetic force sensor provided in the other one of the cabinet door or the tub door, the magnetic force sensor configured to sense a change of a magnetic force of the magnetic force generator.

13. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the first sensor module comprises a push switch provided in one of the cabinet door or the tub door.

14. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first sensor module comprises:
an illuminator provided in one of the cabinet door or the tub door and configured to illuminate light, and
a light-receiving module provided in one of the cabinet door or the tub door and configured to sense the illuminated light.

15. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1 , the tub door comprises a sealing module configured to, when the tub door is in a closed state and closes the inlet of the tub cover, seal the inside of the tub from an outside of the tub.

16. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first sensor module is configured to generate the signal based at least in part on sensing the open state of the tub door by:
generating the signal based on sensing the open state of the tub door, and further based on the cabinet door being in a closed state.

17. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 16 , further comprising a second sensor module configured to sense whether the cabinet door is in an open state or in the closed state.

18. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to operate the laundry treating apparatus in the driving mode based at least in part on the first sensor module sensing that the tub door is in the closed state by:
operating the laundry treating apparatus in the driving mode based on the first sensor module sensing that the tub door is in the closed state, and further based on the cabinet door being in a closed state.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Chae Kyosoon
• Lee Dongsoo
• Lee Sangwook

Classifications

• D06F2105/54

  Changing between normal operation mode and special operation modes, e.g. service mode, component cleaning mode or stand-by mode · CPC title

• D06F33/00

  Control of operations performed in washing machines or washer-dryers  (D06F31/00 takes precedence; details of control systems therefor D06F34/00; control of operations performed in domestic laundry dryers D06F58/32) · CPC title

• D06F23/00

  Washing machines with receptacles, e.g. perforated, having a rotary movement, e.g. oscillatory movement, the receptacle serving both for washing and for centrifugally separating water from the laundry  (with further drying means D06F25/00; programme control aspects D06F33/00) · CPC title

• D06F25/00

  Washing machines with receptacles, e.g. perforated, having a rotary movement, e.g. oscillatory movement, the receptacle serving both for washing and for centrifugally separating water from the laundry and having further drying means, e.g. using hot air  (control of washing or of washing and drying D06F33/00, D06F34/00; domestic laundry dryers D06F58/00) · CPC title

• D06F37/40

  for driving the receptacle and an agitator or impeller, e.g. alternatively {(D06F37/304, D06F37/308 take precedence)} · CPC title