Clothes treating apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10370788-B2
Application number	US-201515513239-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 23, 2015
Priority date	Sep 30, 2014
Publication date	Aug 6, 2019
Grant date	Aug 6, 2019

Abstract

A clothes treating apparatus comprises a cabinet; a drum that is installed in the cabinet so as to be rotatable and accommodates objects to be treated; and a door installed on the front side of the cabinet, wherein one or more removable storage tanks are detachably provided on the door to store at least one of a detergent and a fabric softener. The fluid storage tanks are filled, in advance, with a predetermined amount of detergent and/or fabric softener sufficient for operating the clothes treating apparatus a plurality of times so that it is possible to solve the inconvenience of having to introduce a detergent and/or a fabric softener in the clothes treating apparatus whenever operating the clothes treating apparatus.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A clothes treatment apparatus comprising:
a cabinet;
a drum rotatably installed in the cabinet and configured to accommodate an object to be treated; and
a door installed on a front side of the cabinet, wherein the door includes at least one storage tank configured to store at least one of a detergent and a fabric softener, wherein the door includes a frame and a transparent glass window provided in a center of the frame, and wherein the at least one storage tank is provided on the frame,
wherein the at least one storage tank is connected to a tube which guides the detergent or the fabric softener stored in the at least one storage tank to an inside of the cabinet, and
wherein the glass window includes a convex portion protruding toward the inside of the cabinet, and wherein the tube has a first end connected to the at least one storage tank, and a second end positioned on the frame so as to eject the detergent or the fabric softener toward the convex portion from an upper side of the convex portion.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one storage tank is formed of a transparent material, and wherein, when the door is opened, a rear surface of the at least one storage tank is exposed.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the door is provided with an installation surface on which the at least one storage tank is provided, the installation surface having a shape corresponding to a shape of the at least one storage tank.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the door includes a front frame facing the front side of the cabinet and a rear frame opposite the front frame, and wherein the installation surface is provided on the front frame.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein a first side of the door includes a first hinge in a vertical direction of the door so that the door is rotated leftward or rightward relative to the cabinet, and
wherein a bottom of the door includes a second hinge in a horizontal direction of the door so that the front frame is tilted in a front-and-rear direction by a predetermined angle relative to the rear frame.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein, when the front frame is tilted forward by the predetermined angle relative to the rear frame, an upper portion of the at least one storage tank is exposed outward.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the at least one storage tank is upwardly separable from the front frame when the front frame is tilted forward by the predetermined angle relative to the rear frame.

8. The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the at least one storage tank is upwardly separable from the door when the door is opened away from the cabinet.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first end of the tube is connected to a lower end of the at least one storage tank.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further including a pump configured to eject the detergent or the fabric softener stored in the at least one storage tank to an inside of the cabinet.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the door includes two storage tanks separated from each other, and wherein the pump is located between the two storage tanks.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the frame has a rectangular shape and the glass window has a circular shape when viewed from the front side of the cabinet, and wherein the at least one storage tank includes a curved surface having a shape corresponding to a shape of an outer circumference of the glass window.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of the frame and the glass has a circular shape when viewed from the front side of the cabinet, and
wherein the at least one storage tank includes a curved surface having a shape corresponding to a shape of an outer circumference of the glass window.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one storage tank is removable, and wherein the at least one storage tank is adjacent to an upper portion of the transparent glass window.

15. A clothes treatment apparatus comprising:
a cabinet;
a drum rotatably installed in the cabinet and configured to receive laundry; and
a door including a front frame and a rear frame, wherein the rear frame of the door is connected to the cabinet by at least one first hinge rotating about a first axis, and the front frame is connected to the rear frame by at least one second hinge rotating about a second axis, the first and second axes being different from each other, and wherein the door further includes at least one storage tank configured to store at least one of a detergent or a fabric softener,
wherein the door further includes a transparent glass window surrounded by the rear frame, and wherein the at least one storage tank is provided on an installation surface of the rear frame partially surrounding the glass window.

16. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the at least one storage tank is connected to a first end of a tube which guides the detergent or the fabric softener from the at least one storage tank to an inside of the drum.

17. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 16 , wherein a second end of the tube is positioned on the rear frame and aimed toward a convex rear face of the transparent glass window.

18. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the at least one storage tank is removable, and wherein the at least one storage tank is adjacent to an upper portion of the transparent glass window.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Kim Youngwoo
• Kim Jayoen
• Oh Joohyeon
• Kim Darae

Classifications

• D06F2101/04

  Quantity, e.g. weight · CPC title

• D06F2101/20

  Operation modes, e.g. delicate laundry washing programs, service modes or refreshment cycles · CPC title

• D06F33/37

  of metering of detergents or additives · CPC title

• D06F2105/42

  Detergent or additive supply · CPC title

• D06F39/14

  Doors or covers; Securing means therefor · CPC title