Laundry treatment apparatus and method of controlling the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10655267-B2
Application number	US-201715638284-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 29, 2017
Priority date	Feb 27, 2017
Publication date	May 19, 2020
Grant date	May 19, 2020

Abstract

A laundry treatment apparatus includes a cabinet having first and second washing apparatuses that treat laundry introduced through a front opening and through a top opening, respectively. The second washing apparatus includes: a tub that holds water and has an opening at a top that is accessible through the second opening; a drum inside the tub that rotates about a vertical shaft; an agitation unit protruding upward from a center bottom surface of the drum that agitates water and laundry inside the rotating drum; a heater that heats water in the tub; a water supply valve controlling a flow of water into the tub; and at least one processor that controls the heater to heat a first amount of water in the tub to a first temperature; and controls the water supply valve to additionally supply, to the first amount of water, incremental amounts of water to into the tub.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A laundry treatment apparatus comprising:
a cabinet having a first opening and a second opening;
a first cabinet door and a second cabinet door provided at the cabinet and configured to open and close the first opening and the second opening, respectively;
a first washing apparatus provided in the cabinet and configured to treat laundry that is introduced from a front side of the first washing apparatus through the first opening; and
a second washing apparatus configured to treat laundry introduced from an upper side of the second washing apparatus through the second opening,
wherein the second washing apparatus comprises:
a tub configured to hold water and having an opening at a top of the tub;
a tub cover arranged on the tub and provided to cover the top of the tub, the tub cover defining an introduction port through which an inside of the tub is accessible;
a tub door provided at the tub cover and configured to open and close the introduction port of the tub cover, the tub being substantially sealed based on the tub door closing the introduction port;
a drum provided inside the tub and configured to rotate about a vertical shaft;
an agitation unit that protrudes upward from a center part of a bottom surface of the drum and that is configured to agitate water and laundry inside the drum in a state in which the drum rotates about the vertical shaft;
a heater configured to heat water in the tub;
a water supply pipe configured to supply cold water to the tub;
a water supply valve configured to control a flow through the water supply pipe; and
at least one processor configured to, in a state in which the introduction port is closed by the tub door, control the water supply valve and the heater by:
controlling the heater to heat a first amount of water in the tub to a first temperature; and
intermittently controlling the water supply valve to additionally and intermittently supply, to the first amount of water that was heated to the first temperature by the heater, incremental amounts of water into the tub to reduce a difference in pressure between inside and outside of the tub.

2. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the second washing apparatus is arranged above the first washing apparatus and is configured with a second washing capacity that is smaller than a first washing capacity of the first washing apparatus.

3. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein controlling the water supply valve to supply the incremental amounts of water into the tub of the second washing apparatus comprises:
controlling the water supply valve to provide a supply of water through the water supply pipe into the tub for a first amount of time; and
controlling the water supply valve to interrupt the supply of water through the water supply pipe into the tub for a second amount of time.

4. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the second amount of time is longer than the first amount of time.

5. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein controlling the water supply valve to supply the incremental amounts of water into the tub of the second washing apparatus comprises:
controlling the water supply valve to alternate, a plural number of times, between providing the supply of water through the water supply pipe into the tub for the first amount of time and controlling the water supply valve to interrupt the supply of water through the water supply pipe into the tub for the second amount of time.

6. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
after controlling the water supply valve to supply the incremental amounts of water into the tub of the second washing apparatus:
control the water supply valve to additionally supply a second amount of water into the tub of the second washing apparatus; and
control the second washing apparatus to rotate the drum inside the tub based on the second amount of water being added into the tub.

7. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein:
the first amount of water added into the tub results in a first water level in the tub at which a portion of the agitation unit is immersed below the first water level and an uppermost end of the agitation unit is exposed above the first water level, and
the second amount of water added into the tub results in a second water level in the tub at which the uppermost end of the agitation unit is immersed below the second water level.

8. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein controlling the heater to heat the first amount of water in the tub of the second washing apparatus to the first temperature comprises:
heating the water at the first water level in the tub to a highest temperature among available water temperature setting values provided by the laundry treatment apparatus.

9. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the agitation unit comprises a first surface that is exposed to an interior of the drum of the second washing apparatus, the first surface being plated with a first material.

10. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a water level sensor configured to sense a level of water in the tub of the second washing apparatus,
wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:
control the water supply valve to supply water into the tub at a first rate until a first time at which an uppermost end of the agitation unit is immersed below a water level of the tub; and
after the first time, control the water supply valve to supply water into the tub at a second rate less than the first rate.

11. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a temperature sensor configured to sense a temperature in the tub of the second washing apparatus,
wherein the at least one processor is configured to:
control the water supply valve to supply water into the tub at a first rate until a first time at which a temperature sensed by the temperature sensor satisfies a first condition; and
after the first time, control the water supply valve to supply water into the tub at a second rate less than the first rate.

12. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the water supply valve and the heater by:
while controlling the water supply valve to supply the incremental amounts of water into the tub, intermittently controlling the heater to heat the incremental amounts of water that are added into the tub.

13. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the water supply valve and the heater by:
controlling the water supply valve to supply a first incremental amount of water into the tub;
controlling the heater to heat the water in the tub;
detecting that a temperature of the water in the tub is heated to a first temperature; and
based on detecting that the temperature of the water in the tub is heated to the first temperature, controlling the water supply valve to supply a second incremental amount of water into the tub.

14. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the agitation unit is composed of a first material that is different than a second material of the drum.

15. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the agitation unit comprises a surface that is plated with a third material having a third coefficient of t

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Jung Jonegseok
• Kim Hyunsang

Classifications

• A47L15/44

  Devices for adding cleaning agents; {Devices for dispensing cleaning agents, rinsing aids or deodorants} · CPC title

• A47L15/00

  Washing or rinsing machines for crockery or tableware · CPC title

• D06F31/00 Primary

  Washing installations comprising an assembly of several washing machines or washing units, e.g. continuous flow assemblies · CPC title

• D06F37/12

  adapted for rotation or oscillation about a vertical axis · CPC title

• A47L15/4214

  Water supply, recirculation or discharge arrangements; Devices therefor · CPC title