Dual type drying machine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10738412-B2
Application number	US-201715608080-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 30, 2017
Priority date	Dec 29, 2016
Publication date	Aug 11, 2020
Grant date	Aug 11, 2020

Abstract

A dual type drying machine includes a main drying unit, a main unit door configured to open and close a front side of the main drying unit, an auxiliary drying unit positioned vertically above the main drying unit and defining a laundry accommodation space, an auxiliary unit door configured to open and close a top surface of the laundry accommodation space, a cabinet that accommodates the main drying unit and the auxiliary drying unit, the cabinet defining an exterior of the drying machine, and an operation panel disposed at a front side of the auxiliary drying unit. When the auxiliary unit door is closed, top surfaces of the cabinet and the auxiliary unit door define a top exterior surface of the drying machine.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A dual type drying machine comprising:
a main drying unit;
a main unit door configured to open and close a front side of the main drying unit;
an auxiliary drying unit positioned vertically above the main drying unit and defining a laundry accommodation space;
an auxiliary unit door configured to open and close a top surface of the laundry accommodation space;
a cabinet that accommodates the main drying unit and the auxiliary drying unit, the cabinet defining an exterior of the dual type drying machine; and
an operation panel disposed at a front side of the auxiliary drying unit,
wherein based on the auxiliary unit door being closed, top surfaces of the cabinet and the auxiliary unit door define a top exterior surface of the dual type drying machine,
wherein the auxiliary drying unit further defines an air intake outlet and an exhaust inlet at different positions at a rear surface of the auxiliary drying unit, and
wherein the auxiliary drying unit comprises:
a blower fan that is disposed at an outside of the rear surface of the auxiliary drying unit and that is configured to supply air toward the laundry accommodation space through the air intake outlet, and
a heater disposed at the outside of the rear surface of the auxiliary drying unit and configured to heat air supplied by the blower fan.

2. The dual type drying machine of claim 1 , further comprising a rack provided inside the auxiliary drying unit and configured to support laundry.

3. The dual type drying machine of claim 2 , wherein the auxiliary drying unit further comprises:
a laundry accommodation unit that includes the laundry accommodation space; and
a temperature sensor configured to measure a temperature of the heated air.

4. The dual type drying machine of claim 3 , wherein the auxiliary drying unit includes an air intake flow path configured to guide the supplied air into the laundry accommodation unit through the air intake outlet, and wherein the air intake outlet is positioned vertically below the rack.

5. The dual type drying machine of claim 4 , wherein the auxiliary drying unit further comprises an exhaust flow path configured to guide air from an inside of the laundry accommodation unit to an exhaust outlet, the exhaust outlet being configured to discharge air to an outside of the auxiliary drying unit.

6. The dual type drying machine of claim 5 , wherein the exhaust flow path is connected to the exhaust inlet, and
wherein the exhaust inlet is spaced apart vertically or laterally from the air intake outlet at the rear surface of the auxiliary drying unit.

7. The dual type drying machine of claim 3 , wherein the blower fan and the heater are disposed rearward of the laundry accommodation unit and vertically below the top surface of the cabinet.

8. The dual type drying machine of claim 3 , wherein the rack is detachably coupled to the auxiliary drying unit.

9. The dual type drying machine of claim 8 , wherein the laundry accommodation unit includes a plurality of props at inner surfaces of the laundry accommodation unit, the plurality of props being configured to support the rack.

10. The dual type drying machine of claim 3 , wherein the auxiliary drying unit defines communication holes at a bottom surface of the laundry accommodation space, the communication holes being configured to supply the heated air to the laundry accommodation space.

11. The dual type drying machine of claim 2 , wherein the rack is configured to allow heated air in the laundry accommodation space to flow through the rack.

12. The dual type drying machine of claim 11 , wherein the rack has a punching plate shape, a screen net shape, or a grille net shape.

13. The dual type drying machine of claim 1 , wherein the main drying unit and the auxiliary drying unit are configured to operate independently of each other.

14. The dual type drying machine of claim 1 , wherein the auxiliary unit door comprises:
a first door rotatably coupled to the auxiliary drying unit about a first hinge axis, the first door including a transparent or semi-transparent portion through which an inside of the laundry accommodation space is viewable; and
a second door rotatably coupled to the first door about a second hinge axis that is positioned forward of the first hinge axis, and
wherein the auxiliary unit door is configured to be opened by rotating the first door about the first hinge axis or rotating the second door about the second hinge axis or both.

15. The dual type drying machine of claim 14 , wherein the first and second hinge axes are parallel to each other, and
wherein the auxiliary unit door is configured to be opened by rotating the first door relative to the auxiliary drying unit in a first direction and rotating the second door relative to the first door in a second direction opposite the first direction.

16. The dual type drying machine of claim 14 , wherein a length of the first door in a front-to-rear direction is greater than a length of the second door in the front-to-rear direction.

17. The dual type drying machine of claim 14 , wherein the auxiliary unit door comprises a sealing unit that is configured, based on the auxiliary unit door being closed, to provide a seal between at least a portion of the auxiliary unit door and the auxiliary drying unit.

18. The dual type drying machine of claim 1 , wherein the cabinet comprises:
a pair of lateral side plates, each of the pair of lateral side plates including a lower lateral side plate that covers a lateral side of the main drying unit and an upper lateral side plate that covers a lateral side of the auxiliary drying unit; and
a single front panel that covers front portions of the main drying unit and the auxiliary drying unit.

19. The dual type drying machine of claim 18 , wherein the cabinet further comprises an intermediate plate positioned between the main drying unit and the auxiliary drying unit, the intermediate plate being parallel with a bottom surface of the cabinet and connecting the pair of lateral side plates to each other.

20. The dual type drying machine of claim 1 , wherein a rearmost end of the auxiliary drying unit protrudes rearward relative to a rearmost end of the main drying unit.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Bae Sang Hun

Classifications

• D06F58/20 Primary

  General details of domestic laundry dryers  (D06F59/00 takes precedence) · CPC title

• D06F2103/32

  Temperature · CPC title

• D06F2105/28

  Electric heating · CPC title

• D06F58/38

  of drying, e.g. to achieve the target humidity · CPC title

• D06F58/02

  having dryer drums rotating about a horizontal axis · CPC title