Clothes treatment apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11512422-B2
Application number	US-202117316283-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 10, 2021
Priority date	Jan 8, 2018
Publication date	Nov 29, 2022
Grant date	Nov 29, 2022

Abstract

A clothes treatment apparatus is disclosed. The clothes treatment apparatus includes a case defining the external appearance and having an open front, a first clothes treatment chamber defining a space in the case to treat clothes using steam or air circulation, a second clothes treatment chamber defining a space at one side of the first clothes treatment chamber in the case to remove wrinkles from clothes by applying pressure to the clothes, a machine chamber provided in the case to spray steam to or circulate air through the first clothes treatment chamber or the second clothes treatment chamber, and a partition plate configured to be movable to a position for closing the second clothes treatment chamber so that the second clothes treatment chamber is separated from the first clothes treatment chamber and to the open front of the case to open the second clothes treatment chamber.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A clothes treatment apparatus comprising:
a case that defines an external appearance of the clothes treatment apparatus, the case having an opening at a front surface thereof;
a door coupled to the case and configured to open and close at least a portion of the opening;
a first clothes treatment chamber defined in the case and configured to treat first clothes based on circulation of steam or air;
a second clothes treatment chamber defined at a side of the first clothes treatment chamber and configured to reduce wrinkles from second clothes based on pressure applied to the second clothes;
a machine chamber configured to (i) supply steam to the first clothes treatment chamber or the second clothes treatment chamber or (ii) circulate air through the first clothes treatment chamber or the second clothes treatment chamber;
a partition plate that is disposed in the case and that partitions the second clothes treatment chamber from the first clothes treatment chamber, the partition plate being configured to open and close the second clothes treatment chamber; and
a clothes-fixing member that is disposed at an inner surface of the partition plate, that is configured to hang the second clothes in the second clothes treatment chamber, and that is configured to face the second clothes treatment chamber based on the partition plate closing the second clothes treatment chamber.

2. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the second clothes treatment chamber is recessed from an inner surface of the case.

3. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first clothes treatment chamber and the second clothes treatment chamber are separate spaces defined in the case based on the partition plate closing the second clothes treatment chamber.

4. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the clothes-fixing member is disposed at an upper portion of the inner surface of the partition plate.

5. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the second clothes treatment chamber is configured to accommodate the second clothes in an orientation facing an inner side surface of the case.

6. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the second clothes treatment chamber faces a rotational axis of the door.

7. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the door is coupled to a first side of the case, and
wherein the second clothes treatment chamber is defined at an inner side surface of a second side of the case, the second side facing the first side and being spaced apart from the first side in a width direction of the case.

8. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the partition plate comprises:
a separation portion that protrudes from the inner surface of the partition plate and that is configured to define a space between the inner surface of the partition plate and an inner side surface of the case based on the partition plate closing the second clothes treatment chamber.

9. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the separation portion protrudes from a front side of the inner surface of the partition plate.

10. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein at least a part of the separation portion defines a part of the front surface of the case.

11. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 3 , further comprising:
a base plate that is disposed in the second clothes treatment chamber, that is configured to face the partition plate based on the partition plate closing the second clothes treatment chamber, and that is configured to support the second clothes in the second clothes treatment chamber; and
a press plate disposed at the inner surface of the partition plate and positioned vertically below the clothes-fixing member, the press plate being configured to press the second clothes toward the base plate.

12. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the base plate comprises:
a fixed base plate fixed in the second clothes treatment chamber; and
an elastic base plate that extends from the fixed base plate and that protrudes toward the second clothes treatment chamber relative to the fixed base plate.

13. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the clothes-fixing member is configured to be disposed vertically above the base plate based on the partition plate closing the second clothes treatment chamber.

14. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the press plate includes an opening portion that is configured to communicate air or steam between the first clothes treatment chamber and the second clothes treatment chamber based on the partition plate closing the second clothes treatment chamber.

15. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 11 , further comprising a moving member coupled to the partition plate, the moving member being configured to rotate the partition plate toward the base plate or away from the base plate.

16. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 15 , further comprising a stopper configured to limit rotation of the partition plate away from the base plate.

17. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the moving member is disposed at a rear side of the inner surface of the partition plate.

18. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the moving member is disposed at each of an upper portion of the partition plate and a lower portion of the partition plate, the moving member being configured to rotate or linearly move the partition plate relative to the second clothes treatment chamber.

19. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 18 , wherein the partition plate is configured to linearly move toward the front surface of the case along an inner side surface of the case.

20. The clothes treatment apparatus according to claim 19 , wherein the partition plate is configured to, based on linearly moving toward the front surface of the case, rotate toward the first clothes treatment chamber such that the clothes-fixing member is exposed to an outside of the first clothes treatment chamber.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Kim Kihyuk
• Bae Jaeil
• Chung Wookjun

Classifications

• D06F71/29

  Trousers · CPC title

• D06F73/02 Primary

  having one or more treatment chambers · CPC title

• D06F58/10 Primary

  Drying cabinets or drying chambers having heating or ventilating means · CPC title

• D06F71/32

  Details · CPC title

• D06F58/16

  having heatable surfaces for contacting the laundry (D06F59/00 takes precedence) · CPC title