Clothes care apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11519131-B2
Application number	US-202016896733-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 9, 2020
Priority date	Jun 10, 2019
Publication date	Dec 6, 2022
Grant date	Dec 6, 2022

Abstract

Provided is a clothes care apparatus which includes: a main body including a care room accommodating clothes; a machine room positioned below the care room; and a steam generator positioned inside the machine room, and including a case and a water level sensor configured to sense a level of water stored in the case, wherein the water level sensor includes: a housing coupleable to and decoupleable from the case; a plurality of electrodes supported by the housing; and an electrode membrane including an electrode membrane body respectively surrounding each of the plurality of electrodes, and an electrode hole formed in the electrode membrane body to respectively expose the plurality of electrodes to an outside of the electrode membrane body, wherein the electrode hole is further spaced apart from one end of the electrode membrane body than from another end of the electrode membrane body.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A clothes care apparatus comprising:
a main body including a care room to accommodate clothes;
a machine room provided inside the main body and positioned below the care room; and
a steam generator positioned inside the machine room, and including a case and a water level sensor configured to sense a level of water stored in the case,
wherein the water level sensor comprises:
a housing coupleable to and decoupleable from the case;
a plurality of electrodes supported by the housing and having a same length; and
an electrode membrane including an electrode membrane body respectively surrounding each of the plurality of electrodes, and an electrode hole formed on the electrode membrane body between an upper end of the electrode membrane and a lower end of the electrode membrane to respectively expose the plurality of electrodes to an outside of the electrode membrane body,

wherein the electrode hole is among electrode holes of the plurality of electrodes formed to face away from a bottom of the case whereby the electrode holes are spaced from a lower end of a respective electrode membrane body and the electrode holes are respectively positioned at different heights relative to the bottom of the case,
wherein a lower end of the electrode hole is formed to be downwardly inclined.

2. The clothes care apparatus of claim 1 , wherein one end of the electrode membrane is connected to and integrated with the housing, and
another end of the electrode membrane is spaced apart from the bottom of the case.

3. The clothes care apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of electrodes comprises a first surface, a second surface opposite the first surface, a third surface connecting the first surface to the second surface, and a fourth surface being opposite to the third surface, and
at least one of the first surface or the second surface is exposed to the outside of the electrode membrane body through the electrode hole.

4. The clothes care apparatus of claim 3 , wherein at least one of the third surface or the fourth surface is surrounded by the electrode membrane body.

5. The clothes care apparatus of claim 3 , wherein at least one of edges of the first surface or edges of the second surface is surrounded by the electrode membrane body.

6. The clothes care apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrodes comprises a first electrode, and a second electrode that is adjacent to the first electrode, and
a position of a portion of the first electrode that is exposed is different from a position of a portion of the second electrode exposed.

7. The clothes care apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the electrode membrane body is a first electrode membrane body surrounding the first electrode, and
the electrode membrane includes a second electrode membrane body surrounding the second electrode, and
the electrode hole is a first electrode hole formed in the first electrode membrane body and the electrode membrane includes a second electrode hole formed in the second electrode membrane body, wherein the second electrode hole is spaced apart from the bottom of the case by a distance that is different from a distance by which the first electrode hole is spaced apart from the bottom of the case.

8. The clothes care apparatus of claim 6 , wherein at least one of a surface of the first electrode or a surface of the second electrode, the surface of the first electrode being opposite to the surface of the second electrode, is formed to space apart the first electrode from the second electrode.

9. The clothes care apparatus of claim 6 , wherein at least one of a surface of the first electrode or a surface of the second electrode is exposed to the outside.

10. The clothes care apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the first electrode comprises a common electrode, and
the second electrode comprises a low water level electrode configured to sense a low water level of water stored in the case and a high water level electrode configured to sense a high water level of water stored in the case.

11. The clothes care apparatus of claim 10 , wherein a distance by which the low water level electrode is spaced apart from the bottom of the case is longer than a distance by which the common electrode is spaced apart from the bottom of the case.

12. The clothes care apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the low water level electrode is positioned above a heater configured to heat water stored in the case.

13. The clothes care apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the second electrode further comprises:
an intermediate water level electrode including a respective electrode hole through which the intermediate water level electrode is exposed to an outside of a respective electrode membrane body between a first electrode hole through which the low water level electrode is exposed to an outside of a first electrode membrane body and a second electrode hole through which the high water level electrode is exposed to an outside of a second electrode membrane body.

14. The clothes care apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the housing and the electrode membrane are integrated into one body through insert-molding with the plurality of electrodes.

15. A clothes care apparatus comprising:
a main body including a care room;
a machine room positioned below the care room; and
a steam generator positioned inside the machine room,
wherein the steam generator comprises:
a case; and
a water level sensor including:
a housing coupleable to and detachable from the case,
a plurality of electrodes configured to sense a level of water stored in the case and having a same length, wherein one respective end of the plurality of electrodes is supported by the housing,
an electrode membrane body respectively surrounding each of the plurality of electrodes, and
an electrode hole formed on the electrode membrane body between an upper end of the electrode membrane and a lower end of the electrode membrane to respectively expose the plurality of electrodes to an outside of the electrode membrane body,

wherein one end of the electrode membrane is connected to the housing and another end of the electrode membrane is spaced apart from a bottom of the case,
wherein the electrode hole is among electrode holes of the plurality of electrodes formed to face away from the bottom of the case whereby the electrode holes are respectively positioned at different heights relative to the bottom of the case,
wherein a lower end of the electrode hole is formed to be downwardly inclined.

16. The clothes care apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of electrodes comprises a first electrode, and a second electrode that is adjacent to the first electrode, and
a position of the first electrode that is exposed is different from a position of the second electrode exposed.

17. The clothes care apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the first electrode comprises a common electrode, and
the second electrode comprises a low water level electrode configured to sense a low water level of water stored in the case, a high water level electrode configured to sense a high water level of water stored in the case, and an intermediate water level electrode exposed to an outside of a respective electrode membrane body between a first electrode hole through which the low water level electrode is exposed to the outside of a second electrode membrane body and a second electrode hole through which the high water level electrode is exposed to an outside of a second electrode membrane body.

18. A clothes care apparatus comprisi

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Lee Hakjae
• Kim Hyeonjoo
• Park Jaeryong

Classifications

• D06F73/02 Primary

  having one or more treatment chambers · CPC title

• D06F58/203 Primary

  Laundry conditioning arrangements · CPC title

• D06F39/087

  Water level measuring or regulating devices · CPC title

• D06F58/10

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

• D06F87/00 Primary

  Apparatus for moistening or otherwise conditioning the article to be ironed or pressed (apparatus for smoothing or removing creases from garments or other textile articles by formers, cores, stretchers or internal frames, with the application of heat or steam D06F73/00 {; devices used in combination with a laundry dryer D06F58/203}) · CPC title