Laundry treating apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11525206-B2
Application number	US-202016776624-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 30, 2020
Priority date	Feb 1, 2019
Publication date	Dec 13, 2022
Grant date	Dec 13, 2022

Abstract

A laundry treating apparatus may include a main body having a laundry inlet port at a front surface thereof and configured to accommodate laundry loaded through the laundry inlet port, and a door rotatably coupled to a front surface of the main body to open and close the laundry inlet port. The door may include an outer frame provided with an opening and facing an outside of the main body; a front glass coupled to a front surface of the outer frame to cover the opening; an inner frame coupled to a rear surface of the outer frame and facing an inside of the main body; and a mounting guide that protrudes from an outer circumference of the outer frame to surround an outer circumferential surface of the front glass. The outer circumferential surface of the front glass may include a first curved portion provided at a front side thereof in a thickness direction, and a straight portion that extends toward a rear side from the first curved portion. The mounting guide may cover at least a portion of the straight portion.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A laundry treating apparatus, comprising:
a main body having a front panel with a laundry inlet port and configured to receive laundry loaded through the laundry inlet port; and
a door rotatably coupled to the front panel to open and close the laundry inlet port, wherein the door comprises:
an outer frame provided with an opening and facing an outside of the main body, the outer frame comprising a flat portion to which a front glass is coupled;
the front glass, which is coupled to a front surface of the outer frame to cover the opening;
an inner frame coupled to a rear surface of the outer frame and facing an inside of the main body; and
a mounting guide that protrudes from an outer circumference of the flat portion to surround an outer circumferential surface of the front glass, wherein the outer circumferential surface of the front glass includes a first curved portion provided at a front side thereof in a thickness direction and a straight portion that extends toward a rear side from the first curved portion, and wherein the mounting guide covers at least a portion of the straight portion.

2. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the mounting guide covers the entire straight portion.

3. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the mounting guide has a ring shape and covers at least two thirds of a thickness of the front glass.

4. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the outer circumferential surface of the front glass further comprises a second curved portion that extends symmetrically with the first curved portion toward the rear side thereof in the thickness direction of the front glass from the straight portion, wherein the first curved portion is positioned outside of the mounting guide, and wherein the straight portion and the second curved portion are positioned in and covered by the mounting guide.

5. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a thickness of the mounting guide increases in a frontward-rearward direction of the front glass.

6. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the outer frame and the inner frame has a circular ring shape.

7. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the front glass has a disc shape, front and rear surfaces of which are respectively flat.

8. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the front glass is made of a glass material.

9. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the outer frame further comprises an extension portion that extends from the mounting guide to surround an outer circumference of the inner frame.

10. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the extension portion has a circular curved shape that increases in diameter from the mounting guide toward the inner frame.

11. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a door window, an outermost portion of which is mounted between an inner end of the outer frame and an inner end of the inner frame to cover an opening in the inner frame.

12. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein an inner surface of the mounting guide that surrounds the front glass is disposed in parallel to an outer circumferential surface of the front glass in a thickness direction of the front glass.

13. A laundry treating apparatus, comprising:
a main body having a front panel with a laundry inlet port and configured to receive laundry loaded through the laundry inlet port; and
a door rotatably coupled to the front panel to open and close the laundry inlet port, wherein the door comprises:
an outer frame provided with an opening and facing an outside of the main body;
a front glass coupled to a front surface of the outer frame to cover the opening;
an inner frame coupled to a rear surface of the outer frame and facing an inside of the main body; and
a mounting guide that protrudes from an outer circumference of the outer frame to surround an outer circumferential surface of the front glass, wherein the outer circumferential surface of the front glass includes a first curved portion provided at a front side thereof in a thickness direction and a straight portion that extends toward a rear side from the first curved portion, wherein the mounting guide covers at least a portion of the straight portion, and wherein the outer frame further comprises:
a flat portion having an adhesive portion configured to receive an adhesive for bonding the front glass to the outer frame; and
a reinforcing rib that protrudes in an opposite direction to the adhesive portion from a rear surface of the flat portion facing in the opposite direction.

14. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the adhesive portion comprises:
an adhesive groove configured to be filled with an adhesive; and
a plurality of adhesive overflow grooves disposed radially spaced apart from each other on the flat portion with the adhesive groove interposed therebetween to accommodate adhesive overflowing from the adhesive groove.

15. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the reinforcing rib overlaps an adhesive overflow groove of the plurality of adhesive overflow grooves spaced apart radially inward from the adhesive groove in a thickness direction of the flat portion.

16. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the outer frame further comprises:
a connecting rib that protrudes from a rear surface of the flat portion and overlaps an adhesive overflow groove of the plurality of adhesive overflow grooves spaced apart radially outward from the adhesive groove in a thickness direction of the flat portion.

17. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 14 , further comprising:
a plurality of support ribs that protrudes from a rear surface of the flat portion, and disposed to overlap with the adhesive groove in a thickness direction of the flat portion.

18. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the front glass comprises:
a transparent region;
a non-transparent region that surrounds the transparent region; and
a transparent alignment mark disposed in the non-transparent region to align a position of the front glass.

19. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the alignment mark overlaps the adhesive filled in the adhesive portion.

20. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the nontransparent region overlaps the adhesive portion in a thickness direction of the front glass to cover the adhesive portion.

21. A laundry treating apparatus, comprising:
a main body having a front panel with a laundry inlet port and configured to receive laundry loaded through the laundry inlet port; and
a door rotatably coupled to the front panel to open and close the laundry inlet port, wherein the door comprises:
an outer frame provided with an opening and facing an outside of the main body;
a front glass coupled to a front surface of the outer frame to cover the opening;
an inner frame coupled to a rear surface of the outer frame and facing an inside of the main body;
a mounting guide that protrudes from an outer circumference of the outer frame to surround an outer circumferential surface of the front glass, wherein the outer circumferential surface of the front glass includes a first curved portion provided at a front side thereof in a thickness direction and a straight portion that extends toward a rear side from the first curved portion, and wherein the mounting guide covers at least a portion of the straight portion;

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Kwon Yongwoo
• You Jungsang
• Jin Donghyun

Classifications

• D06F37/28

  Doors; Security means therefor · CPC title

• D06F23/025

  with a rotatable imperforate tub · CPC title

• D06F39/14 Primary

  Doors or covers; Securing means therefor · CPC title

• E05B1/00

  Knobs or handles for wings; Knobs, handles, or press buttons for locks or latches on wings (E05B5/00, E05B7/00 take precedence) · CPC title

• D06F58/20

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