Laundry treatment apparatus and method of controlling the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12000080-B2
Application number	US-202117357258-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 24, 2021
Priority date	Aug 9, 2017
Publication date	Jun 4, 2024
Grant date	Jun 4, 2024

Abstract

Disclosed is a laundry treatment apparatus configured to condense moisture by supplying cooling water to the interior of a tub containing laundry therein. The laundry treatment apparatus includes a tub, a drum rotatably provided in the tub, a cooling water port provided at the inner rear surface of the tub so as to be adjacent to the inner side surface of the tub in order to supply cooling water along the inner side surface of the tub, and a guide rib formed so as to protrude from the inner side surface of the tub in a radially inward direction of the tub and to extend from the cooling water port toward the front side of the tub in order to disperse the cooling water supplied from the cooling water port on the inner surface of the tub. The apparatus is capable of reducing energy consumption and improving drying performance.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A laundry treatment apparatus comprising:
a cabinet;
a tub provided in the cabinet;
a drum rotatably provided in the tub, the drum being made of a metallic material;
an induction module provided on an outer side surface of the tub and configured to heat the drum via induction using a magnetic field generated by applying a current to a coil in the induction module; and
a module control unit configured to control output of the induction module, the module control unit comprising:
a housing that defines an airflow path therein,
a substrate provided in the housing, and
a power transistor mounted on the substrate.

2. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the module control unit further comprises a heat sink configured to dissipate heat from the power transistor, and
wherein the airflow path is defined along the heat sink and the power transistor.

3. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises:
an air inlet hole through which air is introduced into the housing from an outside of the housing; and
an air outlet hole through which the air introduced into the housing is discharged outside of the housing, and
wherein the airflow path is defined between the air inlet hole and the air outlet hole.

4. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the air inlet hole, the air outlet hole, and the airflow path are defined at a first side of the housing,
wherein a penetration portion is defined at a second side of the housing that is opposite the first side, and that is configured to cool the substrate using convection, and
wherein the housing comprises a partition wall that partitions the housing into the first side of the housing and the second side of the housing.

5. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the penetration portion comprises a plurality of communication holes.

6. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the plurality of communication holes comprise side-surface communication holes and top-surface communication holes,
wherein the side-surface communication holes are defined at a side surface of the housing that is located closest to an outside of the cabinet, and
wherein the top-surface communication holes are defined at a top surface of the housing and configured to discharge heated air therethrough.

7. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a cooling path configured to allow air to sequentially flow from an outside of the cabinet into (i) the airflow path defined in the housing of the module control unit and (ii) an interior of the induction module; and
a fan provided in the cooling path.

8. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the cooling path comprises:
a duct provided at a rear side of the cabinet and configured to allow air to flow between the outside of the cabinet and an interior of the cabinet;
the airflow path defined in the housing of the module control unit; and
a connection duct through which air flows between the interior of the induction module and an interior of the housing, and
wherein the fan is provided between the duct and the housing.

9. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the connection duct is arranged such that a portion of a casing of the induction module and a portion of the housing of the module control unit are connected to each other.

10. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the module control unit is provided behind an upper portion of the tub.

11. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the induction module comprises:
a base housing to which the coil is configured to be secured, the base housing configured to be mounted on an outer circumferential surface of the tub; and
a cover that is configured to be coupled to an upper side of the base housing and that defines, in a state of being coupled to the base housing, a space inside the induction module.

12. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the connection duct is configured to discharge air from an upper center portion of the base housing in a radial direction.

13. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the base housing comprises:
a mounting slot defined in the base housing and configured to accommodate the coil in the induction module;
a seating rib protruding downwards from a bottom surface of the base housing and configured to be seated on the outer circumferential surface of the tub; and
an opening that penetrates through the bottom surface of the base housing.

14. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the base housing comprises a sealed portion through which the opening is not defined, and
wherein the opening and the sealed portion are defined alternately along a longitudinal direction and along a width direction of the base housing.

15. The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the mounting slot is defined in the sealed portion, and
wherein the coil is configured to be mounted on the sealed portion and the opening.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Noh Hyunwoo
• Kim Changoh
• Hong Sangwook

Classifications

• D06F58/24 Primary

  Condensing arrangements · CPC title

• D06F58/16

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

• D06F25/00

  Washing machines with receptacles, e.g. perforated, having a rotary movement, e.g. oscillatory movement, the receptacle serving both for washing and for centrifugally separating water from the laundry and having further drying means, e.g. using hot air  (control of washing or of washing and drying D06F33/00, D06F34/00; domestic laundry dryers D06F58/00) · CPC title

• D06F37/267

  Tubs specially adapted for mounting thereto components or devices not provided for in preceding subgroups (D06F37/206 takes precedence) · CPC title

• D06F58/02

  having dryer drums rotating about a horizontal axis · CPC title