Clothing treatment apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12534844-B2
Application number	US-202218702606-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 26, 2022
Priority date	Nov 2, 2021
Publication date	Jan 27, 2026
Grant date	Jan 27, 2026

Abstract

A clothing treatment apparatus includes a drum body, a front cover, a rear cover, and a drum inlet port, a fixing panel spaced apart from the rear cover, a power transmission including a housing, an input shaft, an output shaft, a gear in the housing, and a motor including a stator and a rotor. The drum body, the rear cover, and the front cover are formed of a same material, and the thickness of the drum body is less than the thickness of the rear cover and the thickness of the front cover.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A clothing treatment apparatus comprising:
a drum comprising:
a drum body configured to store clothing;
a front cover defining a front surface of the drum body;
a rear cover defining a rear surface of the drum body; and
a drum inlet formed through the front cover in a penetrating manner to communicate with an interior of the drum body;
a fixing panel arranged spaced apart from the rear cover; a power transmitter comprising:
a housing fixed to the fixing panel;
an input shaft with one end located outside of the housing and another end located inside the housing;
an output shaft with one end formed to pass through the fixing panel and fixed to the rear cover and another end positioned inside the housing; and
a gear unit disposed inside the housing to transmit rotational motion of the input shaft to the output shaft;
a motor comprising:
a stator fixed to the fixing panel or the housing to form a rotating magnetic field; and
a rotor rotated by the rotating magnetic field, the one end of the input shaft being fixed to the rotor; and
an oil leakage preventer configured to prevent lubricating oil supplied to the gear unit from being discharged from the housing.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the housing comprises:
a housing base provided with an input shaft through-hole allowing the input shaft to be arranged therethrough in a penetrating manner; an input shaft support provided to the housing base to surround the input shaft through-hole; a housing circumferential surface extending from an edge of the housing base toward the fixing panel to define an accommodation space, the gear unit being mounted in the accommodation space; a cover body fixed to the housing circumferential surface to close the accommodation space; an output shaft through-hole formed through the cover body in a penetrated manner, the output shaft being inserted into the output shaft through-hole; and an output shaft support protruding from the cover body toward the fixing panel to surround the output shaft through-hole, wherein the oil leakage preventer comprises: a first sealing portion disposed to seal a space between the input shaft support and the input shaft; a second sealing portion disposed to seal a space between the output shaft support and the output shaft; and a third sealing portion disposed to seal a space between the housing circumferential surface and the cover body.

3 . The apparatus of claim 2 , further comprising:
a cover fixing plate provided on the housing circumferential surface, the cover fixing plate extending away from the housing circumferential surface in a radial direction of the input shaft through-hole such that the cover body is fixed to the cover fixing plate, wherein the third sealing portion is provided as a ring-shaped gasket disposed between the cover body and the cover fixing plate.

4 . The apparatus of claim 2 , further comprising:
a cover fixing plate provided on the housing circumferential surface, the cover fixing plate extending away from the housing circumferential surface in a radial direction of the input shaft through-hole such that the cover body is fixed to the cover fixing plate, wherein the third sealing portion comprises: a ring-shaped sealing protrusion protruding from the cover body toward the cover fixing plate; and a ring-shaped sealing groove provided in the cover fixing plate, the sealing protrusion being accommodated in the sealing groove.

5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the sealing protrusion comprises:
a first protrusion having a ring shape and centered on the output shaft through-hole; and a second protrusion having a ring shape and centered on the output shaft through-hole, the second protrusion having a diameter greater than a diameter of the first protrusion, wherein the sealing groove comprises: a first groove allowing the first protrusion to be accommodated therein; and a second groove allowing the second protrusion to be accommodated therein.

6 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the sealing protrusion and the sealing groove are bonded to each other through thermal bonding.

7 . The apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the third sealing portion further comprises:
a gasket formed in a ring shape surrounding the sealing protrusion and disposed between the cover body and the cover fixing plate.

8 . The apparatus of claim 2 , further comprising:
an input shaft bearing fixed inside the input shaft support to rotatably fix the input shaft to the input shaft support, wherein the first sealing portion is disposed between the input shaft bearing and a free end of the input shaft support.

9 . The apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising:
a first fixing portion provided on the input shaft support to prevent the first sealing portion from being withdrawn from the input shaft through-hole.

10 . The apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising:
an output shaft bearing fixed inside the output shaft support to rotatably fix the output shaft to the output shaft support, wherein the second sealing portion is disposed between the output shaft bearing and a free end of the output shaft support.

11 . The apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising:
a second fixing portion provided on the output shaft support to prevent the second sealing portion from being withdrawn from the output shaft through-hole.

12 . The apparatus of claim 2 , further comprising:
a first input shaft bearing fixed inside the input shaft support to rotatably fix the input shaft to the input shaft support; and a second input shaft bearing fixed inside the input shaft support to rotatably fix the input shaft to the input shaft support, the second input shaft bearing being disposed between the first input shaft bearing and a free end of the input shaft support, wherein the first sealing portion is disposed between the first input shaft bearing and the second input shaft bearing or between the second input shaft bearing and the free end of the input shaft.

13 . The apparatus of claim 10 , further comprising:
a first output shaft bearing fixed inside the output shaft support to rotatably fix the output shaft to the output shaft support; and a second output shaft bearing fixed inside the output shaft support to rotatably fix the output shaft to the output shaft support, the second output shaft bearing being disposed between the first output shaft bearing and a free end of the output shaft support, wherein the second sealing portion is disposed between the first output shaft bearing and the second output shaft bearing or between the second output shaft bearing and the free end of the output shaft.

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Cho Hongjun
• Lee Jongmin
• Ahn Ingeun
• Yoon Juhan

Classifications

• H02K7/083

  radially supporting the rotary shaft at both ends of the rotor (H02K7/086, H02K7/09 take precedence) · CPC title

• H02K7/003

  Couplings; Details of shafts (means for mounting rotors on shafts H02K1/28) · CPC title

• H02K5/124

  Sealing of shafts · CPC title

• D06F58/20

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

• D06F58/08 Primary

  Driving arrangements · CPC title