Clothes care apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12584264-B2
Application number	US-202418744016-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 14, 2024
Priority date	Aug 25, 2023
Publication date	Mar 24, 2026
Grant date	Mar 24, 2026

Abstract

A clothes care apparatus includes a cabinet; a first chamber formed inside the cabinet, and configured to accommodate a garment; a first door configured to open or close the first chamber, having a second chamber separated from the first chamber, and configured to accommodate a garment, and including a door water supply tub and a door drain tub; a second door pivotally coupled to the first door to open or close the second chamber; and a spot cleaning device arranged inside the second chamber to spot clean the garment accommodated in the second chamber, and including a water supply tub to receive water from the door water supply tub, and a drain tub to release the water from the second chamber to the door drain tub.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A clothes care apparatus comprising:
a cabinet; a first chamber formed inside the cabinet, and configured to accommodate a garment to clean; a first door:
configured to open or close the first chamber;
having a second chamber separated from the first chamber and configured to accommodate a garment to clean; and
comprising a door water supply tub and a door drain tub;
a second door pivotally coupled to the first door to open or close the second chamber; and a spot cleaning device arranged inside the second chamber to spot clean the garment accommodated in the second chamber, the spot cleaning device including:
a water supply tub connectable to the door water supply tub to receive water, to be used to spot clean the garment accommodated in the second chamber, from the door water supply tub; and
a drain tub connectable to the door drain tub to release the water from the spot cleaning device to the door drain tub.

2 . The clothes care apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the spot cleaning device is movable in the second chamber.

3 . The clothes care apparatus of claim 2 , wherein:
the first door further comprises a home position part placed inside the second chamber, and to be coupled to the spot cleaning device, and in response to the spot cleaning device being coupled to the home position part,
the water supply tub is connected to the door water supply tub; and
the drain tub is connected to the door drain tub.

4 . The clothes care apparatus of claim 3 , wherein home position part comprises a first opening formed for the water of the door water supply tub to pass through, and
the clothes care apparatus further comprises a water supply pump placed below the first opening and configured to move the water in the door water supply tub into the water supply tub located above the first opening in response to the spot cleaning device being coupled to the home position part.

5 . The clothes care apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the home position part further comprises a second opening formed for the water of the drain tub to pass through, and
the clothes care apparatus further comprises a drain pump placed below the second opening and configured to move the water in the drain tub located above the second opening into the door drain tub in response to the spot cleaning device being coupled to the home position part.

6 . The clothes care apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising:
a first hose configured to connect the first opening to an outlet of the water supply pump; and a second hose configured to connect the second opening to an inlet of the drain pump.

7 . The clothes care apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the first door further comprises a third chamber configured to accommodate the door water supply tub, the door drain tub, the water supply pump, the drain pump, the first hose, and the second hose.

8 . The clothes care apparatus of claim 7 , further comprising:
a cover to cover at least a portion of the third chamber to prevent the water supply pump, the drain pump, the first hose, and the second hose from being exposed to outside,
wherein the cover is detachable in a forward direction of the first door.

9 . The clothes care apparatus of claim 7 , wherein:
the door water supply tub is detachable in a forward or backward direction of the first door; and the door drain tub is detachable in the forward or backward direction of the first door.

10 . The clothes care apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the spot cleaning device comprises:
a water supply part coupled to the water supply tub to supply the water from the door water supply tub into the water supply tub, and to be coupled to the home position part; and a water drain part coupled to the water drain tub to drain the water from the water drain tub to the door drain tub, and to be coupled to the home position part, and wherein the water supply part comprises a first check valve configured to prevent the water in the water supply tub from being discharged by gravity through the water supply part, and wherein the drain part comprises a second check valve configured to prevent the water in the drain tub from being discharged by gravity through the drain part.

11 . The clothes care apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the home position part comprises:
a first opener configured to open the first check valve in response to the water supply part being coupled to the home position part; and a second opener configured to open the second check valve in response to the drain part being coupled to the home position part.

12 . The clothes care apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the spot cleaning device comprises:
a water sprayer configured to spray the water supplied from the water supply tub; a washing fluid sprayer configured to spray a washing fluid which is a mixture of the water supplied from the water supply tub and a detergent; and a suction part configured to draw in the water, the washing fluid and foreign materials.

13 . The clothes care apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the spot cleaning device comprises:
at least one of a vibrator configured to vibrate a garment; and a roller configured to contact a garment to remove contaminants on the garment by rolling on the garment.

14 . The clothes care apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the spot cleaning device comprises:
a water supply pump configured to move the water in the water supply tub into the washing fluid sprayer, a drain pump configured to move the water from the suction part into the drain tub; and a battery configured to supply power to operate the water supply pump and the drain pump.

15 . The clothes care apparatus of claim 14 , wherein:
the first door further comprises a home position part placed inside the second chamber, and to be coupled to the spot cleaning device, the spot cleaning device comprises a first charging terminal electrically connected to the battery, and the home position part comprises a second charging terminal connected to the first charging terminal and configured to charge the battery.

Assignees

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd

Inventors

• Lee Myungwoo
• Park Jaeryong
• Kong Younghak
• Yoon Byeongcheol

Classifications

• D06F39/14

  Doors or covers; Securing means therefor · CPC title

• D06F2105/38

  Conditioning or finishing, e.g. control of perfume injection · CPC title

• D06F2101/20

  Operation modes, e.g. delicate laundry washing programs, service modes or refreshment cycles · CPC title

• D06F73/02

  having one or more treatment chambers · CPC title

• D06F58/44

  of conditioning or finishing, e.g. for smoothing or removing creases · CPC title