Laundry treatment apparatus and method of controlling the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024167217-A1
Application number	US-202118259933-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 30, 2021
Priority date	Dec 31, 2020
Publication date	May 23, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a laundry treatment apparatus including a cabinet having an entrance formed in one surface thereof, a first chamber, which is positioned in the cabinet and receives laundry therein through the entrance, a second chamber, which is positioned below the first chamber and defines a space isolated from the first chamber, a door having a mount space defined therein and rotatably coupled to the cabinet so as to open and close the entrance, a door inner plate facing the entrance, and a roller-type press unit, which is coupled to the door inner plate so as to press suspended pants and removes wrinkles from the pants, wherein power is supplied to the press unit through the interior space of the door.

First claim

1 . A laundry treatment apparatus comprising:
a cabinet having an entrance formed in one surface thereof; a first chamber, which is positioned in the cabinet and receives laundry therein through the entrance; a second chamber, which is positioned below the first chamber and defines a space isolated from the first chamber; a door having a mount space defined therein and rotatably coupled to the cabinet so as to open and close the entrance; a door inner plate facing the entrance; a laundry hanger support, which is provided on the door inner plate and supports pants hung thereon; a base plate, which is coupled to the door inner plate and supports the pants hung on the laundry hanger support; a guide hole oriented parallel to the base plate in a vertical direction of the door and formed through the door inner plate in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction and to a width direction of the door; a rotating shaft provided in the width direction of the door so as to be parallel thereto; a roller rotating about the rotating shaft and pressing the pants; a moving unit supporting the rotating shaft and moving in a vertical direction of the door when the roller is rotated; and a power supply, which is accommodated in the mount space and supplies power to the roller.

2 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the power supply is disposed along the guide hole so as to be parallel thereto, and is electrically connected to the moving unit so as to supply power to the roller even when the moving unit is moved along the guide hole by rotation of the roller.

3 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the door comprises:
a rear surface, which is a surface of the door inner plate that is positioned far away from the entrance; and a door outer plate coupled to the rear surface so as to define a mount space, wherein the moving unit comprises: a moving mount, which is inserted partway into the guide hole and moves in the vertical direction of the door; and a moving support, which is coupled to the moving mount and supports the rotating shaft, and wherein the power supply is electrically connected to the moving mount.

4 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the moving mount includes a moving contact electrically connected to the power supply.

5 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the moving unit includes a wheel, which is provided in the width direction of the door and which is coupled to a side of the moving mount that is inserted into the guide hole so as to prevent the moving unit from being separated from the guide hole and to move the moving unit in the vertical direction of the door.

6 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the moving contact is coupled to the surface of the moving mount on which the wheel is positioned.

7 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the power supply includes a wire disposed along the guide hole in the vertical direction of the door.

8 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the power supply includes a wire disposed on the rear surface of the door along the guide hole in the vertical direction of the door.

9 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the wire is wrapped by a coating member made of an insulation material, and the coating member is removed in the vertical direction of the door from a portion of the wire that comes into contact with the moving contact.

10 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the rotating shaft includes a first rotating shaft and a second rotating shaft, which are coupled to two ends of the roller,
wherein the moving unit includes a first transfer portion and a second transfer portion, which are respectively coupled to the first rotating shaft and the second rotating shaft at the two ends of the roller, and wherein the guide hole comprises: a first guide hole into which the first transfer portion is inserted; and a second guide hole into which the second transfer portion is inserted, the first guide hole and the second guide hole being formed in two side surfaces of the base plate in the vertical direction of the door.

11 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 10 , wherein a distance between the first guide hole and the second guide hole is greater than a width of the base plate.

12 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the power supply comprises:
a first wire electrically connected to the first transfer portion; and a second wire electrically connected to the second transfer portion, the first wire and the second wire being respectively disposed along the first guide hole and the second guide hole.

13 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the first transfer portion includes a first contact to be electrically connected to the first wire, and the second transfer portion includes a second contact to be electrically connected to the second wire.

14 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the power supply includes a battery configured to supply power required to rotate the roller.

15 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the power supply further includes a battery-charging portion configured to charge the battery.

16 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the door comprises:
a rear surface, which is a surface of the door inner plate that is positioned far away from the entrance; and a door inner plate coupled to the rear surface so as to define a mount space, and wherein the battery-charging portion is positioned on the rear surface along the guide hole.

17 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the battery-charging portion includes a first charging portion positioned at an upper portion of the guide hole.

18 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the roller comprises:
a first cylindrical press positioned close to one end thereof so as to press the pants; a second cylindrical press positioned close to another end of the roller so as to press the pants; and a cylindrical water supply, which is positioned between the first press and the second press so as to connect the first press and the second press to each other, and which supplies moisture to the pants.

19 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the moisture supply has a diameter smaller than a diameter of the first press and the second press.

20 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the roller comprises:
a first heater disposed in the first press so as to heat the first press; and a second heater disposed in the second press so as to heat the second press.

21 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 20 , wherein the power supply supplies power to the roller in order to perform rotation of the roller, generation of steam from the moisture supply, and heating of an outer circumferential surface of the roller by the first heater and the second heater.

22 . The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the roller is configured such that a diameter of an outer circumferential surface of a region thereof that corresponds to a predetermined length in a direction of the rotating shaft is smaller than a diameter of two ends of the roller.

23 - 25 . (canceled)

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Jang Semin
• Kim Jaehyung

Classifications

• D06F63/02 Primary

  with two or more rollers co-acting with a fixed or moving flat bed or table · CPC title

• D06F67/005

  Stands or cabinets · CPC title

• D06F67/02

  Rollers; Heating arrangements therefor · CPC title

• D06F71/29

  Trousers · CPC title

• D06F71/34

  Heating arrangements; Arrangements for supplying or removing steam or other gases · CPC title