Laundry treatment apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9316440-B2
Application number	US-201314138746-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 23, 2013
Priority date	Dec 31, 2012
Publication date	Apr 19, 2016
Grant date	Apr 19, 2016

Abstract

A laundry treatment apparatus includes a drum rotatably supported within a cabinet and configured to receive laundry therein, a connection duct into which air inside the drum is discharged, and a discharge duct that extends in a longitudinal direction of the drum and that is connected to the connection duct. The laundry treatment apparatus also includes a filter assembly including a filter unit located in the discharge duct to filter air and an impurity remover unit configured to remove and compress impurities remaining on the filter unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A laundry treatment apparatus comprising:
a cabinet defining an external appearance of the laundry treatment apparatus;
a drum rotatably supported within the cabinet and configured to receive laundry therein;
a connection duct into which air inside the drum is discharged;
a discharge duct that extends in a longitudinal direction of the drum and that is connected to the connection duct;
a filter assembly including:
a filter unit located in the discharge duct and configured to filter air, and
an impurity remover unit configured to remove impurities remaining on the filter unit and compress impurities removed from the filter unit; and
a drive unit configured to reciprocate the impurity remover unit along the filter unit,

wherein the filter unit is extended in the longitudinal direction of the drum.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the cabinet has a filter insertion hole that communicates with the discharge duct, and
wherein the filter assembly passes through the filter insertion hole based on the filter assembly being inserted into the discharge duct or separated from the discharge duct.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the filter assembly further includes a housing in which the impurity remover unit is received, the housing being configured to store impurities removed from the filter unit by the impurity remover unit, and
wherein the filter unit includes:
a filter frame located at an upper side of the housing;
an air introduction hole defined in the filter frame and configured to allow air introduced into the discharge duct to be introduced into the housing; and
a filter attached to the filter frame and configured to filter air moving from the housing to the discharge duct.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the impurity remover unit includes:
a compressor located within the housing and configured to compress impurities within the housing by reciprocating within the housing based on force generated by the drive unit; and
a brush secured to the compressor and configured to separate, from the filter, impurities remaining on the filter.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the impurity remover unit further includes a rack arranged in a longitudinal direction of the housing and connected to the compressor, and
wherein the drive unit includes a rack gear rotatably coupled to the filter frame and engaged with the rack, and a motor gear located in the discharge duct and separably coupled to the rack gear.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the filter assembly further includes a rack retraction preventing member located in the housing and configured to guide the rack in a manner that prevents the rack from being retracted outward from the housing during movement of the compressor.

7. The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the rack includes a first rack and a second rack respectively provided at opposite ends of the compressor,
wherein the rack gear includes a first rack gear rotatably supported at the filter frame and engaged with the first rack, a second rack gear rotatably supported at the filter frame and engaged with the second rack, and a connection shaft configured to connect the first rack gear and the second rack gear to each other, and
wherein the motor gear is secured to a motor rotating shaft that is rotated by a motor, the motor being located at an exterior of the discharge duct and the motor gear being located within the discharge duct.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the filter frame includes:
a first frame having the air introduction hole; and
a second frame rotatably coupled to the first frame via the connection shaft, the second frame being separable from the housing.

9. The apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the compressor includes:
a compression plate configured to reciprocate within the housing, the brush being secured to the compression plate; and
a plurality of through-holes perforated in the compression plate.

10. The apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the filter assembly further includes a scraper located at the filter frame and configured to separate impurities from the brush.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the filter assembly further includes a rib configured to support the filter,
wherein the scraper has a plurality of scraper bosses protruding from the rib and spaced apart from one another by a predetermined distance, and
wherein the brush has a plurality of brush bosses protruding from the compressor toward the filter and spaced apart from one another by a predetermined distance.

12. The apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the plurality of brush bosses pass through spaces between adjacent scraper bosses.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a position sensing unit configured to sense a position of the impurity remover unit.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the position sensing unit includes:
a magnetism generator secured to the impurity remover unit; and
a magnetism sensor configured to generate a control signal based on the magnetism generator reaching a preset position.

15. The apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the filter assembly further includes a housing in which the impurity remover unit is received such that impurities, removed from the filter unit by the impurity remover unit, are stored in the housing, a first hole perforated in a bottom surface of the housing, and a second hole perforated in the bottom surface of the housing and spaced apart from the first hole by a predetermined distance, and
wherein the magnetism sensor is a first magnetism sensor secured within the discharge duct at a position below the first hole, the apparatus further comprising:
a second magnetism sensor secured within the discharge duct at a position below the second hole.

16. The apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the discharge duct includes a path guide configured to guide air discharged from the connection duct to the air introduction hole, and
wherein the filter assembly further includes a frame guide that protrudes from an upper surface of the filter frame and contacts the path guide.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16 , wherein the filter assembly further includes a guide slope configured to connect an upper surface of the frame guide and the upper surface of the filter frame to each other, and
wherein the discharge duct further includes a first duct guide configured to contact the guide slope and a second duct guide configured to contact the upper surface of the filter frame based on the filter assembly being inserted into the discharge duct.

18. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the cabinet includes a rear panel having an air outlet through which air, discharged from the drum through the discharge duct, is discharged to outside of the cabinet, and a base panel located below the drum, the rear panel being secured to the base panel, and
wherein the base panel has a duct guide configured to guide positioning of the discharge duct in a manner that facilitates coupling of the discharge duct to the air outlet.

19. The apparatus according to claim 18 , wherein the duct guide includes:
at least one position guide configured to guide both lateral sides of the discharge duct to coincide with both lateral sides of the air outlet; and
at least one height guide configured to guide a top and bottom of an outer peripheral surface of the discharge duct to coincide with a to

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Kim Jeongyun
• Lee Sangik

Classifications

• D06F58/22 Primary

  Lint collecting arrangements · CPC title

• F26B21/003 Primary

  Air or gas filters · 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

• D06F2105/58

  Indications or alarms to the control system or to the user · CPC title

• D06F2105/46

  Drum speed; Actuation of motors, e.g. starting or interrupting · CPC title