Garbage disposal unit

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9714505-B2
Application number	US-201514753263-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 29, 2015
Priority date	Jul 1, 2014
Publication date	Jul 25, 2017
Grant date	Jul 25, 2017

Abstract

A garbage disposal unit is disclosed. The garbage disposal unit includes a cabinet. The garbage disposal unit further includes a crushing unit that is located in the cabinet and that is configured to crush garbage. The garbage disposal unit further includes a housing body that is located in the cabinet. The garbage disposal unit further includes an inlet port that is configured to guide garbage discharged from the crushing unit to the housing body. The garbage disposal unit further includes an outlet port that is configured to connect an inside of the housing body to an inside of the cabinet. The garbage disposal unit further includes a dehydration unit that is located in the housing body and that is configured to dehydrate and agitate garbage by rotating. The garbage disposal unit further includes an agitation unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A garbage disposal unit comprising:
a cabinet;
a crushing unit that is located in the cabinet and that is configured to crush garbage;
a housing body that is located in the cabinet;
an inlet port that is configured to guide garbage discharged from the crushing unit to the housing body;
an outlet port that is configured to connect an inside of the housing body to an inside of the cabinet;
a dehydration unit that is located in the housing body and that is configured to dehydrate and agitate garbage by rotating, the dehydration unit including (i) a storage body that is located in the housing, that is configured to store garbage, and that defines a communication hole that is configured to connect with the inlet port or the outlet port based on a rotational angle of the storage body and (ii) a rotating shaft that is configured to be oriented parallel to ground upon proper installation and that is configured to rotatably support the storage body and the housing body; and
an agitation unit that is configured to rotate in the storage body and configured to open and close the communication hole.

2. The garbage disposal unit according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a driving unit that is configured to rotate the agitation unit in a clockwise direction and a counterclockwise direction,
wherein the dehydration unit rotates together with the agitation unit based on the agitation unit rotating in one of the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction.

3. The garbage disposal unit according to claim 2 , wherein:
the rotating shaft includes a shaft body that extends through the housing body, that is configured to rotate in the housing body, and that defines a shaft through hole,
the agitation unit includes an agitator rotating shaft that is located in the shaft through hole and that is connected to the driving unit, and
the garbage disposal unit further comprises a power transmission unit that is located in the shaft through hole, that is configured to support the agitator rotating shaft, and that is configured to transmit one of a clockwise rotational force and a counterclockwise rotational force supplied by the agitator rotating shaft to the shaft body.

4. The garbage disposal unit according to claim 3 , further comprising a lock that is configured to prevent rotation of the shaft body and rotation of the dehydration unit.

5. The garbage disposal unit according to claim 4 , wherein the lock comprises:
a first engaging part that is located at the shaft body; and
a second engaging part that is rotatably located at the housing body and that is configured to engage with the first engaging part.

6. The garbage disposal unit according to claim 3 , further comprising:
a first position detector that is configured to detect a position of the communication hole; and
a second position detector that is configured to detect a position of the agitation unit.

7. The garbage disposal unit according to claim 6 , wherein the first position detector comprises:
a first magnetic member that is fixed to the shaft body;
a first sensor that is configured to determine whether the communication hole communicates with the inlet port by detecting a magnetic field of the first magnetic member; and
a second sensor that is configured to determine whether the communication hole communicates with the outlet port by detecting a magnetic field of the first magnetic member.

8. The garbage disposal unit according to claim 7 , wherein the agitation unit further includes:
a base that is located in the storage body and that is fixed to the agitator rotating shaft, and
a door that is fixed to the base, that is configured to open and close the communication hole, and that is configured to agitate garbage stored in the storage body during rotation of the base.

9. The garbage disposal unit according to claim 1 , further comprising a drying unit that is configured to dry garbage in the dehydration unit by supplying air to an inside of the housing body.

10. The garbage disposal unit according to claim 9 , wherein:
the storage body defines a through hole that is located through the storage body and that is configured to allow an inside of the storage body to communicate with an inside of the housing body,
the drying unit includes:
a supply duct that is configured to guide air to the housing body,
a heater that is located in the supply duct,
a fan that is configured to supply air to the supply duct, and
a discharge duct that is configured to connect an inside of the housing body with an outside of the cabinet.

11. The garbage disposal unit according to claim 1 , wherein the crushing unit comprises:
a support body that includes an introduction face that is configured to receive garbage and a discharge face that is configured to discharge garbage; and
a blade that is rotatably located at the support body, that is configured to crush garbage received through the introduction face, and that is configured to transfer the garbage to the discharge face.

12. The garbage disposal unit according to claim 11 , further comprising a washing water nozzle that is configured to spray water into the support body.

13. The garbage disposal unit according to claim 12 , wherein the washing water nozzle comprises:
a first nozzle that is fixed to the support body and that is configured to spray water in a first rectangular pyramid shape that has a first base width that is parallel to the introduction face and that has a first base length that is perpendicular to the introduction face and that is shorter than the first base width; and
a second nozzle that is fixed to the support body and that is configured to spray water in a second rectangular pyramid shape that has a second base width that is parallel to the introduction face and that has a first base length that is perpendicular to the introduction face and that is longer than the second base width.

14. The garbage disposal unit according to claim 11 , further comprising:
a reception part that defines a space that is configured to accommodate the blade by protruding toward the inlet port from the discharge face and that defines a discharge hole,
wherein the blade is one of a pair of blades that are located in the receptor and that are configured to rotate to move garbage toward the discharge hole.

15. The garbage disposal unit according to claim 11 , further comprising a gasket that is located between the discharge face and the inlet port, that is configured to attenuate vibration between the housing and the crushing unit, and that is configured to prevent water leakage between the housing and the crushing unit.

16. The garbage disposal unit according to claim 11 , wherein the blade comprises:
a first blade that includes:
a first shaft that is rotatably coupled to the support body,
a plurality of first cutters that are each separated from each other by predetermined intervals and that protrude from the first shaft, and
a first gear that is located at the first shaft; and

a second blade that includes:
a second shaft that is rotatably coupled to the support body,
a plurality of second cutters that protrude from the second shaft and that are configured to pass through spaces defined by the plurality of first cutters during rotation of the first blade and the second blade, and
a second gear that is located at the second shaft and that is configured to engage the first gear.

17. The garbage disposal unit according to claim 1 , wherein the dehydration unit includes a guide that is configured to prevent garbage s

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Kim Sungmin
• Park Daeyun
• Kim Jeongyun

Classifications

• B02C18/2216

  Discharge means · CPC title

• B02C23/36

  the crushing or disintegrating zone being submerged in liquid · CPC title

• B09B3/00

  Destroying solid waste or transforming solid waste into something useful or harmless · CPC title

• B02C23/20

  after crushing or disintegrating · CPC title

• F26B11/08

  rotating about a vertical or steeply-inclined axis · CPC title