CN109844211B

CN109844211B - Laundry treating apparatus and control method thereof

Info

Publication number: CN109844211B
Application number: CN201780065177.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 金范埈; 金友莱; 朴比吾; 朴思琪; 张宰赫; 洪尚郁; 金昶五; 卢炫佑
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2016-08-25
Filing date: 2017-08-25
Publication date: 2021-11-26
Anticipated expiration: 2037-08-25
Also published as: CN114045641A; CN114045640A; EP3505674A1; CN109844211A; CN114045640B; EP4155452A1; EP3505674B1; CN114045641B; EP3505674C0; EP3505674A4; EP4155453A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a laundry treating apparatus, and more particularly, to a laundry treating apparatus that directly heats an inner tub accommodating laundry. A laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: an outer tub; an inner tub accommodating laundry and rotatably disposed inside the outer tub, the inner tub being formed of a metal material; the induction module is arranged on the outer barrel and is separated from the circumferential surface of the inner barrel at intervals, and the induction module is used for heating the circumferential surface of the inner barrel by generating an electromagnetic field; the sensing module includes: a coil, around which a metal wire is wound, to which a current is applied to generate a magnetic field; and a base case installed at an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub, forming a coil insertion groove defining a shape of the coil, and installing the metal wire in the coil insertion groove in such a manner that a predetermined interval is provided between the metal wire and the metal wire.

Description

Laundry treating apparatus and control method thereof

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a laundry treating apparatus, and more particularly, to a laundry treating apparatus that directly heats an inner tub accommodating laundry.

Background

A laundry treating apparatus is an apparatus for treating laundry, which refers to an apparatus for washing, drying, and refreshing (refreshing) laundry.

Among the laundry treatment apparatuses, there are various types of laundry treatment apparatuses such as a washing machine mainly for washing laundry, a washing machine mainly for drying laundry, and a refresher mainly for refreshing laundry.

In addition, there is a laundry treating apparatus capable of performing at least two kinds of laundry treatments of washing, drying, and refreshing in one laundry treating apparatus. As an example, a dryer having a washing function can perform washing, drying, and refreshing by one laundry treatment device.

Recently, there is provided a laundry treating apparatus in which two treating apparatuses are provided in one laundry treating apparatus to be able to perform washing in the two apparatuses at the same time, or perform washing and drying at the same time.

The laundry treating apparatus may generally have a heating unit therein for heating washing water or air. The heating of the washing water may be performed in order to increase the temperature of the washing water to promote activation of the detergent and to promote decomposition of contaminants to improve washing performance. The heating of the air may be performed in order to apply heat to the wet laundry to evaporate moisture and dry the laundry.

Generally, the heating of the washing water is performed by an electric heater mounted on an outer tub for receiving the washing water. The electric heater is immersed in washing water containing impurities or detergent. Therefore, impurities such as scale may accumulate on the electric heater itself, and such impurities will reduce the performance of the electric heater.

Also, in order to heat the air, it is necessary to provide not only a structure such as a fan for forcibly generating movement of the air but also a duct or the like for guiding the movement of the air additionally. An electric heater, a gas heater, or the like may be used to heat the air, and such an air heating method is generally inefficient.

Recently, dryers have been provided which use a heat pump to heat air. The heat pump utilizes the cooling cycle of the air conditioner in the opposite manner, and therefore, it is necessary to provide the same structure such as an evaporator, a condenser, an expansion valve, and a compressor. Unlike the case where a condenser is used in an indoor unit to reduce indoor air in an air conditioner, a heat pump dryer heats air in an evaporator and dries laundry. However, such a heat pump dryer has a problem that the structure is complicated and the manufacturing cost is increased.

Among such various laundry treating apparatuses, the electric heater, the gas heater, and the heat pump as the heating unit have respective advantages and disadvantages, and as a new heating unit capable of further highlighting the advantages therebetween and compensating for the disadvantages, there is provided a concept related to a laundry treating apparatus using induction heating (japanese patent publication No. 2001070689, korean patent publication No. KR 10-922986).

However, such prior arts disclose only a basic concept of performing induction heating in the washing machine, and fail to suggest a specific induction heating module structure, connection and functional relationship with a basic structure of the laundry treating apparatus, and a specific scheme or structure for improving efficiency and ensuring safety.

Therefore, it is highly desirable to provide various and specific technical ideas for improving efficiency and ensuring safety in a laundry treating apparatus employing an induction heating principle.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved

The invention aims to provide a clothes treatment device which utilizes induction heating and improves efficiency and safety.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a laundry treatment apparatus that can soak laundry or perform a sterilization treatment even when the laundry is not completely immersed in washing water.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a laundry treating apparatus which can improve washing efficiency and dry laundry by increasing the temperature of the laundry by heating an inner tub without directly heating washing water.

Through an embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is directed to provide a laundry treating apparatus capable of uniformly drying laundry as a whole and improving drying efficiency even if the laundry is tangled with each other or a large amount of laundry.

The present invention, according to one embodiment thereof, is directed to provide a laundry treating apparatus capable of preventing a leakage or a short circuit from occurring in a coil and preventing the coil from being deformed even if an inner tub is heated by the coil.

The present invention, through one embodiment thereof, aims to provide a clothes treating apparatus capable of structurally cooling a coil even if the coil generates heat due to its own resistance.

Through an embodiment of the present invention, the present invention is directed to provide a laundry treating apparatus capable of preventing components constituting an induction module from being separated even in a case where an outer tub vibrates, by securing fastening stability of the induction module.

The present invention, through one embodiment of the present invention, aims to provide a clothes treating apparatus, which improves drying efficiency by uniformly heating the front and rear of an inner tub.

The present invention has been made in an effort to provide a laundry treating apparatus, which improves heating efficiency by reducing a gap between a coil of an induction module and an inner tub, and which can more stably mount the induction module to an outer circumferential surface of an outer tub.

The present invention, through one embodiment thereof, aims to provide a clothes treating apparatus and a control method thereof, which can improve safety by effectively preventing overheating possibly occurring in a lifter provided on an inner tub. In particular, the stability of the lifting member is improved while the lifting member effectively maintains its basic function.

Through an embodiment of the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide a laundry treating apparatus and a control method thereof, which can prevent overheating of a portion where a lifter is installed without changing shapes of an inner tub and the lifter.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a laundry treating apparatus and a control method thereof, which can reduce energy loss and prevent damage of lifters by reducing heat generation of portions of a circumferential surface of an inner tub corresponding to the lifters by confirming positions of the lifters.

The present invention, which is made in view of the above problems, provides a laundry treating apparatus and a control method thereof, which can prevent overheating of an inner tub in advance by heating the inner tub when the inner tub sufficiently transfers heat to washing water or laundry.

The present invention, which is made in view of the above problems, provides a laundry treating apparatus and a control method thereof, which can prevent an inner tub from being unintentionally overheated by reliably detecting a temperature of the rotating inner tub.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the foregoing object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there may be provided a laundry treating apparatus including: an outer tub; an inner tub accommodating laundry and rotatably disposed inside the outer tub, the inner tub being formed of a metal material; the induction module is arranged on the outer barrel and is separated from the circumferential surface of the inner barrel at intervals, and the induction module is used for heating the circumferential surface of the inner barrel by generating an electromagnetic field; the sensing module includes: a coil formed by winding a wire (wire), to which a current is applied to generate a magnetic field; and a base case installed at an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub, forming a coil insertion groove defining a shape of the coil, and installing the metal wire in the coil insertion groove in such a manner that a predetermined interval is provided between the metal wire and the metal wire.

The coil can be stably formed and the shape of the coil can be prevented from being deformed or moved by the coil insertion slot formed in the base housing.

The induction module may include a module cover combined with the base housing to cover the coil. This can stably protect the coil from external influences.

A permanent magnet for concentrating a magnetic field generated from the coil toward the inner tub is preferably disposed between the module cover and the coil.

The permanent magnets are preferably provided in plurality along the longitudinal direction of the coil, and the permanent magnets are arranged so as to be perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the coil.

A permanent magnet mounting part may be provided under the module cover, into which the permanent magnet is inserted and fixed.

The module cover preferably includes a clinging rib that protrudes from the underside of the module cover toward the lower portion and presses the coil.

The outer circumference of the outer barrel is preferably provided with a module mounting part for mounting the sensing module, and the base shell is matched and combined with the module mounting part. Therefore, the induction module can be combined on the outer peripheral surface of the outer barrel more stably.

The module mounting part may include a linear section located at a position further inward in a radial direction than a reference radius of an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub.

The straight line section may be positioned at a left-right center in a cross section of the module mounting portion.

The straight line sections may be located on both sides of a left and right center, respectively, in a cross section of the module mounting part.

By such a straight section, the distance between the coil and the circumferential surface of the inner barrel can be effectively reduced.

The outer tub preferably includes: a front outer tub; a rear outer tub; and a connecting part connecting the front outer barrel and the rear outer barrel and extending to the outside of the radius direction, wherein the base shell is tightly attached to the upper part of the connecting part.

The connecting portion preferably includes an expanded connecting portion that protrudes radially outward beyond the connecting portion, and to which a fastening screw or a bolt is fastened, the expanded connecting portion being excluded from the module mounting portion.

A rib is preferably formed to protrude downward below the base casing to compensate for a spaced distance between the base casing and an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub.

The base housing is preferably formed with a through portion that allows air to be discharged from an upper portion to a lower portion.

The coil socket preferably includes: fixing ribs facing each other; and a coil insertion portion provided between the fixing ribs.

The interval between the fixing ribs is preferably formed smaller than the wire diameter of the metal wire so as to dispose the metal wire in an interference fit manner.

The fixing rib may have a protruding height greater than a wire diameter of the metal wire, and an upper end of the fixing rib is melted to cover an upper portion of the metal wire after the metal wire is inserted.

The coil is preferably formed as a single layer.

The coil is preferably formed in a track shape having a long axis along the front-rear direction of the inner barrel.

The coil preferably includes: front, back, left and right straight line sections; and four curved sections, the four curved sections being located between the straight section and the straight section, in the curved sections, the radius of curvature of the radially inner side wire being the same as the radius of curvature of the radially outer side wire.

In order to achieve the foregoing object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there may be provided a laundry treating apparatus including: an outer tub; an inner tub made of a metal material for accommodating laundry therein; and an induction module disposed at the outer tub, spaced apart from the circumferential surface of the inner tub, for heating the circumferential surface of the inner tub by a magnetic field generated by applying a current to a coil wound with a wire; the induction module includes a base housing installed at an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub and accommodating the coil, the coil being formed by winding the wire around the base housing in a manner of having a linear portion and a curved portion, a curvature radius of an inner coil of the wire forming the curved portion being the same as a curvature radius of an outer coil.

In order to achieve the foregoing object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there may be provided a laundry treating apparatus including: an outer tub; an inner tub made of a metal material for accommodating laundry therein; and an induction module disposed at the outer tub, spaced apart from the circumferential surface of the inner tub, for heating the circumferential surface of the inner tub by a magnetic field generated by applying a current to the coil; the sensing module includes: a base casing installed on an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub and accommodating the coil; and a permanent magnet positioned above the coil and arranged perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the coil to concentrate a magnetic field generated from the coil in a direction of the inner tub.

In order to achieve the foregoing object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there may be provided a laundry treating apparatus including: a cabinet body forming the appearance; a cylindrical outer tub disposed inside the cabinet body and providing an accommodating space; an inner tub made of metal material rotatably disposed inside the outer tub and accommodating laundry; and an induction module disposed at a module mounting part located at an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub, for induction-heating the inner tub by forming a magnetic field; the module mounting portion is formed at a position further inward in a radial direction than an outer peripheral surface of the outer tub having a reference radius.

The module mounting part may be formed by forming a part of a curved outer circumferential surface of the outer tub as a linear section. That is, the module mounting portion may be formed by forming at least a part of a cross section, which is a curved line, into a straight line. Further, a distance between the straight line and the center of the outer tub is preferably smaller than a radius of a curved surface of the outer tub.

In order to achieve the foregoing object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there may be provided a laundry treating apparatus including: an outer tub; an inner tub formed of a metal material and accommodating laundry therein; and an induction module disposed at the outer tub, spaced apart from the circumferential surface of the inner tub, for heating the circumferential surface of the inner tub by a magnetic field generated by applying a current to a coil wound with a wire; the sensing module includes: a base housing installed on an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub, and formed with a coil insertion groove having a width narrower than a wire diameter of the metal wire so that the metal wire is disposed in an interference fit manner; and a module cover combined with the base housing in a manner of covering the coil insertion slot.

The coil can be fixed and prevented from moving by fixing and preventing the coil based on interference fit of the metal wire and covering the upper portion of the metal wire by the module cover. The coil slot-based metal wire moving prevention device can simultaneously prevent metal wires from moving forwards, backwards, leftwards and rightwards and prevent the metal wires from moving upwards and downwards through the module cover.

In order to achieve the foregoing object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there may be provided a laundry treating apparatus including: an inner tub formed of a metal material and accommodating laundry therein; an induction module disposed at an interval from the circumferential surface of the inner tub, heating the circumferential surface of the inner tub by a magnetic field generated by applying a current to a coil; a lifting member provided inside the inner tub for moving the laundry inside the inner tub when the inner tub rotates; and a module control part for controlling the heat generated from the circumferential surface of the inner barrel by controlling the output of the induction module; the module control part differently controls the heat generation amount based on a position change of the lifters occurring as the inner tub rotates.

The module control part preferably controls the amount of heat generated from the inner tub when the position of the lifter is a position escaping from the opposing position to be larger than the amount of heat generated from the inner tub when the position of the lifter is the opposing position opposing the sensing module.

Specifically, the module control unit preferably controls the output of the sensing module to be 0 or less than a normal output when the position of the lifter is a position facing the sensing module, and controls the output of the sensing module to be a normal output when the position of the lifter is not a position facing the sensing module.

The lifting member may be mounted to an inner circumferential surface of the inner tub. In particular, the lifting member may be formed of a plastic material.

In order to detect the position of the lift, it may include: a magnet provided in the inner tub so that a relative position between the magnet and the lifting member is fixed; and a sensor provided at a fixed position outside the inner tub, detecting a position change of the magnet as the inner tub rotates, thereby detecting a position of the lifter.

When the rotation angle of the cylindrical inner tub is set to 0 to 360 degrees, the position of the lifter disposed at a predetermined angle to the position of the magnet can be estimated by detecting the position of the magnet.

The sensor may include a reed switch or a hall sensor that outputs signals or marks different from each other according to the detection of the magnet.

The magnet may be disposed in an inner tub, and the sensor is disposed in the outer tub. To minimize the influence of the magnetic field generated from the sensing module, the sensor may be installed at a tub position that is an opposite side to a tub position where the sensing module is installed.

The present invention may further include a main control part controlling driving of a motor for rotating the inner tub, the main control part being provided in a manner of communicating with the module control part.

The lifters may be provided in plurality in a circumferential direction of the inner tub, the magnets may be provided in the same number as the number of the lifters, and the sensor detects a position of each of the lifters by detecting a position of each of the magnets, and transmits an output to the module control part.

For example, when three lifters are provided, three magnets may be provided. The lifter and the magnet may be disposed in such a manner as to have the same angle, respectively. Thus, when one magnet is detected, the position of the adjacent lifter can be estimated. In this case, even in a section in which the RPM of the inner tub is variable, the positions of the lifters can be estimated more accurately.

The magnet may be provided with only one regardless of the number of the lifters, the sensor detects the position of a specific lifter by detecting the position of the magnet, and transmits an output to the module control part, and the main control part estimates the positions of the remaining lifters by the output of the sensor and the rotation angle of the motor.

In this case, it is economical because the number of magnets can be reduced. When the position of one lifting piece is calculated through the magnet, the positions of the rest lifting pieces can be accurately calculated by considering the current RPM and the angle between the lifting piece and the lifting piece. However, in the interval in which the RPM of the inner tub is variable, it may be difficult to relatively accurately estimate the position of the lifter.

An embossing pattern may be formed on a circumferential surface of the inner tub to repeat along the circumferential surface, and the embossing pattern is not formed on the circumferential surface of the inner tub to which the lifter is attached.

The embossing pattern may be formed by the protrusion or depression of the circumferential surface of the inner barrel. Therefore, the area of the facing surface facing the sensing module may be smaller and the facing distance may be larger in the portion where the embossed pattern is formed than in the portion where the embossed pattern is not formed. Therefore, at the moment when the embossing pattern is opposed to the sensing modules, the value of the current flowing in the sensing modules or the output (power) of the sensing modules will likely become relatively large.

On the other hand, the circumferential surface of the inner barrel corresponding to the lifter mounting part for mounting the lifter is relatively increased in facing area and shortened in facing distance. Therefore, the value of the current flowing in the sensing module or the output of the sensing module may become relatively small.

The embossing pattern and the lifter installation part are repeatedly and regularly formed along the circumferential direction of the inner tub. Therefore, the position of the lifter may be estimated by a change in the current or output of the sensing module corresponding to the rotation angle of the inner tub. That is, the position of the lifter can be estimated more accurately without providing an additional sensor for detecting the rotation angle of the inner tub.

That is, the module control part may be configured to estimate the position of the lifter by a change in power or current of the sensing module, which is generated by rotation of the inner tub and is changed based on the presence or absence of the embossed pattern facing the sensing module. In other words, the module control part for controlling the output of the sensing module itself may receive the output change of the feedback and estimate the position of the lift.

In order to achieve the foregoing object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there may be provided a control method of a laundry treating apparatus including: an inner tub formed of a metal material and accommodating laundry therein; an induction module disposed at an interval from the circumferential surface of the inner tub, heating the circumferential surface of the inner tub by a magnetic field generated by applying a current to a coil; a lifting member provided inside the inner tub for moving the laundry inside the inner tub when the inner tub rotates; and a module control part for controlling the heat generated from the circumferential surface of the inner barrel by controlling the output of the induction module; the control method comprises the following steps: operating the sensing module; a step in which the module control unit controls the sensing module to output normally; detecting a position of the lift; and a step in which the module control section reduces the output of the sensing module when the position of the lifting member is detected.

The present invention may include: a step of judging a condition whether the output reduction step is executed or not, regardless of whether or not the lifter position is detected.

In the condition judging step, the condition may be a rotation speed of the inner tub or an executed stroke.

When the rotation speed of the inner tub is higher than the tumbling speed, the laundry is rotated while being closely attached to the inner circumferential surface of the inner tub. The tumbling speed indicates a speed at which the laundry can be dropped after being lifted by the lifters as the inner tub rotates. When the rotation speed of the inner tub becomes greater than the tumbling speed and reaches the rotation speed, the centrifugal force is greater than the gravitational acceleration, and the laundry does not fall down but is closely attached to the inner circumferential surface of the inner tub and integrally rotates with the inner tub.

In the case that the laundry is closely attached to the inner circumferential surface of the inner tub, it means that heat conduction between the inner tub and the laundry can be continuously performed. Thus, the output of the sensing module need not be variably controlled in this case.

In the condition judging step, when the rotation speed of the inner tub is a preset speed or less, the output decreasing step may be controlled to be performed. The output reduction step may not be performed when the preset speed is exceeded. The preset speed may be 200RPM as an example.

The laundry treating apparatus includes an outer tub accommodating the inner tub and storing washing water therein, and the output decreasing step is not performed when it is determined in the condition determining step that the washing stroke of the washing water is stored into the outer tub.

In the case of a washing stroke, a part of the circumferential surface of the inner tub is immersed in the washing water inside the outer tub. Thereby, heat generated in the inner tub can be very effectively transferred to the washing water in case the inner tub rotates. Therefore, in the case of the washing stroke, the output reduction control may not be required.

Preferably, the output decreasing step is performed when the position of the lifting member is detected as a position facing the sensing module in the detecting step.

Preferably, in the output decreasing step, the output is controlled to be lower than a normal output or to be turned off.

The present invention may further include a step of detecting a current value flowing in the sensing module or power of the sensing module, and the step of detecting the position of the lifter may be a step of estimating the position of the lifter according to a change in the current value or the power. In this case, it is very economical because no additional sensor needs to be provided.

The laundry treating apparatus includes: a magnet provided in the inner tub so that a position of the magnet relative to the lifting member is fixed; and a sensor disposed at a fixed position outside the inner tub, detecting a position change of the magnet as the inner tub rotates, to detect a position of the lifting member; the lift position detecting step may be a step of detecting the position of the lift based on an output value of the sensor.

The lifting member is provided in plurality at predetermined intervals along a circumferential direction of the inner tub, and the laundry treating apparatus includes: a single magnet provided to the inner tub in such a manner that a relative position with respect to a specific lifting member among the plurality of lifting members is fixed; and a sensor disposed at a fixed position outside the inner tub, detecting a position change of the single magnet as the inner tub rotates, to detect a position of the specific lifter; in the lifter position detecting step, the position of the lifter may be detected based on an output value of the sensor, and the positions of the remaining lifters may be estimated by a rotation angle of the inner tub or a rotation angle of a motor driving the inner tub.

The output decreasing step may be performed when the position of the lifting member is detected as a position opposite to the sensing module.

In the foregoing embodiment, it may be controlled to change the output of the sensing module after the sensing module is first operated. That is, the output of the sensing module can be changed after the sensing module reaches the normal output.

By using the position relationship between the sensing module and the inner barrel and the shapes of the sensing module and the inner barrel, the sensing module will substantially heat only a specific portion of the inner barrel. Therefore, when the sensing module heats the stopped inner tub, only a specific portion of the inner tub may be heated to a high temperature. Therefore, in order to prevent overheating of the inner tub, the inner tub needs to be rotated. That is, it is preferable to rotate the inner tub to change the heated portion.

Therefore, in order to operate the sensing module, it is preferable to rotate the inner tub first. In the washing machine or the dryer, the rotation speed of the inner tub is generally driven at a rotation speed at which the tumbling driving is possible. The inner tub is directly accelerated from a stopped state to a speed at which tumbling driving is performed. Further, the tumble drive may be driven in forward and reverse rotation. That is, after the tumbling driving is continuously performed in the clockwise direction, the inner tub stops being driven, and then the tumbling driving is performed again in the counterclockwise direction.

When the rotation speed of the inner tub is low, a certain portion of the inner tub may be overheated as well. For example, in the case where the tumble driving speed is 40RPM, it takes a predetermined time until the inner tub rotates at 40RPM from a stopped state. Therefore, the time when the inner tub starts the tumbling driving is different from the time when the inner tub performs the normal tumbling driving. That is, when the inner tub starts to be tumble-driven, the inner tub is gradually accelerated from a stopped state to reach a tumble RPM, and then is driven at the tumble RPM. The inner tub stops driving after performing the tumbling driving in a predetermined direction, and then performs the tumbling driving in another direction.

Among them, it is necessary to prevent overheating of the inner tub and to improve heating energy efficiency and time efficiency.

In the interval where the RPM of the inner tub is very low, it is advantageous to avoid heating in order to prevent overheating of the inner tub. In contrast, if the inner tub is heated after the RPM of the inner tub reaches the normal interval, a time loss is caused.

Thus, the operating time of the sensing module is preferably after the inner tub starts to rotate and before the normal tumbling RPM is reached. Of course, since the purpose of avoiding overheating of the inner tub is more important, the sensing module may be operated after the tumbling RPM is reached.

As an example, the sensing module may be operated in the event that the inner barrel RPM is greater than 30 RPM. Further, in the case where the tub RPM is less than 30RPM, the sensing module may not be operated.

That is, the sensing module is preferably only operated above a certain RPM and is not operated below the certain RPM.

Therefore, it can be considered that, in the normal tumbling driving interval, the sensing module is driven after the inner tub starts to rotate and stops driving before the inner tub stops rotating. That is, it can be considered that the sensing module is turned on/off with reference to a preset RPM smaller than a normal tumble RPM.

In addition, the variable control of the sensing module may be performed in a state where the sensing module is turned on.

In order to achieve the foregoing object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there may be provided a laundry treating apparatus including: an inner tub formed of a metal material and accommodating laundry therein; an induction module disposed at an interval from the circumferential surface of the inner tub, heating the circumferential surface of the inner tub by a magnetic field generated by applying a current to a coil; and a lifting member made of metal material, disposed inside the inner tub, for moving the laundry inside the inner tub when the inner tub rotates; the lifting piece is arranged in a concave mode along the direction of increasing the opposite interval between the induction module and the lifting piece.

By forming the facing surface of the lifter at a position further inward in the radial direction than the circumferential surface of the inner tub, the lifter portion can be structurally prevented from being overheated. In this case, it may not be necessary to perform the output variable control of the sensing module corresponding to the position of the lifter. Further, since the facing surface of the lifter itself can be heated, the heating time can be relatively reduced.

The prevention of overheating of the lifter portion based on such structural changes of the lifter and the inner tub may be employed together with the output variable control of the sensing module. In this case, the object will be achieved more effectively in terms of the purpose of preventing overheating of the lifter portion.

In order to achieve the foregoing object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there may be provided a control method of a laundry treating apparatus including: an inner tub formed of a metal material and accommodating laundry therein; an induction module disposed at an interval from the circumferential surface of the inner tub, heating the circumferential surface of the inner tub by a magnetic field generated by applying a current to a coil; a lifting member provided inside the inner tub for moving the laundry inside the inner tub when the inner tub rotates; and a module control part for controlling the heat generated in the circumferential surface of the inner barrel by controlling the output of the induction module; the control method comprises the following steps: operating the sensing module; stopping the operation of the induction module; and judging whether the sensing module operates or stops according to the rotating speed of the inner barrel.

The inner tub may be rotated at a normal tumbling driving rotation speed from a stopped state. After the inner tub starts to rotate and accelerate, the rotation of the inner tub may be continued at a tumbling driving rotation speed. Therefore, after the inner barrel rotates, the sensing module can be driven and stopped based on the preset inner barrel rotating speed lower than the normal rolling rotating speed.

When the sensing module starts to be driven, the module control part may control the sensing module to normally output. Further, the step of detecting the position of the lifting member may be performed. The present invention may include: and a step in which the module control unit reduces the output of the sensing module when the position of the lifting member is detected.

Therefore, the sensing module may repeat the normal output section and the reduced output section in a case where the tumbling driving is continued.

Further, the sensing module will be turned off before the tumble driving is finished. This is because the inner tub is driven at a speed less than the preset inner tub rotation speed and then stopped.

In case that the inner tub is rotated again in the opposite direction, when the rotation speed of the inner tub is detected and the sensing module starts to be driven, the normal output control, the lifter position detection, and the reduction output control may be repeatedly performed until the sensing module stops driving.

Thereby, overheating of the inner tub, overheating of a specific portion (lifter portion) of the inner tub, and time efficiency can be prevented.

In order to achieve the foregoing object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there may be provided a laundry treating apparatus including: an outer tub; an inner tub rotatably disposed inside the outer tub, formed of a metal material, and accommodating laundry therein; an induction module disposed at an interval from the circumferential surface of the inner tub, heating the circumferential surface of the inner tub by a magnetic field generated by applying a current to a coil; a lifting member provided inside the inner tub for moving the laundry inside the inner tub when the inner tub rotates; a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the inner tub; and a module control part for controlling the heat generated in the circumferential surface of the inner barrel by controlling the output of the induction module; the module control unit controls the heat generation amount based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor.

The temperature sensor may be configured to be disposed at an inner circumferential surface of the outer tub and to detect an air temperature between the inner circumferential surface of the outer tub and an outer circumferential surface of the inner tub. Such a temperature sensor does not directly contact the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub, and can indirectly estimate the temperature of the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub.

The sensing module may be installed in one of a first quadrant and a second quadrant of the outer tub, or in the range of the first quadrant and the second quadrant, with the cross section of the outer tub as a reference.

An air hole may be formed in the second quadrant of the outer tub, and the air hole is used to communicate the air inside and outside the outer tub.

Preferably, the temperature sensor is provided at a predetermined angle in a clockwise direction with respect to the sensing module. Thus, the temperature sensor may be located at a position that is shielded from the magnetic field of the sensing module.

A duct hole for discharging or circulating air inside the tub to the outside may be formed in a fourth quadrant of the tub.

A condensation port for supplying cooling water to the inside of the outer tub may be formed at a third quadrant of the outer tub.

Therefore, the temperature sensor can remove the external influence between the outer barrel and the inner barrel to the maximum extent, thereby more accurately detecting the temperature of the outer peripheral surface of the inner barrel.

Preferably, the module control part turns off the driving of the sensing module when the temperature of the inner tub is higher than a predetermined temperature based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor.

Preferably, the module control part controls the sensing module to be driven when the inner tub starts to rotate and is greater than a predetermined RPM.

Preferably, the prescribed RPM is less than the tumble RPM.

Preferably, the module control part differently controls the heat generation amount based on a position change of the lifters occurring as the inner tub rotates.

Preferably, the module control part controls the amount of heat generated from the inner tub when the position of the lifter escapes from the position of the opposite position to be larger than the amount of heat generated from the inner tub when the position of the lifter faces the position of the sensing module.

The present invention may include: a magnet provided in the inner tub so that a position of the magnet relative to the lifting member is fixed; and a sensor disposed at a fixed position outside the inner tub, detecting a position change of the magnet as the inner tub rotates, to detect a position of the lifting member.

In order to achieve the foregoing object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there may be provided a control method of a laundry treating apparatus including: an outer tub; an inner tub rotatably disposed inside the outer tub, formed of a metal material, and accommodating laundry therein; an induction module disposed at an interval from the circumferential surface of the inner tub, heating the circumferential surface of the inner tub by a magnetic field generated by applying a current to a coil; a lifting member provided inside the inner tub for moving the laundry inside the inner tub when the inner tub rotates; a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the inner tub; and a module control part for controlling the heat generated in the circumferential surface of the inner barrel by controlling the output of the induction module; the control method comprises the following steps: operating the sensing module; a step in which the module control unit controls the sensing module to output normally; detecting a temperature of the inner tub by the temperature sensor; and a step in which the module control unit reduces the output of the sensing module when the temperature of the inner tub is higher than a predetermined temperature.

The present invention may further include a step of detecting an RPM of the inner tub, performing control to normally output in a case where the RPM of the inner tub is greater than a prescribed RPM, and performing the step of reducing the output in a case where the RPM of the inner tub is less than the prescribed RPM.

The prescribed RPM is preferably greater than 0RPM and less than the tumble RPM.

The present invention may include a step of detecting a position of the lifter, the laundry treating apparatus including: a sensor disposed at the outer tub to detect a position of the lift; alternatively, the main control unit estimates the position of the lifter based on a change in power of the induction module.

The step of reducing the output may be performed in a case where the position of the lifting member is detected as a position opposed to the sensing module.

In order to achieve the foregoing object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there may be provided a control method of a laundry treating apparatus including: an outer tub; an inner tub rotatably disposed inside the outer tub, formed of a metal material, and accommodating laundry therein; an induction module disposed at an interval from the circumferential surface of the inner tub, heating the circumferential surface of the inner tub by a magnetic field generated by applying a current to a coil; a lifting member provided inside the inner tub for moving the laundry inside the inner tub when the inner tub rotates; a temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of the inner tub; and a module control part for controlling the heat generated in the circumferential surface of the inner barrel by controlling the output of the induction module; the control method comprises the following steps: operating the sensing module; stopping the operation of the induction module; judging whether the induction module operates and stops according to the rotating speed of the inner barrel; and judging whether the sensing module operates or stops according to the temperature of the inner barrel.

The individual features of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented in combination in other embodiments, unless contradicted or exclusive of each other.

Technical effects

The invention can provide a clothes treatment device, which improves efficiency and safety while utilizing induction heating.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a laundry treatment apparatus is provided that can soak or sterilize laundry without completely immersing the laundry in washing water.

In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a laundry treatment apparatus capable of improving washing efficiency and drying laundry by increasing the temperature of the laundry by heating an inner tub without directly heating washing water.

By one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a laundry treating apparatus capable of uniformly drying laundry as a whole and improving drying efficiency even if the laundry is tangled with each other or a large amount of laundry is entangled with each other.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a laundry treating apparatus capable of preventing a leakage or a short circuit from occurring in a coil and preventing the coil from being deformed even if an inner tub is heated by the coil.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a laundry treatment apparatus capable of structurally cooling a coil even if the coil generates heat due to its own resistance.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a laundry treating apparatus capable of preventing components constituting a sensing module from being separated even if an outer tub vibrates by securing fastening stability of the sensing module.

Through an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a laundry treating apparatus which improves drying efficiency by uniformly heating the front and rear of an inner tub.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a laundry treating apparatus in which a heating efficiency is improved by reducing a distance between a coil of an induction module and an inner tub, and the induction module can be more stably mounted on an outer circumferential surface of an outer tub according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Through an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a laundry treating apparatus and a control method thereof, which can improve safety by effectively preventing overheating that may occur in a lifter provided on an inner tub. In particular, it is possible to provide a laundry treating apparatus and a control method thereof, which can improve stability while sufficiently maintaining the basic function of the lift.

By one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a laundry treating apparatus and a control method thereof, which can prevent overheating from being generated at a portion where a lifter is installed without changing shapes of an inner tub and the lifter.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a laundry treating apparatus and a control method thereof, which can reduce energy loss and prevent a lifter from being damaged by confirming a position of the lifter and reducing a heat generation amount of a portion of a circumferential surface of an inner tub corresponding to the lifter.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a laundry treating apparatus and a control method thereof, which can prevent overheating of a lifter by confirming an output control condition of a sensing module, and can use an output of the sensing module regardless of a rotation angle of an inner tub, thereby improving safety and efficiency and effectively using the output of the sensing module.

Through an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a laundry treating apparatus that heats not only an inner tub but also a lifter, thereby uniformly heating a space accommodating laundry. In particular, it is possible to provide a laundry treating apparatus and a control method thereof, which can prevent overheating of lifters while allowing heat conduction based on lifters by making a heating temperature of a lifter portion lower than that of an inner tub portion where the lifters are not mounted, thereby being capable of improving heating efficiency.

Through an embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to provide a laundry treating apparatus and a control method thereof, which can improve stability and efficiency while minimizing the change of the shape and structure of the inner tub and the lifter of the related art.

Drawings

FIG. 1a is a sectional view of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 1b is an exploded perspective view of an outer tub and a sensing module in the laundry treating apparatus shown in FIG. 1 a;

fig. 2a is a conceptual view of the sensing module in a separated form being mounted in an outer tub;

FIG. 2b is a conceptual diagram of a single type of the sensing module mounted in the tub;

FIG. 3a is a plan view showing an example of a circular form coil;

FIG. 3b is a plan view showing an example of an elliptical coil;

FIG. 3c is a plan view showing an example of a coil in an elliptical shape which is separated;

fig. 4a is a bottom view showing a state where the module cover is viewed from below;

fig. 4b is a perspective view of the module cover of fig. 4a, viewed from above;

fig. 5a is a plan view of a case where a module cover in another embodiment is viewed from below;

fig. 5b is a perspective view of the module cover of fig. 5a, viewed from above;

fig. 5c is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a coil formed in a curved shape along an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub;

FIG. 6a is an upper perspective view illustrating one embodiment of a base housing;

FIG. 6b is a lower perspective view of the base housing shown in FIG. 6 a;

FIG. 6c is a cross-sectional view of the base housing shown in FIG. 6 a;

fig. 7a is a cross-sectional view showing a positional relationship of an outer tub in which a front outer tub is combined with a rear outer tub and a single sensing module;

fig. 7b is a sectional view showing a positional relationship of the tub and the separation sensing module in which the front tub is combined with the rear tub;

fig. 8 is an isolated perspective view of the induction module and the outer tub with the module cover and the base housing;

FIG. 9a is a plan view showing an example of a positional relationship between a coil and a permanent magnet;

FIG. 9b is a plan view showing another example of the positional relationship between the coil and the permanent magnet;

fig. 10a is a plan view showing an example of a track-shaped coil in a form in which the ratio of the front-back width to the left-right width is relatively large;

FIG. 10b is a plan view showing an example of a track-shaped coil in a form in which the ratio of the front-rear width to the left-right width is relatively small;

fig. 11a to 11c illustrate temperature increase rates corresponding to the front and rear length directions of the inner tub for three coils different from each other;

FIG. 12a is a top view of a base housing of an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12b is a bottom view of the base housing shown in FIG. 12 a;

fig. 13 is an isolated perspective view of an outer tub and a sensing module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14a is a perspective view showing a state in which a module cover of an embodiment of the present invention is turned upside down;

FIG. 14b is a cross-sectional view of the permanent magnet mounting section of FIG. 14 a;

FIG. 15 is a top view of a sensing module and sensing module mounting portion illustrating one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' of FIG. 15;

FIG. 17 is a top view of a sensing module and sensing module mounting portion illustrating one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A' of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a bottom view of the base housing of an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 20a shows an embodiment of the connection between the front outer tub and the rear outer tub and the corresponding base casing;

fig. 20b shows a combination of an embodiment related to the connection part of the front outer tub and the rear outer tub and the base casing corresponding thereto;

fig. 21 illustrates a case where a lifter is installed in a general inner tub;

fig. 22 is a schematic view showing the structure of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 shows a block diagram of a control architecture that can be adapted for use in FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 shows a block diagram associated with another embodiment of a control structure;

FIG. 25 shows an embodiment relating to the inner peripheral surface shape of the inner barrel;

fig. 26 illustrates current and output (power) changes of the sensing module corresponding to an inner tub rotation angle with respect to an inner circumferential surface of the inner tub of fig. 25;

FIG. 27 shows a control flow diagram of an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 28 illustrates a control flow diagram of an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 29 shows the magnetic field area of the induction module in the cross section of the outer tub and the position of the temperature sensor.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the structure or control method of the apparatus to be described below is only for illustrating the embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the claims of the present invention, and the same reference numerals are used to designate the same structural elements throughout the specification.

As shown in fig. 1a, a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention may include: a cabinet 10 forming an external appearance; an outer tub 20; an inner barrel 30; and a sensing module 70 configured to heat the inner tub 30.

The outer tub 20 is disposed inside the cabinet 10, and may be configured to accommodate the inner tub. An opening may be provided in front of the outer tub. The inner tub 30 is rotatably provided inside the outer tub, and serves to receive laundry. Also, an opening portion may be provided in front of the inner tub. Clothes can be put into the inner barrel through the opening part of the outer barrel and the opening part of the inner barrel.

The induction module 70 may be configured to heat the inner tub by generating an electromagnetic field. The sensing module 70 may be disposed on an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20. The outer tub 20 provides an accommodating space and has an opening portion in a front thereof, the inner tub 30 is rotatably disposed in the accommodating space and is formed of a conductor for accommodating laundry, and the induction module is disposed on an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 and heats the inner tub 30 using an electromagnetic field.

The outer and

inner tubs

20 and 30 may be formed in a cylindrical shape. Therefore, the inner and outer circumferential surfaces of the outer and

inner tubs

20 and 30 may be formed substantially in a cylindrical shape. Fig. 1a to 1b show a laundry treating apparatus in which an inner tub 30 rotates with reference to a rotation axis parallel to the ground.

The laundry treating apparatus may further include: a driving part 40 configured to rotate the inner tub 30 inside the outer tub 20. The drive section 40 includes a motor 41 including a stator and a rotor. The rotor is connected to a rotation shaft 42, and the rotation shaft 42 is connected to the inner tub 30, so that the inner tub 30 can be rotated inside the outer tub 20. Further, the driving part 40 may include a spider 43 (spider). The spider 43 is configured to connect the inner tub 30 and the rotation shaft 42, and may be referred to as a structure for uniformly and stably transmitting the rotation force of the rotation shaft 42 to the inner tub 30.

The spider 43 is combined with the inner tub 30 in a state that at least a portion thereof is inserted into a rear wall of the inner tub 30. For this, the rear wall of the inner tub 30 is formed in a shape of being depressed toward the inside of the inner tub. The spider 43 may be inserted from the rotation center portion of the inner tub 30 to the inside of the inner tub 30. Therefore, the spider 43 is present at the rear end portion of the inner tub 30 and does not receive laundry.

A lifter 50(lifter) may be provided inside the inner tub 30. The lifting member 50 may be provided in plurality along the circumferential direction of the inner tub. The lifters 50 perform a function of agitating the laundry. For example, as the inner tub rotates, the lifter lifts the laundry up. The laundry moved to the upper portion is separated from the lifter by gravity and drops downward. It is possible to perform washing using such an impact force based on the dropping of the laundry. Of course, the agitation of the laundry can improve the drying efficiency.

The laundry may be uniformly distributed in the front and rear direction inside the inner tub. Accordingly, a lift may be extendedly formed from the rear end to the front end of the inner tub.

The induction module is a device for heating the inner tub 30.

As shown in fig. 1b, the sensing module 70 includes: a coil 71 receiving a supplied current and generating a magnetic field, thereby being capable of generating an eddy current in the inner tub; a module cover 72 for accommodating the coil 71.

The module cover 72 may include a strong magnet. The strong magnet may be a permanent magnet and may include a ferrite magnet. The module cover 72 may be provided to cover an upper portion of the coil 71. Therefore, a strong magnet such as the ferrite will be located at the upper portion of the coil 71.

The coil 71 generates a magnetic field toward the inner tub 30 located at the lower portion. Accordingly, the magnetic field generated at the upper portion of the coil 71 is not used for heating the inner tub 30. Therefore, the magnetic field is preferably concentrated toward the lower portion of the coil 71, not toward the upper portion of the coil 71. Thereby, the magnetic field can be concentrated toward the lower portion of the coil 71, i.e., the inner tub, by a strong magnet such as the ferrite. Of course, in case that the coil 71 is located at the lower portion of the outer tub 20, a strong magnet such as the ferrite will be located at the lower portion of the coil 71. Therefore, it can be considered that the coil 71 is located between the strong magnet and the inner barrel 30.

Specifically, the module cover 72 may be provided in the shape of a BOX (BOX) having an opening at one surface thereof. That is, the inner barrel may have a box shape in which a surface facing the inner barrel is open and a surface on the opposite side is closed. Thereby, the coil 71 will be located inside the module cover 72, or the upper part of the coil 71 will be covered by the module cover 72. The module cover 72 performs a function of protecting the coil 71 from an external influence. As described later, the module cover 72 forms an air flow space with the coil 71, thereby performing a function of cooling the coil 71.

In the laundry treating apparatus, by heating the inner tub 30 by the coil 71, the temperature inside the inner tub 30 can be increased in addition to the inner tub 30 itself. Thus, the washing water contacting the inner tub 30 can be heated by the heating of the inner tub 30, and the laundry contacting the inner circumferential surface of the inner tub 30 can be heated. Of course, by increasing the temperature inside the inner tub, it is also possible to heat the laundry that is not in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the inner tub 30. Therefore, the ambient temperature inside the washing water, the washing object and the inner tub can be increased not only for improving the washing effect, but also for drying the washing object.

The principle of the induction module 70 including the coil 71 heating the inner tub 30 is explained as follows.

The coil 71 is formed in a manner of winding a wire (wire), and thus, the coil 71 will have a center.

When a current is supplied to the wire, the current flows while rotating with respect to the center due to the shape of the coil 71. Thereby, a magnetic field in the vertical direction passing through the center of the coil 71 is generated.

At this time, when an alternating current whose phase difference of the current changes passes through the coil 71, an alternating magnetic field whose direction changes with time is formed. The alternating current magnetic field generates an induction magnetic field in the opposite direction of the alternating current magnetic field to an adjacent conductor, and the change of the induction magnetic field generates induction current to the conductor.

The induced current and the induced magnetic field can be understood as forms of inertia to changes in the electric and magnetic fields.

That is, when the inner barrel 30 is configured as a conductor, an eddy current (eddy current) or an eddy current, which is one of induced currents, is generated in the inner barrel 30 due to an induced magnetic field generated in the coil 71.

At this time, the eddy current is dissipated and converted into heat due to the resistance of the conductors of the inner barrel 30. That is, as a result, the inner tub 30 is heated by the heat generated by the resistor, and the temperature inside the inner tub 30 rises as the inner tub 30 is heated.

That is, when the inner tub 30 is constructed as a conductor composed of a magnet such as iron Fe, it may be heated by the alternating current of the coil 71 provided to the outer tub 20. Recently, an inner tub made of stainless steel has been frequently used to improve strength and hygiene. Stainless steel has relatively excellent conductivity and can therefore be easily heated by changes in the electromagnetic field. This means that it is not necessary to specially manufacture an inner tub of a new form or material in order to heat the inner tub by the induction module 70. Therefore, this means that the inner tub used in the conventional laundry treatment apparatus, that is, the inner tub used in the laundry treatment apparatus using the heat pump type or the electric heater (waste heater) can be directly used in the laundry treatment apparatus using the induction module.

An induction module including the coil 71 and the module cover 72 may be disposed at an inner circumferential surface of the outer tub 20. Since the strength of the magnetic field is decreased according to the distance, the sensing module is preferably disposed on the inner circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 so as to narrow the interval with the inner tub 30.

However, since the outer tub 20 is to contain wash water and the inner tub 30 vibrates during rotation, it is preferable that the sensing module is disposed at an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 for safety. This is because the inside of the tub is in a very humid environment, and therefore, it is not suitable in consideration of insulation and stability of the coil. Therefore, as shown in fig. 1a and 1b, the sensing module 70 is preferably disposed at an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20. However, in this case, it is also preferable to reduce the interval between the sensing module 70 and the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub as much as possible. Preferred embodiments for this will be described later.

In general, in the laundry treating apparatus, the inner tub 30 rotates to wash or dry laundry (hereinafter, referred to as "laundry"), and thus the outer tub 20 is formed in a cylindrical shape.

In this case, the coil 71 may be formed by winding the entire outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 at least once.

However, when the coil 71 is integrally wound along the outer circumference of the outer tub 20, the coil 71 is excessively needed and the washing water flowing out of the outer tub 20 comes into contact therewith, so that accidents such as a short circuit may occur.

When the coil 71 is wound along the entire outer circumference of the outer tub 20, an induction magnetic field is generated in the opening 22 of the outer tub 20 and the driving part 40, and thus the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub 30 may not be directly heated.

Therefore, the coil 71 is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20, and it is preferable that the coil 71 is provided only on one side of the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20. That is, the coil 71 may be wound at least once in a predetermined area from the front to the rear of the outer tub 20, instead of being wound around the entire outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20.

This may be considered to take into account the efficiency associated with the output of the sensing module 70 versus the heat generation of the inner tub 30. In addition, it is considered that the space between the outer tub 20 and the cabinet 10 is considered, and the manufacturing efficiency of the entire laundry treating apparatus is considered.

Also, the coil 71 is preferably formed as a single layer. That is, it is preferable to wind the metal wire in a single layer, not in multiple layers. When the metal wire is wound in a multi-layer manner, a gap is inevitably generated between the metal wire and the metal wire. Thus, a gap-sized distance will inevitably occur between the metal lines of the bottom layer and the metal lines of the upper layer of the bottom layer. Thereby, the distance between the coils of the lower upper layer and the inner tub will inevitably increase. Of course, even if such a gap can be physically excluded, the distance between the coil of the lower upper layer and the inner barrel becomes longer as the layer of the coil increases, thereby inevitably reducing efficiency.

Therefore, the coil 71 is very preferably formed as a single layer. This in turn means that the coil area in contact with the inner tub can be increased as much as possible using the same length of the wire.

Fig. 1a to 1b illustrate a case where the sensing module is disposed at an upper side of the outer tub 20, but it is not intended to exclude a case where the sensing module is disposed at least one of an upper side, a lower side, and both side portions of the outer tub.

The induction module is disposed at one side of the outer circumferential surface of the tub, and the coil 71 may be disposed in the induction module by winding at least one turn along the surface of the induction module adjacent to the tub 20.

Accordingly, the induction module directly radiates an induction magnetic field to the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub 30, thereby generating an eddy current in the inner tub 30, and as a result, the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub 30 can be directly heated.

Although not shown, the sensing module may be connected to an external power supply source by a wire and receive the supplied power, or may be connected to a control part for controlling the operation of the laundry treating apparatus and receive the supplied power. In addition, a module control part for controlling the output of the sensing module may be additionally provided. Thus, the module control part can control the on/off and output of the sensing module based on the control of the control part.

That is, the induction module may receive power supplied from any place as long as it can supply power to the inner coil 71.

When the ac current flows in the coil 71 provided inside the induction module by supplying power to the induction module, the inner tub 30 is heated.

At this time, if the inner tub 30 is not rotated, only one side of the inner tub 30, which may be overheated, will be heated, and the other side of the inner tub 30 may be unheated or heated to a small extent. And, heat may not be smoothly supplied to the laundry received in the inner tub 30.

Accordingly, when the sensing module operates, the inner tub 30 may be rotated by rotating the driving part 40.

The speed of the driving part 40 rotating the inner tub 30 may be set to any speed as long as all surfaces of the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub 30 can face the sensing module.

As the inner tub 30 rotates, all the faces of the inner tub 30 may be heated, and the laundry inside the inner tub 30 may be uniformly exposed to heat.

Accordingly, in the laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, even if the sensing module is not disposed at each of the upper, lower, and both side portions of the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20, but is disposed at only one location, the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub 30 can be uniformly heated.

In the laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the inner tub can be heated to 120 degrees celsius or more in a very short time by the driving of the sensing module 70. If the sensing module 70 is driven in a state where the inner tub is stopped or in a state of a very slow rotation speed, a certain portion of the inner tub may be overheated very quickly. This is because heat transfer from the heated inner tub to the laundry cannot be sufficiently performed.

Therefore, it can be considered that the correlation between the rotation speed of the inner tub and the driving of the sensing module 70 is very important. In addition, it is more preferable to rotate the inner tub to drive the sensing module than to rotate the inner tub after the sensing module is driven.

Such detailed embodiments related to the rotation speed of the inner tub and the driving control of the sensing module will be described later.

As is apparent from the above description of the embodiments, in the laundry treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is not necessary to immerse all the laundry in the washing water in order to perform the soaking treatment on the laundry, and thus the washing water can be saved. This is because a portion of the inner tub contacting with the washing water is continuously changed as the inner tub rotates. That is, this is because the operation of heating the washing water by bringing the heated portion into contact with the washing water and then separating the washing water again and heating the washing water is repeated.

As can be seen from the above description of the embodiments, the clothes treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention can increase the temperature of the clothes and the internal space for accommodating the clothes. That is, this is because the inner tub, which is in contact with the laundry, is heated. Therefore, the laundry can be effectively heated even if the laundry is not immersed in the washing water. For example, the washing water can be saved by eliminating the need to immerse the laundry in the washing water for the sterilization treatment. This is because the laundry may receive the supplied heat through the inner tub, not the washing water. In addition, the inside of the inner tub is changed into a high temperature and humidity environment by the steam or water vapor generated as the wet laundry is heated, so that the sterilization effect can be more effectively performed. Therefore, boiling washing in which heated washing water is immersed in laundry and washed can be replaced by a method of using a much smaller amount of washing water. That is, since it is not necessary to heat washing water having a high specific heat, energy can be saved.

In addition, as described in the foregoing embodiments, in the laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the amount of the washing water supplied to increase the temperature of the laundry may be reduced, and thus the supply time of the washing water may be reduced. This is because the amount and time for additionally supplying the washing water after the laundry is wetted can be reduced. Therefore, the washing time can be further reduced. Wherein the water level of the washing water containing the detergent may be lower than the lowest water level of the inner tub. In this case, the washing water inside the outer tub may be supplied to the inside of the inner tub by the circulation pump, so that less washing water can be more effectively used.

Further, as described in the foregoing embodiments, in the laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, a heater disposed at a lower portion of the outer tub and heating the washing water may be omitted, thereby simplifying a structure and increasing a volume of the outer tub.

In particular, a general heater inside the tub has a limitation in increasing a heating surface area. That is, the area of the surface area of the heater that is in contact with the air or the detergent is relatively small. But, on the contrary, the surface area of the inner tub itself or the surface area of the circumferential surface of the inner tub itself is very large. Therefore, the heating area becomes large and an immediate heating effect can be obtained.

In a heating mechanism based on an outer barrel heater when washing, the outer barrel heater heats washing water, and the heated washing water increases the temperature of an inner barrel, washing and the atmosphere inside the inner barrel. Therefore, it inevitably takes a long time until the entire body is heated to a high temperature.

However, as described above, the area of the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub itself that is in contact with the washing water, the laundry, and the air inside the inner tub is relatively very large. Thus, the heated inner tub directly heats the washing water, the laundry and the air inside the inner tub. Therefore, if the induction module is used as a heating source when washing, it is very effective compared to the tub heater. When the washing water is heated during washing, the driving of the inner tub is generally stopped. This is because the tub heater immersed in the washing water is driven in a state where the water level is stable. Therefore, the washing time will likely increase by a time corresponding to the time required to heat the washing water.

On the other hand, the heating of the washing water using the induction module may be performed in the middle of the driving of the inner tub. That is, the inner tub driving for washing and the heating of the washing water may be simultaneously performed. Thereby, additional time for heating the washing water will not be required, thereby enabling to minimize an increase in washing time.

Hereinafter, a detailed structure and an embodiment of the sensing module of the laundry treating apparatus according to the present invention will be described.

Fig. 2a to 2b omit the cabinet 10 in the laundry treating apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and schematically show the positional relationship among the outer tub 20, the inner tub 30, and the sensing module 70.

Fig. 2a to 2b show the case where the sensing module 70 is disposed on the upper surface of the inner tub 30 in the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20, but this is merely to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and is not intended to exclude the case where the sensing module 70 is disposed at a corresponding position on the side surface portion and the lower portion of the inner tub 30.

As shown in fig. 2a, two or more sensing modules may be disposed along the rear direction from the front of the tub 20. That is, the plurality of induction modules are disposed in parallel front and rear on the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20, so that the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub 30 can be uniformly heated.

Also, energy efficiency can be improved by selectively driving the front and rear sensing modules according to the arrangement of the laundry.

For example, in the case where the amount of the laundry M is small, the laundry may be biased toward the rear of the inner tub. This is because the inclined inner tub is frequently used. On the contrary, in case that the amount of the laundry is large, the laundry may be uniformly arranged in front and rear of the inner tub.

In the case of a small amount of laundry, only the rear sensing module may be driven, and in the case of a large amount of laundry, all the sensing modules may be driven, so that the sensing modules may be driven in such a manner as to be suitable for actual situations. Of course, only one of the sensing modules may be driven as necessary.

As shown in fig. 2b, the sensing module may be disposed at a central portion of the inner tub 30. That is, in the case where only one sensing module is provided, the sensing module may be disposed at a portion corresponding to the center of the inner tub 30 on the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20. In other words, one sensing module may be provided in a form extending forward and backward at the front and rear center of the tub 20.

This is because, when the sensing module is located at a front side, there is a possibility that a gasket provided between the outer tub 20 and the inner tub 30 is heated or a door opening and closing an opening portion of the inner tub is heated at the front of the inner tub. In addition, if the sensing module is located at the rear, the driving part 40 and the rotating shaft 42 may be heated. This unnecessarily heats other structures of the laundry treating apparatus, causing a waste of energy, and may cause the other structures to be overheated to be deformed or to cause abnormal operation, and thus it is necessary to prevent such a situation from occurring. In particular, a driving part such as a motor or a shaft 42 is provided at the rear of the inner tub 30, and the rear of the inner tub is recessed forward in order to connect the spider 43. That is, the rear surface of the inner tub is connected to the spider, and the area of the part substantially contacting the laundry is relatively very small. That is, the area of contact with the washing material is small relative to the circumferential surface of the inner tub. Therefore, heating the back surface portion of the inner tub is very disadvantageous in terms of efficiency. Therefore, to prevent such a situation, the sensing module may be centrally disposed without being biased to the front or the rear.

For the same reason, the sensing module may be provided in plurality, or only one, in such a manner as to be spaced apart from the foremost of the inner tub 30 and the rearmost of the inner tub 30 by a predetermined distance.

This is because the door, the circulation duct, the spray nozzle, etc. provided between the inner tub 30 and the outer tub 20 can be heated when the sensing module is provided at a portion corresponding to the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub in the vertical direction from the foremost to the rearmost of the inner tub 30, and the driving part 40 of the inner tub 30 can be heated when the sensing module is provided at a portion corresponding to the vertical direction of the inner tub 30 from the rearmost of the inner tub 30.

That is, the induction module is provided only in a section spaced apart from the foremost and rearmost sides of the inner tub 30 by a predetermined distance, so that it is possible to prevent other components of the laundry treating apparatus from being heated by generating an eddy current.

Fig. 3a to 3c show embodiments relating to the planar shape of the coil. That is, the figure shows the coil viewed from above.

Referring to fig. 3a, the coil 71 may maintain the circular shape and be disposed in a manner of being wound at least one turn. That is, when the length of the coil in the front and rear direction of the tub 20 is defined as B and the length of the coil in the width direction or the left and right direction of the tub 20 is defined as a, the lengths of a and B may be configured to be the same. The coil 71 may be formed in a flat surface, and may be formed in a shape having curved surfaces on the left and right in consideration of the cylindrical outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20. In the latter case, it is easily confirmed that the interval between the coil 71 and the inner tub 20 can be reduced as a whole as compared with the former case.

Referring to fig. 3b, the coil 71 may be formed in an elliptical shape. That is, the tub may be formed in an elliptical shape having a major axis along the front-rear direction of the tub. At this time, the length of B is longer than the length of a, and the coil 71 is disposed in a longer length in the front and rear of the outer tub 20, so that the front and rear of the inner tub 30 can be uniformly heated.

Referring to fig. 3c, the coil 71 is disposed in a manner of being wound by the at least one turn, and may be disposed in plurality in a spaced manner from each other. That is, the plurality of coils may be provided in parallel in the front-rear direction of the outer tub.

That is, the long axis of the coil is disposed in the left and right direction of the outer tub 20, and at least one coil 71 is further disposed in the short axis direction of the coil, so that the inner tub 30 can be uniformly heated in both the front and rear directions.

The shape of such coils 71 and the number of coils may be deformed in various ways. As an example, it may be changed according to the capacity of the laundry treating apparatus, i.e., the outer diameter or front-rear length of the outer tub or the inner tub.

According to the research results of the present inventors, in the case where the area of the coil is the same, it is most effective to install one induction module such that the center of the coil substantially corresponds to the front and rear central portions of the inner tub.

For example, the efficiency of the inner tub is approximately 96% when the coil is located at the front side and approximately 90% when the coil is located at the rear side, based on the efficiency when the same coil is located at the position corresponding to the center of the inner tub. That is, in the case of the coil having the same area, the coil is installed in a form extending from the center of the inner tub in the front-rear direction to have the maximum efficiency. It is known that, instead of separating the coil into a plurality of coils, it is most effective to use one coil such that the center of the coil faces the center of the inner barrel. If the coil is separated into a plurality of coils, the area of the coil at the position facing the center of the inner barrel is inevitably reduced. In the case of the two-coil configuration shown in fig. 3c, a portion where the two coils are adjacent may face the center of the inner barrel. Thus, the coil configuration shown in fig. 3a will have better efficiency than the coil configuration shown in fig. 3c, with the same coil area.

In addition, when the same coil area is premised, the coil is preferably formed in a centered manner. I.e. the center of the coil is a single vertical line, the best efficiency will be obtained. The case of fig. 3a may be considered as essentially a single central axis, the central axis of the case of fig. 3b may be considered as a single vertical plane, and the central axis of the case of fig. 3c may be considered as two vertical lines or two vertical planes.

As can be seen from measuring the average temperature of the inner tub heated by such a coil, the average temperature of the inner tub decreases in the order of the case of fig. 3a, the case of fig. 3b, and the case of fig. 3 c. From the above results together with the above results, it is understood that the performance of a single coil is more excellent than that of a plurality of coils, and the more the center of the coil is located near a single vertical line rather than a single vertical plane, the more excellent the performance is.

However, when considering that the laundry is not in contact with the inner tub as a whole and that the entire laundry is required to be uniformly heated, not only a portion of the laundry, the case of fig. 3b may be more preferable than the case of fig. 3 a. For example, in the case of drying the laundry, although ten laundry may be dried well, two laundry located at the front and rear of the inner tub may be dried poorly. This may be considered as a problem greater than the reduction in drying efficiency. This is because such drying results may be very inconvenient for consumers. Therefore, it is most preferable that the inner tub is uniformly heated in front and rear directions and the laundry is uniformly heated as a whole, although the efficiency is reduced to some extent.

In other words, the heating efficiency and the drying efficiency may vary with the shape of the coil. The heating efficiency may be referred to as input versus output (heating amount of the inner tub). The heating efficiency may be referred to as a ratio of the electric energy applied to the induction module to the heat energy for heating the inner tub. However, the drying efficiency may be referred to as input-to-output until the entire laundry is sufficiently dried. The latter case may be considered to be more time-critical.

Therefore, when it is assumed that drying is completed as a whole and drying is completed, it is more preferable that drying time can be shortened and the problem of overheating can be solved even if heating efficiency is lowered to some extent. For this reason, the case of fig. 3b will be considered to be more preferable than the case of fig. 3 a. That is, in the case of fig. 3a, although the heating efficiency is relatively high because the central axis of the coil is close to a single vertical line, the drying efficiency is relatively low.

In addition, even if the same coil is used, as described above, the coil is preferably disposed to face the front and rear centers of the inner tub. Also, although the position of the coil is not related to the variation of the heating efficiency, it can be considered as a result of considering the drying efficiency.

For this reason, the coil 71 is preferably a single coil and formed in an elliptical shape or a track shape having a long axis along the front-rear direction of the inner barrel. Further, the center of the coil 71 is preferably opposite to the front-rear direction center of the inner tub.

Fig. 4a and 4b show an example of a fixing structure of the coil 71 of the induction module.

As described above, the module cover 72 may be provided in such a manner as to cover the coil 71. In addition, the module cover 72 may be constructed in a box (box) shape having an open lower surface, so that the coil 71 can be prevented from being separated from the outer tub 20 by external vibration.

Also, the module cover 72 may provide a space for disposing the coil 71 on a surface corresponding to the opened portion.

Fig. 4a shows the module cover 72 viewed from below. A plurality of coil fixing portions 73 may be provided in the module cover 72 to be radially spaced apart from each other so that the coil 71 can be smoothly wound around the module cover 72 while maintaining a shape thereof. The coil fixing part 73 may be formed integrally with the module cover 72. The module cover 72 may be formed using plastic injection molding.

The coil fixing part 73 may include a bar-shaped supporting part 731. The support portion 731 may be provided in such a manner as to press the coil 71 from the upper portion to the lower portion. Thus, the coil 71 is pressed downward from above, and the shape of the entire coil 71 can be kept fixed without being deformed.

The coil fixing part 73 may include a protrusion part 732 protruding downward from both ends of the supporting part 731. The convex portion may be provided so as to surround the coil 71 from the radially inner side and the radially outer side thereof. This prevents the coil 71 from being pushed radially inward or outward and deformed.

Fig. 4b shows the module cover 72 from the top perspective.

The coil 71 may start to be wound along the radially inner protrusion 732 of the coil fixing portion 73 and may be wound when reaching the radially outer protrusion 732 of the coil fixing portion.

Thereby, the coil 71 can be firmly fixed in the module cover 72 and can be maintained in its form.

In addition, the coil fixing portion 73 may provide a frame forming the coil in addition to a function of fixing the coil. That is, the outer shape and size of the coil may be determined by the coil fixing portion 73, and the coil is thus formed. In other words, the coil may be formed by the coil fixing portion 73. Further, the coil may be held by the coil fixing portion 73 so as to avoid distortion or deformation of its form.

Thus, the supporting portion 731 of the coil fixing portion 73 may be configured to seat the coil, and the protrusion portion 732 may be configured to prevent the coil from moving. Such a coil fixing portion is formed along the longitudinal direction of the coil, whereby the coil as a whole can be stably formed and maintain its shape.

In addition, although the coil 71 is wound in a circular or elliptical shape in the induction module, the coil 71 is wound in a shape as close to a rectangular shape as possible, so that the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub 30 can be effectively heated.

This is because the inner barrel 30 is formed in a cylindrical shape, and thus a sectional area of the outer peripheral surface of the inner barrel 30 cut in a direction horizontal to the ground is rectangular.

Therefore, if the coil 71 is wound in a rectangular shape corresponding to the sectional area of the outer circumferential surface of the inner barrel 30 as much as possible, a portion of the inner barrel 30 that is not reached by the magnetic field generated from the coil 71 can be reduced, and the inner barrel 30 can be efficiently heated.

However, if the material of the coil 71 and the process of winding the coil 71 are taken into consideration, it may not be easy to wind the coil 71 into a perfect rectangular shape in actual practice. Therefore, it would be more preferable to wind it into a track shape as close to a rectangular shape as possible. In addition, the coil area can be further increased in the case of the track shape as compared with the elliptical shape.

For example, in the case of forming an elliptical coil and a track-shaped coil inside a rectangle, the area filling the inside of the rectangle is larger in the track-shaped case than in the elliptical case. This is because, in the case of the track shape, the area occupied by the coil will increase more in the four corner portions.

Specifically, the shape of the coil 71 wound around the front and rear of the tub 20 may be a curved line, and both side surfaces connecting the front and rear of the tub 20 may be a straight line. Further, only the corner portions may be formed in a curved shape.

Fig. 5a to 5c show an embodiment in which the coil 71 can be wound in a track (track) form.

Referring to fig. 5a, the coil fixing portions 73 are not formed in a radial shape, but are formed in a row in the upper and lower portions with reference to the drawing, and the coil fixing portions 73 provided at both side portions may be provided in a direction perpendicular to the coil fixing portions 73 formed in a row in the upper and lower portions.

That is, when the left side in fig. 5a is defined as the front direction of the outer tub 20 and the right side is defined as the rear direction of the outer tub 20, the plurality of coil fixing parts 73 provided at both side portions of the outer tub 20 may be provided in a row, and the coil fixing parts 73 provided at the front and rear of the outer tub 20 may be provided perpendicular to the coil fixing parts 73 at both side portions.

Referring to fig. 5b, the coil 71 is linearly disposed at the coil fixing parts 73 provided along both side surfaces of the tub 20, and has a curvature so as to be wound around the coil fixing parts 73 provided along the front and rear of the tub 20.

As a result, when the coil 71 is wound along the arrangement of the coil fixing portion 73, the coil 71 can be wound in a track shape.

Thereby, the coil 71 can generate eddy current in a wider area of the outer circumferential surface of the inner barrel 30.

In this case, the coil fixing portion provided in the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the inner tub may be divided into a first coil fixing portion, and the coil fixing portion provided in a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the inner tub may be divided into a second coil fixing portion. In any case, the coil fixing portion 73 is preferably arranged to be perpendicular to the winding direction of the coil or the longitudinal direction of the coil (more specifically, the longitudinal direction of the metal wire).

Fig. 4a and 4b and fig. 5a to 5c illustrate a case where the coil 71 is wound in a planar form parallel to the ground, but since the face of the module cover 72 where the coil fixing part 73 is provided may have a curvature corresponding to a curvature radius of the inner tub 30 or a curvature radius of the outer tub 20, and the coil 71 is wound corresponding to the curvature of the module cover 72, the coil 71 may be provided corresponding to the curvature radius of the inner tub 30.

Specifically, the outer tub has a radius of curvature greater than that of the inner tub. When the radius of curvature of the coil 71 is the same as that of the inner barrel, it is possible to minimize the spaced interval of the coil from the inner barrel as a whole. However, since the coil 71 is located on the outer circumferential surface of the tub, the coil 71 is preferably formed in parallel with the outer circumferential surface of the tub. For example, the coil 71 may be formed in a curved surface shape having the same radius of curvature as the outer peripheral surface of the outer tub. Fig. 5c shows an example of a configuration in which the coil 71 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the outer tub 20 to have the same radius of curvature as the outer tub.

Accordingly, the interval between the coil 71 and the inner barrel 30 can be maintained constant as the distance from the center of the coil 71 to the outside becomes closer, and eddy current of the same intensity can be generated on the outer circumferential surface of the inner barrel 30. That is, the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub 30 can be uniformly heated.

In addition, when the coil is formed by winding the wire around the coil fixing portion 73, the wire and the wire are in close contact with each other, and thus there is a possibility that a short circuit may occur.

To prevent such a situation, a coating film such as an insulating film is additionally provided at the metal line 71. However, at this time, the coil 71 may be overheated due to its own resistance and cooling of the coil 71 may not be easily performed, and thus there may still be a risk that the insulating film is melted.

Also, when an insulating coating film is applied to form a thick insulating film on the metal wire forming the coil 71, additional costs may occur. In order to prevent such a situation, when the coil 71 is wound around the induction module, it is preferably disposed in such a manner as to be spaced apart from each other by a predetermined interval. Further, the thickness of the insulating coating film can be reduced.

That is, the coil 71 is preferably wound with a predetermined interval so that the wires do not contact each other when the induction module is wound at least one turn along the rear from the front of the outer tub 20. Thus, since the coils 71 do not contact each other, there is no possibility of short-circuiting, and heat generation of the coils 71 can be easily cooled. Further, the area itself where the coil 71 is wound becomes wider, so that the wider area of the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub 30 can be heated.

An embodiment in which the induction module 70 has a base housing 74 for holding the coil 71 is described in detail below with reference to fig. 6a to 6 c.

Fig. 6a to 6c show a base housing 74(base housing) formed with a coil and used to secure the coil. The base housing 74 may be formed as one piece by plastic injection molding. A wire may be inserted into the base housing 74 to form the coil 71. This makes it possible to fix the metal wires while maintaining the space between the metal wires. Thus, the coil as a whole will be fixed without deformation.

Referring to fig. 6a to 6c, the sensing module 70 may further include: a base case 74, wherein the coil 71 is wound at least one turn from the front to the rear of the outer tub 20 and from the rear along the front, the base case 74 can keep the wires in a spaced state. The base housing 74 may be combined with the module cover 72. Thereby, the base housing and the module cover may be combined with each other to form an inner space for disposing the coil. Accordingly, the base housing and the module cover may be referred to as a module housing. The base housing 74 may be received in the module cover 72 in combination with the module cover 72.

The base housing 74 may be provided separately from the outer tub 20 to be combined with an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub. Of course, the base housing 74 may be formed integrally with the outer tub 20. However, from the viewpoint of manufacturers who provide various models, it is not necessary to integrate the base casing 74 with the outer tub 20 for a specific model and manage inventory. Therefore, the base housing 74 is preferably formed separately from the outer tub.

Of course, fig. 6a to 6c show a structure in which the base housing 74 can be coupled to the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20, but, as described above, this is not intended to exclude the case where the base housing 74 is integrally injection-molded with the outer tub 20.

The base housing 74 may include a base 741 provided at an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub. The base 741 may be formed corresponding to a curvature or a shape of an outer circumferential surface of the tub, thereby being formed in a plate shape to be parallel to the outer circumferential surface of the tub.

At this time, the coil 71 may be wound around the base 741. That is, the coil may be provided on the base to be reciprocally wound at least one turn from the front to the rear of the tub. In addition, the base 741 may be referred to as a structure for disposing a lower face or a lower portion of a metal wire.

The base 741 may include a coupling portion 743 that can be attached to an outer surface of the outer tub to be coupled thereto. As shown in fig. 1b, the coupling portion 743 may correspond to a module coupling portion 26 formed on an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub. The two

coupling portions

743, 26 may be coupled to each other by screws. At this time, the base 741 is supported by the coupling portion 743, and may be disposed to be spaced apart from the outer tub by a predetermined interval. This is to prevent the chassis 741 from being directly exposed to vibration of the tub.

In this case, a reinforcing rib for compensating for the interval between the base and the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub and supporting the strength of the base may be further included.

At this time, since the tub 20 is formed in a cylindrical shape, the chassis 741 may be disposed in parallel with an outer circumferential surface of the tub. That is, the base 741 may be formed of a plate having the same curvature as the tub 20.

Of course, the base 741 may be completely in surface contact with the outer circumferential surface of the tub. In this case, the interval between the coil 71 and the inner tub 30 can be narrowed to the maximum, so that dispersion of the magnetic field can be prevented.

The base 741 may be provided with a coil slot 742(coil slot) at one surface thereof, and the coil slot 742 may guide the coil 71 to be wound at least one turn.

At this time, the coil insertion slot 742 may guide the wire of the coil 71 to be wound with a predetermined interval.

The coil insertion groove 742 may be formed by a combination of a plurality of fixing ribs 7421 protruding from the base 741. That is, the metal wire may be inserted between the fixing rib and fixed. The coil insertion slot 742 may be formed in a track shape. That is, the overall profile may be in the shape of a rail. Furthermore, the fixing ribs may form a plurality of channels (lane) inside the rail shape. That is, a passage may be formed adjacent to the fixing rib and the fixing rib, and a wire may be inserted inside the passage. The number of windings of the coil may be determined according to such a number of channels.

Accordingly, the coil slot 742 may be referred to as a structure for closely contacting a side surface or a side portion of the metal wire. Since both side surfaces or both side portions of the wire are closely attached to the coil slot 742, the wire can be prevented from moving laterally. This can maintain the shape of the coil.

That is, the fixing rib 7421 may be formed in at least one of a circle, an ellipse, and a track shape which share a center and are expanded in size. That is, the extension line of the fixing rib 7421 may be formed in the shape of the circle, ellipse, or orbit.

Fig. 6a shows a case where the coil insertion groove 742 is formed as a combination of the fixing ribs 7421, and the fixing ribs 7421 are formed in a track shape having a linear portion and a curved portion. Accordingly, the coil 71 can be wound around the chassis 741 starting with the outermost fixing rib 7421 or starting with the innermost fixing rib 7421.

The fixing ribs 7421 not only guide the winding of the coil 71, but also serve to maintain a space between the coils 71 when they are wound.

An accommodating portion 7422 is provided between the fixing rib 7421 and another fixing rib 7421 adjacent to the fixing rib 7421. That is, the wire of the coil 71 may be accommodated in the accommodating portion 7422 formed by the fixing ribs 7421 provided so as to be spaced apart from each other. That is, it can be considered that the fixing ribs 7421 are spaced apart from each other to form the receiving portion 7422.

The fixing rib 7421 may be formed to protrude toward the upper portion of the base 741. In this case, the bottom surface of the housing part may be referred to as an upper surface of the base 741.

Also, the fixing ribs 7421 may be formed on the upper surface of the base. In this case, the accommodating portion 7422 is recessed downward, and the fixing rib 7421 is indirectly protruded upward from the accommodating portion.

The base housing may further include a protruding rib 7423, the protruding rib 7423 protruding more upward than the fixing rib 7421. The protruding ribs 7423 may protrude on the upper surface of the fixing rib 7421 at a predetermined distance. The protruding rib 7423 may function as a space for maintaining the fixing rib 7421 and the module cover 72.

Also, the protruding ribs 7423 may serve as a reference capable of measuring the relative position of the fixing ribs 7421. That is, it is possible to confirm whether the fixing rib 7421 is positioned inside or outside with reference to the projecting rib 7423. This makes it possible to easily confirm the number of times or the area of winding of the coil 71 when the coil 71 is wound around the fixing rib 7421.

Fig. 6b shows a back surface of the base housing 74, and fig. 6c shows a cross-section of the base housing 74.

The base 741 may include a plurality of penetration holes 7411.

At least one through hole 7411 may be provided in the base 741.

The through-holes 7411 may be symmetrically formed when the base 741 has a rectangular shape, and may be formed along one surface and the other surface. The through hole 7411 may be an open part that penetrates vertically through the base, and a closed part that is blocked may be formed in a portion of the base where no through hole is formed.

In this case, the through hole 7411 may be formed in a circular shape of 1/4 at a corner portion of the chassis 741, and may be formed in a rectangular shape inside the chassis 741.

The through hole 7411 may be provided at a lower portion of the base 741 provided with the fixing rib 7421.

Accordingly, when the coil 71 wound around the accommodating portion 7422 generates heat due to electric resistance, the heat of the coil 71 can be dissipated to prevent the base 741 from being damaged.

For example, a plurality of through holes 7411 may be formed along the longitudinal direction of the coil 71. Thereby, a part of the coil positioned above the through hole 7411 can be opened in the vertical direction. That is, a void may be formed between the metal line and the metal line. This can prevent overheating of the coil.

In the chassis 741, a reinforcing rib 7412 for reinforcing strength and rigidity may be provided on the back surface on which the through hole 7411 is provided.

The fixing rib 7421 may not be supported at a position where the through hole 7411 is provided. At this time, the reinforcing rib 7412 may play a role of fixing the fixing rib 7421 and reinforcing the rigidity of the fixing rib 7421.

In addition, unlike the case shown in fig. 6a to 6c, the accommodating portion 7422 may be formed of an accommodating groove formed by recessing the base 741 between spaces partitioned by the fixing ribs 7421 in the base 741.

At this time, it is considered that the accommodating portion 7422 is formed by the accommodating groove. The fixing ribs 7421 may be omitted and only the receiving groove 7422 formed by a recess may be provided in the base 741. At this time, the accommodating groove 7422 may be disposed on the base 741.

That is, the housing groove 7422 may be printed on the base 741. That is, the accommodation groove 7422 may be formed by engraving the base 741.

At this time, the slots are formed in at least one of a circular, elliptical, and orbital shape having an expanded size so that the coils 71 are wound at least one turn along the slots and spaced apart from each other.

In addition, the coils 71 may be wound on the base 741 at predetermined intervals, and the lengths of the intervals at which the coils 71 are spaced may be the same. That is, the coils 71 may be provided at equal intervals on the base 741.

For this, the receiving portions 7422 may be spaced apart from each other at the same interval and provided on the base 741, and the fixing ribs 7421 may be protruded from the base 741 in one of a circular shape, an elliptical shape, and a rail shape spaced apart from each other at the same interval.

Fig. 7a and 7b illustrate a mounting manner of the sensing module in a case where the tub 20 is constructed in an assembly type in which a front tub and a rear tub are coupled to each other.

The outer tub 20 may be formed in a cylindrical shape. In this case, the outer tub 20 may be directly formed in a cylindrical shape having a receiving space formed therein, but may be formed in a manner of forming only a half of the cylindrical shape and assembling the same.

That is, the outer tub 20 may be provided in an assembled manner, thereby easily manufacturing the outer tub 20.

In the case where the outer tub 20 is constructed in an assembled type, the outer tub 20 may include: a front outer tub 21 disposed in the front and surrounding the front of the inner tub; a rear outer tub 22 surrounding the rear of the inner tub.

At this time, the front outer tub 21 and the rear outer tub 22 may be coupled by a connection part 25.

The connection part 25 may be constructed in any shape as long as it can couple one end of the front outer tub 21 and one end of the rear outer tub 22 to each other. Of course, the connection part 25 may be configured not only to physically connect the front outer tub 21 and the rear outer tub 22 but also to perform a sealing function.

At this time, a portion of the outer tub 20 where the connection part 25 is provided may be convexly protruded by the connection part 25.

As shown in fig. 7a, the sensing module 70 may be spaced apart from the outer tub 20 so as not to contact the connection part 25.

However, as shown in fig. 7b, the sensing module 70 may be respectively disposed at the front tub 21 and the rear tub.

That is, the sensing module may include: a first sensing module 70a disposed on an outer circumferential surface of the front tub 21; the second sensing module 70b is disposed on the outer circumferential surface of the rear outer tub 22.

If the sensing module is divided into the first and second sensing modules like the outer tub 20, it may not be restricted by the connection part 25.

That is, in the case where the sensing module is formed as one, the sensing module needs to be spaced apart from the outer tub 20 by a predetermined distance due to the connection part 25 of the outer tub 20 (see fig. 7a), but in the case where the sensing module is separately provided, the sensing module can be more closely installed to the outer tub 20 (see fig. 7 b). Thereby, the sensing module is closer to the inner tub 30, so that the generated magnetic field can be more effectively transferred to the inner tub 30.

The front tub 21 and the rear tub 22 may be symmetrically disposed, and the first sensing module 70a disposed on the front tub 21 and the second sensing module 70b disposed on the rear tub 22 may be symmetrically disposed.

That is, the first and

second sensing modules

70a and 70b may be symmetrically disposed with respect to each other with reference to a direction perpendicular to the ground from the center of the inner tub 30.

However, as previously mentioned, it is more preferable in terms of efficiency to provide one sensing module than two sensing modules. Therefore, there is a need to further study a scheme capable of further reducing the interval from the inner tub in case of one sensing module. Also, further research into minimizing interference between the connection part 25 and the sensing module 70 is required. The examples related thereto will be described later.

Hereinafter, a structure for adjusting the direction of the magnetic field generated in the coil will be described with reference to fig. 8.

Generally, the laundry treating apparatus is provided with a control part (not shown) for rotating the driving part 40 or operating a control panel (not shown) provided on the cabinet 10 and controlling a stroke of the laundry treating apparatus, and various electric wires (not shown).

The induction module 70 heats the inner tub 30 based on the magnetic field emitted from the coil 71. However, when the magnetic field emitted from the coil 71 is exposed to the control unit and the electric wire provided in the laundry treatment apparatus, there is a possibility that an abnormal signal may occur in the control unit and the electric wire.

Also, since the control part and the electric devices such as the electric wire and other control panels are vulnerable to the magnetic field, the magnetic field generated in the induction module is preferably exposed only to the inner tub 30. Therefore, the conductor is preferably not located between the coil 71 of the induction module 70 and the inner barrel 30.

Further, since it is necessary to generate a magnetic field only for heating the inner tub, the magnetic field is preferably concentrated in a direction toward the inner tub (for example, a lower direction of the coil).

To this end, the induction module 70 may further include a blocking member 77, the blocking member 77 enabling the magnetic field generated in the coil 71 to be concentrated only on the inner tub 30. That is, a blocking member 77 may be provided at an upper portion of the coil 71 so as to be concentrated in the inner tub direction.

The blocking member 77 is made of a strong magnet, so that the magnetic field generated in the coil 71 can be concentrated in the inner tub direction.

The blocking member 77 may be coupled to an upper portion of the base 741, and may be attached or mounted to an inner surface of the module cover 72. The blocking member 77 may be formed in a flat plate shape. Also, a part of the module cover 72 may be made of a strong magnet and perform the function of the blocking member.

That is, since the module cover 72 is formed in a box shape having an open one surface, when the module cover 72 accommodates the coil 71 or the base 74, the magnetic field can be concentrated toward the inner tub 30. At this time, the additional blocking member 77 may be omitted.

In addition, the blocking member 77 may be a permanent magnet such as ferrite. The ferrite may be formed not to entirely cover the upper portion of the coil 71. That is, the coil fixing part may be formed to cover only a portion of the coil as in the coil fixing parts shown in fig. 4a and 4b and fig. 5a to 5 c. This teaches the ability to secure the ferrite rod magnet at the coil fixing portion. That is, it is possible to dispose a permanent magnet such as ferrite in a manner perpendicular to the length direction of the coil and concentrate the direction of the magnetic field in a desired direction. Therefore, since a small amount of ferrite is used, efficiency can be very effectively improved. Detailed embodiments relating to such ferrite will be described later.

Although not shown, the control unit may adjust the amount of current flowing through the coil 71 and may supply the current to the coil 71.

The control part (not shown) may further include at least one of a thermostat and a thermistor (not shown) for cutting off the current of the coil when an excessive current is supplied to the coil or the temperature of the coil rises above a preset value. I.e. a temperature sensor may be included. The thermostat and the thermistor may be configured in any shape as long as the current flowing in the coil 71 can be cut off.

A detailed embodiment including such a control unit and a temperature sensor will be described later.

The relationship between the coil 71 and the permanent magnet 75 will be described below with reference to fig. 9a and 9 b. The permanent magnet 75 may be configured to concentrate the magnetic field generated by the coil 71 toward the inner tub 30 to improve efficiency. The permanent magnet may be formed of a ferrite material. Specifically, the permanent magnet 75 may be in the form of a bar magnet perpendicular to the winding direction of the coil 71 or the longitudinal direction of the coil 71. The permanent magnet may be formed to have a magnetic field inherent in the upper and lower portions. Specifically, it is preferably a permanent magnet formed in such a manner that the direction of the magnetic field is directed toward the inner tub.

Fig. 9a and 9b show the plane of the coil 71 in which the wire 76 is wound on the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20. The figure shows a case where the permanent magnet 75 is provided on the upper surface of the coil 71.

As shown in fig. 9a and 9b, the permanent magnet 75 may be configured as a bar magnet, which is preferably positioned above the coil 71 and arranged perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the coil 71. This is to cover both the inner coil on the inner side in the radial direction and the outer coil on the outer side in the radial direction.

The permanent magnet 75 may be configured as a plurality of bar magnets having the same size, and the plurality of permanent magnets 75 may be arranged so as to be spaced apart from each other along the longitudinal direction of the coil 71.

When the permanent magnets 75 are disposed only at specific positions, the amount of the magnetic field radiated to the inner tub 30 is different in each portion of the circumferential surface of the inner tub 30, and thus uniform heating is not easily performed. Therefore, in order to uniformly induce the magnetic field generated in the coil 71 toward the inner tub 30, it is preferable that the plurality of permanent magnets 75 are spaced apart from each other along the outer periphery of the coil 71 at a predetermined interval or in a predetermined pattern.

Further, when there are the same number of permanent magnets 75, they are preferably arranged in a concentrated manner at portions of the coil 71 adjacent to the front and rear of the outer tub 20.

Specifically, the coil 71 may be divided into two coil end portions B1 and B2 including a coil front end portion B1 adjacent to the front of the outer tub 20 and a coil rear end portion B2 adjacent to the rear of the outer tub 20, and a coil central portion a located between the coil front end portion B1 and the coil rear end portion B2 and having a wider area than the coil front end portion B1 and the coil rear end portion B2, and the same or a larger number of permanent magnets 75 may be arranged at the coil front end portion B1 or the coil rear end portion B2 than the coil central portion a.

In the coil central portion a, the coil 71 is formed with a large density. On the other hand, the coil density is relatively small in both end portions B1, B2. That is, the density of the coil inevitably becomes smaller at both end portions by the shape of the corner portion having the curvature. This is because the coil cannot be formed vertically in the corner portions in theory.

Therefore, the concentration of the magnetic field is relatively less required in the coil central portion a, and the concentration of the magnetic field is relatively more required in the coil both end portions B1 and B2.

Therefore, when the same number of permanent magnets are arranged, it is preferable to concentrate the permanent magnets relatively more at both end portions than at the central portion of the coil. That is, the inner tub can be uniformly heated in the front and rear direction. That is, in the embodiment shown in fig. 9b, the inner tub can be more uniformly heated to improve efficiency, as compared with the embodiment shown in fig. 9 a.

In other words, the concentration of the permanent magnets increases the magnetic flux density at the coil ends B1 and B2, and as a result, the inner barrel 30 is heated uniformly in the longitudinal direction.

In particular, under the same conditions, the efficiency of the embodiment shown in fig. 9a may be reduced compared to the embodiment shown in fig. 9 b. On the premise that the same number of permanent magnets is used, it is preferable that the permanent magnets 75 located in the central portion a are located at the both end portions B1 and B2 in terms of efficiency. Therefore, when the total magnetic flux density of the permanent magnet is determined, the magnetic flux density at the both end portions is preferably made larger than the magnetic flux density at the central portion.

The aforementioned embodiment related to the winding form of the coil 71 and the embodiment related to the arrangement of the permanent magnet 75 are not contradictory, but may be simultaneously implemented in one laundry treating apparatus. That is, in the case of implementing such embodiments in combination, it is possible to derive the effect of heating the inner tub 30 more uniformly, as compared to the case of implementing the above-described embodiments regarding the shape of the coil or the embodiments regarding the arrangement of the permanent magnets individually.

The coil 71 may be formed in any shape as long as the coil 71 has a concentric circle, an oval, a track shape, etc. formed by winding the wire 76 around the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20, but the heating degree of the inner tub 30 may be different according to the pattern of winding the coil 71. Such content has been described previously.

For example, in the coil form shown in fig. 10b, when the radius of curvature of the curved portion of the radially inner coil and the radially outer coil are formed differently, the amount of the magnetic field transmitted toward the center of the inner tub 30 and the amount of the magnetic field transmitted toward the front and the rear may be significantly different.

That is, since the area of the coil located near the front and rear of the inner tub 30 is formed to be narrow, the amount of the magnetic field transmitted to the front of the circumferential surface of the inner tub 30 is inevitably relatively small, and since the area of the coil located at the central portion is wide, the amount of the magnetic field transmitted to the central portion of the circumferential surface of the inner tub 30 is inevitably relatively large. Therefore, it will be difficult to uniformly heat the inner tub 30.

Therefore, the shape of the coil is preferably formed in a rectangular shape rather than a square shape. That is, the front-rear width of the coil is preferably formed to be larger than the left-right width. Thus, the central portion of the inner barrel having a wide coil area can be further expanded in the front-rear direction toward both ends of the central portion.

As shown in fig. 9a to 10a, the coil 71 may be wound with a wire 76 having

straight portions

71a, 71b and a curved portion 71c, and the radius of curvature of the wire 76 forming the curved portion 71c is preferably formed identically in the inner coil and the outer coil. That is, the radius of curvature of the wire at a position close to the center of the coil is preferably made the same as the radius of curvature of the wire at a position away from the center of the coil. Since the radii of curvature of the

straight portions

71a and 71b are meaningless, the same radius of curvature can be considered for the curved portion 71 c. In the case of fig. 10b, it shows a case where the curvature radii of the curved portions 71c are different from each other. That is, fig. 10b shows a form in which the curvature radius increases from the curved portion 71c toward the radially outer side.

It can be determined that there is a significant difference in the area of the coil between the corner portions of the coil of fig. 10A and the coil of fig. 10B.

The relationship between the

linear portions

71a and 71b and the curved portion 71c will be described in more detail with reference to fig. 9a and 9b, and the

linear portions

71a and 71b include a front linear portion 71b disposed in front of the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 and a rear linear portion 71b disposed behind the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20, which may be referred to as a lateral linear portion. And, a longitudinal straight portion 71a formed perpendicularly to the lateral straight portion 71b may be included. Preferably, the length of the longitudinal straight portion is greater than the length of the lateral straight portion. That is, the major axis of the oval or orbit-shaped coil is preferably formed in the front-rear direction of the tub.

The curved portion 71c is formed at a point where the transverse straight portion 71b and the longitudinal straight portion 71a meet. That is, the coil may be formed by four curved portions 71c and four straight portions having the same radius of curvature.

According to the above-described structure, the lateral width of the coil both end portions B1 and B2 including the coil front end portion adjacent to the front of the outer tub 20 and the coil rear end portion adjacent to the rear of the outer tub and the coil central portion a located between the coil both end portions B1 and B2 can be uniformly formed, and the curved portion can be formed in a form of filling the corner portions of the rectangle to the maximum extent as the curvature radius of the metal wire on the curved portion is formed to be the same.

As a result, the amounts of the magnetic fields radiated from the both end portions B1, B2 of the coil to the front and rear of the circumferential surface of the inner tub 30 and the amounts of the magnetic fields radiated from the central portion a of the coil to the center of the circumferential surface of the inner tub 30 can be approximated to the maximum. That is, by matching the radii of curvature of the both end portions curved portions, the amount of the magnetic field that may be reduced by the shape of the coil can be compensated for to the maximum extent.

This results in an effect of uniformly heating the center and the front and rear sides of the circumferential surface of the inner tub 30.

In addition, uniform heating based on the shape of the coil and the radius of curvature of the curved portion can be more effectively performed by the magnetic field concentration by the ferrite. That is, the ferrite can concentrate the magnetic field more in the front and rear portions of the inner tub than in the center portion of the inner tub. In other words, the excessive magnetic field at the center can be concentrated and dispersed to both ends, and thus, it is very economical and effective. This is because, in the case where the amount by which the magnetic field can be concentrated by the ferrite is fixed, the arrangement of the ferrite can be relatively concentrated toward the front and rear end portions of the inner tub.

Referring to fig. 11a to 11c, heating temperature rising distributions of the coil 71 having different longitudinal lengths, respectively, and the circumferential surface of the inner tub 30 corresponding to the longitudinal width of the coil 71 are presented.

In the graph, the vertical axis indicates each position of the inner tub, "1" indicates the rear of the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub, "5" indicates the front of the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub 30, and "2" to "4" indicate the sections therebetween. And, the horizontal axis represents the temperature increase rate of the inner tub 30.

Hereinafter, the longitudinal width of the coil 71 and the temperature increase rate of the inner barrel 30 will be described by comparing the respective coils 71 shown in fig. 11a to 11 c. Fig. 11a is a case of heating the inner tub using the coil having the widest longitudinal width, fig. 11b is a case of heating the inner tub using the coil having the middle-degree width of the longitudinal width, and fig. 11c is a case of heating the inner tub using the coil having the narrowest longitudinal width.

The coil of fig. 11a shows uniform temperature increase rates at the front, rear and central portions of the inner tub 30 compared to other coils, and the coil of fig. 11c shows a significant difference in temperature increase rates at the front, rear and central portions of the inner tub 30, and the coil of fig. 11b also shows a relatively large difference in temperature increase rate.

That is, in case that the area of each coil 71 is the same, it can be determined that the longer the longitudinal width of the coil 71, the more uniformly the front and rear and central portions of the inner tub 30 are relatively heated. This is considered to be because a large part of the area of the coil corresponding to the center of the inner tub is moved to the front and rear of the inner tub.

The relationship between the area or shape of the coil and the efficiency of converting electric energy into thermal energy is analyzed as follows through fig. 11a to 11 c.

First, in the case where the area of the coil is the same, that is, the coil is formed by metal wires having the same length, the efficiency of converting electric energy into thermal energy increases as the shape of the coil is closer to a circle or a square. This is because the closer the center of the magnetic field is to a single axis (line), the smaller the amount of the leaked magnetic field.

However, it is not preferable to mount a coil having a nearly circular or square shape on the cylindrical outer tub in terms of mounting convenience and mounting stability. This is because the left-right width of the coil will become large, which means that the angle between the left-side end and the right-side end of the coil becomes large. Such a left-right angle becomes large indicating that a coupling error between the cylindrical outer tub and the left and right ends of the coil will inevitably increase. Therefore, it is preferable to substantially make the angle between the left and right of the coil less than 30 degrees from the center of the outer tub.

In fig. 11c, the left and right widths of the coil are the same. That is, the left and right widths of the coil are formed to be the same in consideration of mounting stability and easiness. That is, fig. 11c can be said to be an example in which the left-right width of the coil is formed to be the maximum so as to maximize the energy conversion efficiency. However, since there is a limit to the expansion of the left and right widths of the coil, the front and rear widths of the coil inevitably become smaller. This means that the area expansion of the coil is limited and the front and rear portions of the inner tub cannot be sufficiently heated. Therefore, it means that only a portion of the laundry inside the inner tub is heated and a portion of the laundry is not heated, so that the drying efficiency is inevitably remarkably lowered.

Therefore, the coil form of fig. 11b in which the left-right width of the coil is maintained as it is and the front-rear width of the coil is increased can be provided. In this case, since the coil area is increased so that the front and rear portions of the inner tub are also heated, the overall temperature increase rate is improved.

The coil of fig. 11a is an example in which the coil area of the coil center portion and the lateral width of the coil are reduced and the front-rear width of the coil is increased, as compared with the coil of fig. 11 b. As shown in the drawing, although the temperature increase rate of the central portion of the inner tub is slightly decreased, the temperature increase rates of the front and rear ends of the inner tub are increased. That is, it can be determined that the temperature increase rate uniformly occurs in the front and rear of the inner tub as a whole.

This means that even though the energy conversion efficiency is relatively lowest due to the increase of the front-rear width of the coil, the reduction of the coil area at the center of the coil, etc., the case of fig. 11a is most preferable in terms of uniform heating of the inner tub.

As described above, although the energy conversion efficiency is also important, the drying efficiency is considered to be more important when there is no large difference in the energy conversion efficiency. That is, it is more important to uniformly heat the inner tub so that the laundry can be uniformly dried regardless of where the laundry is located inside the inner tub. Generally, the drying is performed until the laundry satisfies a drying degree required as a whole. That is, in the case of performing drying by detecting the dryness, when the specific laundry is not dried, the drying is performed until the specific laundry satisfies the required dryness, so that all the laundry as a whole satisfies the required dryness.

Therefore, it can be considered that the smaller the time required to satisfy the same degree of drying, i.e., the drying time, the higher the drying efficiency. In addition, the drying time becomes shorter, which means energy saving.

Therefore, even if the efficiency of the sensing module itself becomes low, it is more preferable to make the energy consumption amount of the laundry treating apparatus small. From such a point of view, the present inventors determined the coil shape of fig. 11a to be most efficient, not considering only the efficiency of the induction module itself, but also the efficiency of the entire laundry treating apparatus.

In addition, if the outermost wires of the lateral straight portions 71b are extended to the front and rear of the outer tub 20, the inner tub 30 can be heated more uniformly, but in this case, the magnetic field is excessively extended to the front and rear, which may heat other structures of the laundry treatment apparatus such as the driving portion 40 and the door, thereby causing a problem of damage to the laundry treatment apparatus. Furthermore, the efficiency is reduced because unnecessary structures may also be heated. Therefore, the increase in the front-to-back length or the front-to-back width of the coil or the induction module is also inevitably limited.

In addition, in the case of the laundry treating apparatus in which the rear of the outer tub 20 is obliquely disposed inside the cabinet 10, the upper corner of the front of the sensing module 70 interferes with the lower surface of the upper cabinet as the outer tub 20 vibrates up and down, thereby causing damage to the sensing module 70 and the cabinet 10, and in the case of increasing the height of the cabinet 10 to prevent such a problem, there is a limitation in that a compact structure of the laundry treating apparatus cannot be realized.

Therefore, it is preferable that the outermost metal wires of the front straight portion 71b are spaced apart from the foremost part of the tub 20 by a predetermined interval, the outermost metal wires of the rear straight portion 71b are spaced apart from the rearmost part of the tub 20 by a predetermined interval, and the predetermined interval is 10mm to 20 mm.

The above-described structure has an effect of uniformly heating the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub 30 while preventing unnecessary heating of other structures besides the inner tub 30 or interference of the sensing module 70 with the upper surface of the inside of the cabinet 10.

Further, it is preferable that the length of the outermost wire of the longitudinal straight portion 71a of the coil 71 is set longer than the length of the outermost wire of the lateral straight portion 71 b.

This prevents the magnetic field from being radiated in an excessively wide range in the peripheral direction of the inner tub 30, thereby avoiding heating of other structures than the inner tub 30 and ensuring an arrangement space of a spring or other structures that may be provided on the outer peripheral surface of the outer tub 20.

In this case, the surface formed by the coil 71 wound with the wire 76 may be formed as a curved surface corresponding to the circumferential surface of the inner barrel 30, and in this case, the magnetic flux density of the magnetic field directed toward the inner barrel 30 can be further increased.

Further, when the sensing module 70 is operated, it is preferable that the inner tub 30 is rotated to uniformly heat the circumferential surface of the inner tub 30.

The tub 20 is configured to vibrate. Therefore, in the case where the outer tub 20 is mounted with the coil 71, the coil 71 needs to be stably fixed. To this end, as previously mentioned, the induction module 70 preferably includes a base housing 74 for mounting and securing the coil 71. A more detailed description of an embodiment of the sensor module 70 including the base housing 74 is provided below.

Fig. 12a shows the upper side of the base housing 74, and fig. 12b shows the lower side of the base housing 74. Fig. 12a and 12b show an example in which the coils shown in fig. 9a and 9b, and fig. 10a and 11a are formed.

Fig. 13 shows a state in which the base housing 74 and the module cover 72 are combined with each other and the sensing module 70 is mounted to the outer tub 20.

First, as shown in fig. 12a, the base case 74 may form a coil slot 742 having a width narrower than the wire diameter of the wire 76 such that the wire 76 of the coil 71 is disposed in an interference fit manner, and the width of the coil slot 742 may be formed to be 93% to 97% of the wire diameter of the wire 76.

When the wire 76 is disposed in the coil insertion groove 742 in an interference fit manner, even if the tub 20 vibrates, the wire 76 is fixed inside the coil insertion groove 742 so that the coil 71 does not play.

Thus, the coil 71 is not separated from the coil slot 742, and play itself is suppressed, thereby preventing noise from being generated due to the presence of a gap. Further, contact between the metal lines can be prevented in advance to prevent short-circuiting, and an increase in resistance due to deformation of the metal lines can be prevented.

Further, the coil insertion slot 742 may be formed by a plurality of fixing ribs 7421 protruding upward from the base housing 74, and the height of the fixing ribs 7421 may be greater than the wire diameter of the coil 71.

The feature that both surfaces of the coil 71 are sufficiently contacted and supported with the inner wall of the fixing rib 7421 is also related to the melting process of the upper end of the fixing rib 7421, which will be described later, by making the height of the fixing rib 7421 larger than the wire diameter of the coil 71.

According to the above-described feature, the fixing ribs 7421 fix the adjacent metal lines 76 apart from each other, so that the occurrence of short circuits can be prevented, and there is no need to apply an additional insulating film to the metal lines 76, or the thickness of the insulating film can be minimized, thereby achieving an effect that the production cost can be saved.

The upper ends of the fixing ribs 7421 may be melted after the wire 76 is inserted, thereby covering the upper portion of the coil 71. That is, the upper ends of the fixing ribs 7421 may be melt-processed.

At this time, the height of the fixing rib 7421 is preferably 1 to 1.5 times the wire diameter of the wire 76 so as to cover the upper portion of the coil 71.

Specifically, in fig. 12a (a'), after the wire is interference-fitted, the upper surface of the fixing rib 7421 may be pressed and melted. At this time, as shown in fig. 12a (a ″), a part of the melted fixing rib 7421 spreads out to both sides, and covers the upper portions of the both-side wires 76. At this time, the fixing beads 7421 adjacent to each other with the wire 76 interposed therebetween are preferably melted so that the upper portion of the wire 76 is completely shielded by the coil slot 742, or so that a space narrower than the wire diameter of the wire 76 is formed at the upper portion of the wire 76.

As another example, the coil slot 742 may be fused to cover only one side of the metal wire 76 instead of both sides of the metal wire 76, in which case all the fixing ribs 7421 should be fused to cover only the metal wire 76 disposed on the inner side among the adjacent metal wires 76 or fused to cover only the metal wire 76 disposed on the outer side.

The reason why the coil 71 is fixed to the coil socket 742 in an interference fit manner and the upper end of the fixing rib 7421 is further melted is that a path through which the wire 76 may be separated can be physically cut off, play of the wire 76 is prevented to prevent noise due to vibration of the tub 20, and a gap between components is eliminated to improve durability.

The coil insertion groove 742 may include a base 741 for seating the coil 71 at a lower portion between the fixing ribs 7421.

As shown in fig. 12 (a ″), the base 741 is covered at its lower surface, and functions to press and fix the coil 71 together with the fixing ribs 7421 that are melt-processed.

However, a part of the base 741 may be opened. The open structure provided in the slot base 741 may be referred to as a through hole or a through hole 7411.

Although the above description has been made on the premise that the coil 71 is provided on the upper surface of the base housing 74, the fixing ribs 7421 may be provided on the lower surface of the base housing 74 so as to protrude toward the lower portion of the base housing 74, and in this case, the space formed by the fixing ribs 7421 that have been melt-processed can function as a through portion without providing an additional through portion in the base 741.

Fig. 12b shows the bottom surface of the base casing 74, and as shown in the figure, a through-hole 7411 penetrating the top surface may be provided in the bottom surface of the base casing 74, the through-hole 7411 may be opened so that the coil 71 may face the outer circumferential surface of the tub 20, and the through-hole 7411 may be formed in a pattern in which the wire 76 is wound.

When the pattern wound along the wire 76 is formed, the magnetic field can be smoothly radiated from the wire 76 toward the inner tub 30, so that the heating efficiency can be improved, and the overheated coil 71 can be rapidly cooled since the air can flow along the open surface.

As shown in fig. 12b, a rib 7412 formed to intersect the through-hole is provided on the lower surface of the chassis case 74, and the chassis case 74 according to the present invention may further include the rib 7412.

The ribs 7412 are formed radially around the fixing points 78 on both sides of the center portion a of the base casing 74 so as to enhance the adhesion force between the outer peripheral surface of the outer tub 20 and the base casing 74.

When the base fastening portions 743 provided on both sides of the base casing 74 are fixed to the outer tub fastening portion 26 provided on the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub, the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 is pressed by the reinforcing ribs 7412, thereby being supported more strongly than the case where the lower surface of the base casing 74 is entirely in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20.

Thus, even if the outer tub 20 vibrates, the base housing 74 does not easily move or separate from the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20.

Further, in the present invention, in order to improve the fastening force between the base casing 74 and the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20, the base casing 74 may be formed in a curved surface corresponding to the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20.

In order to correspond to the feature that the curved coil portions 71c have the same radius of curvature, the upper surface of the base case 74 around which the wire 76 is wound may be formed such that the curved portions of the fixing ribs 7421 have the same radius of curvature.

In addition, the sensing module 70 of the present invention may further include: and a module cover 72 combined with the base case 74 in such a manner as to cover the coil insertion slot 742.

As shown in fig. 13, the cover 72 is provided to be coupled to the upper surface of the base housing 74, and functions to prevent the coil 71 and the permanent magnet 80 from being detached.

Specifically, the lower surface of the cover 72 may be formed in close contact with the upper end of the coil slot 742 of the base housing 74, so that the play, deformation, and detachment of the coil 71 can be prevented by coupling the cover 72 itself to the base housing 74.

Further, referring to fig. 14a, a plurality of contact ribs 79 formed to protrude downward may be provided on the lower surface of the cover 72, and the contact ribs 79 may be provided to be in contact with the upper ends of the coil slots 742.

When the lower surface of the close contact rib 79 is in close contact with the coil slot 742, and the entire lower surface of the cover 72 is in close contact with the upper end of the coil slot 742, a larger pressure can be applied to a narrow area. In the present embodiment, the close fitting ribs 79 can be considered to be the same as the coil fixing portion 73 in the foregoing embodiment.

Accordingly, the cover 72 can be more firmly fixed to the outside of the tub 20, and thus, even if the tub 20 vibrates, noise or parts detachment due to a gap is not caused.

The plurality of the close contact ribs 79 may be provided along the longitudinal direction of the coil 71. The adhesion rib 79 may be provided perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the coil 71. This makes it possible to firmly fix the entire coil without applying pressure to the entire coil.

Wherein a separate space is required between the cover 72 and the coil 71. This is because it is preferable to flow air for heat dissipation. Therefore, the close fitting ribs 79 will fill a part of such partitioned spaces. Therefore, the fixing of the coil can be performed while forming the flow space of the air.

In addition, the close fitting rib 79 is preferably formed integrally with the cover 72. Thus, the abutting ribs 79 press the coil 71 while the cover 72 is coupled to the base housing 74. Thus, a unit or step for applying the pressure coil 71 need not be additionally provided.

The permanent magnet 80 for concentrating the magnetic field in the inner tub direction may be interposed between the base case 74 and the cover 72, and the cover 72 may be provided with a permanent magnet mounting portion 81 into which the permanent magnet 80 can be inserted and mounted. Thus, when the permanent magnet 80 is fixed to the cover 72, the permanent magnet can be fixed to the upper portion of the coil 71 as the cover 72 is coupled to the base housing 74.

Since the permanent magnets 80 are preferably disposed at specific positions on the upper surface of the coil 71 in order to effectively concentrate the magnetic field in the direction of the inner tub 30, the permanent magnets 80 may cause a problem of not only noise but also a reduction in heating efficiency when they move in accordance with the vibration of the outer tub 20.

Therefore, the permanent magnet 80 can be fixed at the initially arranged position between the base case 74 and the cover 72 by the permanent magnet mounting portion 81, and therefore, the problem of the reduction of the heating efficiency can be prevented.

More specifically, the permanent magnet attachment portion 81 may be formed as two side walls protruding downward from the lower surface of the cover 72 and facing each other, and a lower open portion 82 may be provided to allow the lower surface of the permanent magnet 80 attached to the permanent magnet attachment portion 81 to face one surface of the coil 71.

In this case, the two side walls of the permanent magnet attachment portion 81 can suppress the lateral play of the permanent magnet 80, and the lower opening portion 82 can make the permanent magnet 80 closer to the upper surface of the coil 71.

The permanent magnet 80 is installed closer to the coil 71, and the magnetic field is intensively guided toward the inner tub 30, so that the inner tub 30 can be stably and uniformly heated.

The permanent magnet attachment portion 81 may further include: an inner wall 81b protruding downward from the lower surface of the cover 72 at one end of the two side walls; the locking portion 81a is formed to have an open surface on a surface facing the inner wall, and is formed to prevent the permanent magnet 80 from being detached from the cover 72.

Since the permanent magnet 80 can be restrained from moving forward and backward by the inner wall 81b and the locking portion 81a, the inner tub 30 can be stably and uniformly heated as described above, and heat can be dissipated through the open surface when the temperature of the permanent magnet 80 rises due to the overheated coil 71.

At this time, the base housing 74 may be further provided with a permanent magnet pressing part 81c, the permanent magnet pressing part 81c protruding upward from the space formed by the lower opening part 82 for pressing the lower surface of the permanent magnet 80, and the permanent magnet pressing part 81c may be formed of a plate spring or a protrusion of a rubber material.

When vibration is transmitted to the permanent magnet 80 according to the vibration of the outer tub 20, noise may be generated in the permanent magnet 80 due to a gap that may be formed between the coil slot 742 and the permanent magnet mounting part 81 at the lower portion.

Therefore, the permanent magnet pressing portion 81c can prevent the noise from occurring by damping the vibration, and can prevent the permanent magnet 80 and the permanent magnet mounting portion 81 from being damaged by the vibration by avoiding the occurrence of the gap.

In the present invention, the lower end of the permanent magnet mounting part 81 may be closely attached to the upper end of the coil insertion groove 742 in order to improve fastening force and stably heat the inner tub 30.

In this case, as described above, since the lower surface of the permanent magnet 80 can be disposed closer to the coil 71, the inner tub 30 can be heated more uniformly, and the lower surface of the permanent magnet 80 functions as the adhesion rib 79, so that the adhesion force between the cover 72 and the base casing 74 can be enhanced.

Additionally, in the case where the base casing 74 is formed as a curved surface corresponding to the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20, the cover 72 may be formed as a curved surface having the same curvature.

As another embodiment, the permanent magnet mounting part 81 of the present invention may be provided to the base case 74.

The base housing 74 may be formed such that the permanent magnet mounting portion 81 is provided above the fixing rib 7421, and at this time, the permanent magnet pressing portion 81c may be provided on the lower surface of the cover 72.

Fig. 13 shows a fastening form of the outer tub 20, the base case 74, and the cover 72, and as shown in the drawing, the outer tub 20 includes the outer tub fastening part 26, the base case 74 includes the base fastening part 743, and the cover 72 includes the cover fastening part 72 b.

The above-described outer tub fastening part 26 is provided with the outer tub fastening hole, the base fastening part 743 is provided with the base fastening hole, and the cover fastening part 72b is provided with the cover fastening hole, and the provided fastening holes may be all provided with the same length diameter, and may be configured to be able to simultaneously fasten the outer tub 20 and the base case 74 and the cover 72 using one screw.

Thus, in the manufacturing process, simple assembly can be realized, and cost saving can be realized.

Further, the tub fastening part 26, the base fastening part 743, and the cover fastening part 72B may be arranged such that fastening points thereof are hidden to both sides of the coil 71 in order to secure fastening spaces when both end parts B1, B2 of the coil are provided adjacent to the front and rear of the tub 20.

Further, the cover 72 may be further provided with cover mounting ribs 72a protruding downward from both side edges, which makes it possible to easily mount the cover 72 at a predetermined position on the base housing 74 and prevent the cover 72 from moving left and right.

In addition, a fan mounting portion 72d may be formed in the cover 72. The fan mounting portion 72d may be formed at the center of the cover 72.

Air may flow into the cover 72, i.e., the sensing module, through the fan mounting portion. In the inside of the induction module, since a space is formed between the cover 72 and the base housing 74, a flow space of air will be formed. Further, a through portion is formed in the base housing. This allows the air to cool the coil 71 in the internal space and to be discharged to the outside of the induction module through the through portion of the base housing.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the case where the sensing module 70 is disposed on the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 is described as an example, but this is not intended to exclude the case where the sensing module 70 is disposed on the inner circumferential surface of the outer tub 20, and the sensing module may be formed on the same circumferential surface as the outer wall of the outer tub 20.

Wherein the sensing module 70 is preferably disposed in the greatest proximity to the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub 30. That is, this is because the magnetic field generated by the induction module 70 will decrease significantly as the distance from the coil increases.

Hereinafter, an embodiment related to a structure for reducing a spaced distance between the sensing module 70 and the inner tub will be described. The features of such an embodiment may be realized in a composite manner in the aforementioned embodiments.

The module mounting part 210, which is located at the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 and is used to dispose the sensing module 70, may be formed at a position more inward in a radius direction than the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 having a reference radius. As an example, the module mounting part 210 may form a surface recessed from an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub.

As described above, as long as the interval between the module mounting part 210 and the inner tub 30 can be reduced, the heating efficiency by the sensing module 70 can be increased. When a predetermined alternating current flows in the induction module 70, the magnitude of change in the alternating magnetic field generated by the coil 71 is constant. However, the magnitude of the change in the alternating magnetic field decreases significantly with increasing distance. Therefore, when the interval between the module mounting part 210 and the inner tub 30 is reduced, the magnitude of the induction magnetic field generated by the ac magnetic field becomes large, and strong induction current flows to the inner tub 30, so that the induction heating efficiency can be increased.

In case that the laundry treating apparatus is a drum washing machine, the module mounting part 210 is preferably located at an upper portion of the outer tub 20. The sensing module 70 may be closely fixed to the outer tub 20 in consideration of its own weight. Also, when considering the rotation structure of the inner tub 30, the inner tub 30 is inclined to the lower portion by its own weight, and when the module mounting part is positioned at the upper portion of the outer tub 20, the collision of the inner tub 30 can be minimized. However, in the case where the laundry treatment apparatus is a top loading type washing machine, the position thereof does not need to be limited to the upper position or the lower position.

A portion of the inner circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 facing the module mounting part 210 may be located more inward in a radial direction than the inner circumferential surface of the outer tub having a reference radius. That is, when the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 enters in the inward direction, the interval between the inner circumferential surface and the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 of the corresponding portion may be thinned.

In this case, the strength of the corresponding portion may be weakened, and a portion of the inner circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 facing the module mounting part 210 is formed at a position further inward in the radial direction than the inner circumferential surface of the outer tub having a reference radius so that the interval between the inner and outer circumferential surfaces of the outer tub maintains a predetermined distance. However, a portion of the inner circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 facing the module mounting part 210 is preferably disposed radially outside the outer circumferential surface of the rotating inner tub 30.

In other words, the circumferential surface thickness of the outer tub corresponding to the module mounting part 210 may be made smaller than other parts, but it is preferable to make it substantially the same. Therefore, it can be considered that the inner and outer circumferential surfaces of the tub in the portion corresponding to the module mounting portion 210 are located more inward in the radial direction than the inner and outer circumferential surfaces of the tub in other portions. That is, the shape may be a concave shape. Of course, the module mounting portion 210 may be entirely recessed, or only a part of the module mounting portion may be recessed. More specifically, only the portion of the module mounting portion 210 facing the coil may be recessed.

The module mounting part 210 may be formed to extend from the front to the rear of the tub. However, the module mounting part may be located at a central portion of the tub in a front-rear length direction as long as the module mounting part has a length shorter than a front-rear length of the tub. As the sensing module is located at the central portion, heat can be uniformly generated to the inner tub.

An embodiment of the module mounting portion 210 on which the sensor module 70 is mounted will be described below with reference to fig. 15 and 16. The structure in which the sensing module 70 is provided in the module mounting portion 210 will be described.

The module mounting part 210 may include a linear section 211 in a cross section perpendicular to a rotation axis of the inner tub 30 in order to be formed at a position more inward in a radius direction than an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 having a reference radius. As an example, in the cross section (a-a' section in fig. 15) to the cylindrical outer barrel 20 and the cylindrical inner barrel 30, the outer barrel and the inner barrel have a circular cross section. Substantially, the circular cross section of the outer tub has the same radius on the whole circumference. Likewise, the circular cross-section of the inner barrel has the same radius throughout the circumference. Therefore, the straight section 211 may be considered as forming a portion of the circular section of the tub as a straight section. Therefore, the straight section may be considered as a portion corresponding to a zero gradient in the mold forming the outer tub. Such a straight line section or zero gradient may be considered to be formed in order to further reduce the interval between the coil and the inner tub.

Generally, the inner tub 30 may be formed in a cylindrical shape in order to require a minimum volume and secure a maximum receiving space when rotating. At this time, when the outer tub 20 also has a cylindrical shape, an interval between the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 and the inner tub 30 will be constantly formed.

However, the module mounting part 210 may include a straight section 211, and a distance between such a straight section 211 and the center of the tub may be smaller than the radius of the tub. Of course, the distance between such a straight section and the tub center may be changed within a range smaller than the interval between the outer circumferential surface of the tub 20 having the reference radius and the inner tub 30.

The module mounting portion 210 includes a rectangular surface, and the linear section 211 may form a circumferential width of the rectangular surface. However, the shape of the module mounting portion 210 is not limited to a rectangle. According to circumstances, it may include a shape of a circle, a diamond, an inclined quadrangle, and the like.

However, when the module mounting part 210 is formed in a rectangular surface, the shape of the sensing module 70 provided on the module mounting part can be easily manufactured and mounted.

In this case, the width of the rectangular surface in the axial direction is preferably formed to be longer than the width in the circumferential direction. The circumferential width is inevitably limited in consideration of the interval with the inner tub 30. Therefore, it is preferable to increase the axial width to widen the area where the sensing module 70 can be mounted.

The linear section of the module mounting part 210, i.e., the linear section formed along the circumferential direction of the tub, may include a connection section 212 connected at both ends with the circumference of the tub 20. In this case, the connection section 212 may form a curvature or a straight line. In this case, the connection section 212 is also formed at a position radially inward of the outer peripheral surface of the outer tub 20 having the reference radius, thereby reducing the distance from the outer peripheral surface of the inner tub 30.

The length of the linear section 211 may be defined in consideration of the interval from the inner tub 30, and the circumferential width of the sensing module 70 may be deviated from the linear section 211.

Accordingly, the connection sections 212 connected to the circumference of the outer tub 20 are formed at both ends of the linear section 211, so that the area of the module mounting part 210 can be increased and the interval with the inner tub 30 can be reduced.

The coil 71 of the induction module 70 is disposed in parallel with the module mounting part 210, so that the distance from the inner tub 30 can be minimized. Specifically, the induction module 70 includes a coil 71 receiving power supply and forming a magnetic field, and the coil 71 forms a predetermined interval with the module mounting part 210 and may be arranged to be wound at least one turn. This can reduce the distance between the coil 71 forming the magnetic field and the inner tub 30 through which the induced current flows.

The sensing module 70 may be located at a central portion of the straight section 211. Specifically, the center portion of the coil 71 of the sensing module 70 may be located on a virtual plane including the rotation axis of the inner tub 30 and perpendicular to the straight section 211.

That is, the coil 71 of the induction module 70 is disposed at the module mounting part 210 so as to be closest to the inner tub 30 at the center of the coil 71 and to be further apart from the inner tub 30 toward both ends.

Specifically, the distance between the inner tub 30 and the center of the linear section 211 is minimized, and the distance between the inner tub 30 and the center of the linear section 211 is increased toward both sides of the linear section 211. In this case, the magnetic field generated by the coil 71 wound in the circumferential direction of the outer tub 20 generates a strong induction current to the inner tub 30.

When the entire module mounting portion 210 has the same curved surface shape as the outer tub, the distance between the coil and the inner tub is substantially 30mm and constant in the circumferential direction. As an example, the connection section 212 shown in fig. 16 is a curved section similar to the curved surface of the outer tub. Therefore, in the curved section, the distance between the coil and the outer peripheral surface of the inner barrel is substantially 30mm and constant.

However, in the straight section 211, the distance between the coil and the outer circumferential surface of the inner barrel varies from approximately 24mm to 30 mm. For example, the distance between the coil and the outer peripheral surface of the inner barrel is approximately 24mm at the center of the linear section, and approximately 28mm at both ends of the linear section. Therefore, it is possible to determine that the distance from the outer circumferential surface of the inner barrel is reduced at a large portion in substantially the entire area of the coil.

In the illustrated embodiment, the linear section 211 may be formed at the center of the module mounting part 210. This allows the coils to be more concentrated in the portion corresponding to the straight section 211.

An embodiment of the module mounting portion 210 on which the sensor module 70 is mounted will be described below with reference to fig. 17 and 18. A structure in which the sensor module 70 is provided in the module mounting portion 210 will be described.

The module mounting part 210 may include a first straight section 211a and a second straight section 211b in a cross section perpendicular to the rotation axis of the inner tub 30 so as to be formed at a position more inward in the radial direction than the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 having a reference radius. Wherein the first and second linear sections may be located more inward than a reference radius of the tub. Wherein both the first and second linear intervals may also be considered zero gradients.

At this time, the first straight section 211a and the second straight section 211b may be connected by the connection section 212. The connection section 212 may form a curvature or form a straight line.

The first and second

linear sections

211a and 211b may have a circumferential width of a rectangular surface included in the module mounting portion 210. In this case, the rectangular surface is not limited to the rectangular shape, and the sensing module 70 can be easily formed and installed.

That is, the module mounting portion 210 may be formed to connect at least two surfaces in the longitudinal direction. In other words, the two straight line sections on both sides may be connected by the central curved line section. The module mounting portion 210 may be formed using a combination of such straight line sections and curved line sections.

The straight section 211 may be formed to a predetermined length or more in consideration of an interval between the inner tub 30 and the outer tub 20. Thus, by including the first and second

linear sections

211a and 211b, the module mounting part 210 can have a wide area in the circumferential direction without contacting the inner tub 30.

Of course, both ends of the linear section 211 or one side end of the linear section 211 may be disposed outside the reference radius of the tub. In this case, the section disposed outside the reference radius of the tub may be regarded as a section expanding in the radial direction of the tub. However, such an expanded section may be only a portion of the base housing 74 for mounting the induction module. That is, the coil may not be located in the expanded section. This is because the coil 71 is surrounded by the edge of the base housing 74 because the coil 71 is located inside the base housing 74. In other words, a spacing interval is provided between the coil 71 and the outermost profile of the base housing 74, and such a spacing interval may be opposed to the expanded section.

The lengths of the first and second

linear sections

211a and 211b are preferably kept uniform. The length of the straight section 211 indicates the interval from the inner tub 30, and the shorter the length, the farther the interval from the inner tub 30. That is, both are preferably formed in a symmetrical manner. Thus, the sensing module can be easily formed, and the sensing module can be firmly fixed to the module mounting portion.

The sensing module 70 may be disposed on the module mounting part 210 in the range of the first and second

linear sections

211a and 211 b. Specifically, both ends of the sensing module 70 in the circumferential direction are located at the center of the first and second

linear sections

211a and 211b, and the center of the sensing module 70 is located at a section where the first and second

linear sections

211a and 211b are connected.

At this time, the coil 71 of the induction module 70 may be wound in a reciprocating manner from the front to the rear of the tub 20 around the connection section 212. At this time, when the coil 71 is wound in parallel with the module mounting portion 71, the sensing module is positioned closest to the inner tub 30 at both ends in the circumferential direction of the outer tub and is spread out with an interval from the inner tub 30 toward the center portion.

In this case, the magnetic field generated by the coil 71 wound in the axial direction of the outer tub 20 generates a strong induction current to the inner tub 30.

When the entire module mounting portion 210 has the same curved surface shape as the outer tub, the distance between the coil and the inner tub is substantially 30mm and constant in the circumferential direction. As an example, the connection section 212 shown in fig. 18 is a curved section similar to the curved surface of the outer tub. Thus, in the curved section, the distance between the coil and the outer peripheral surface of the inner barrel is substantially 30mm and constant.

However, in the first straight section 211a, the distance between the coil and the outer circumferential surface of the inner barrel may become approximately 24 to 30 mm. For example, the distance between the coil and the outer peripheral surface of the inner barrel is approximately 24mm at the center of the straight section, and approximately 26mm at both ends of the straight section. Therefore, it is possible to determine that the distance from the outer circumferential surface of the inner barrel is reduced at a large portion in substantially the entire area of the coil.

Therefore, in the foregoing embodiment, by forming the module mounting part 210 to have a linear section along the circumferential direction of the outer tub, the interval between the coil and the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub is reduced to increase efficiency. In particular, such a straight section can be adapted to the shape of the base housing forming the coil. The combination of the straight line section and the curved line section can more firmly combine the straight line section and the curved line section.

In the foregoing embodiments, it has been described that the coil is preferably in a form in which a central portion thereof is left vacant. In particular, as can be seen from fig. 12a and 12b, the central portion of the coil is formed in a vacant track shape. Such a free portion may correspond to a curved section, i.e., the connection section 212 in fig. 18. Thus, the portion where the coil is formed can correspond to most of the linear sections. Therefore, it is more preferable that a straight section is formed at the left and right portions of the module mounting part 210, and a curved section is formed between the straight section and the straight section, i.e., at the left and right centers of the module mounting part.

Hereinafter, the structure of the sensing module 70, particularly, an embodiment related to the structure and position of the fastening portion 734 of the base housing 74 will be described in detail with reference to fig. 19.

As previously described, the sensing module 70 is preferably formed long in the axial direction of the inner tub 30. The linear section 211 in which the module mounting part 210 of the sensing module 70 is provided has a limitation in increasing the length thereof, and thus, the inner tub 30 can be uniformly heated with a minimum area in consideration of the rotation direction of the inner tub 30.

At this time, the axial length of the coil 71 is preferably about 20mm to 40mm shorter than the length of the inner tub 30 that can be heated. Specifically, the coil 71 may be formed to be spaced apart from the inner tub portion capable of heating by about 10 to 20mm in the front-rear direction.

The base casing 74 may be fastened to the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 or the module mounting part 210 by coupling parts 743 protruding from both circumferential ends in the circumferential direction. In this case, the coupling portions 743 may be provided at both circumferential ends of the front and rear sides of the base housing 74.

The foregoing embodiment shows the case where the coupling portions 743 are located at the front and rear of the base housing 74. The position of the coupling portion 743 in such a configuration can effectively prevent the base casing 74 from moving in the front-rear direction of the tub. However, in this case, the base casing 74 cannot be effectively prevented from moving in the circumferential direction of the outer tub.

For this reason, in the present embodiment, an example is shown in which the coupling portions 743 are projected in the circumferential direction on both sides of the base housing. That is, it can be considered as an example that the length of the outer peripheral surface of the outer tub surrounded by the base casing 74 is further increased by the coupling portion 743. As described above, the base housing 74 and the module mounting portion 210 may be formed in a combination of a linear section and a curved section along the circumferential direction on the outer circumferential surface of the tub. Therefore, the base of the base housing 74 does not need to be expanded in the circumferential direction, and the base housing 74 can be more firmly coupled and fixed only by the expanding and coupling portions 743. In other words, by forming the coupling portions at the front end and the rear end of the both side portions of the base housing, it is possible to realize a more firm fixed coupling of the base housing than in the case where the coupling portions are formed at both the front and rear ends of the housing.

Further, by using the position of the coupling portion, the base case 74 can be formed to be as long as possible in the axial direction while a space in which the coils 71 can be arranged is secured inside the base case 74. Further, the distance between the inner tub 30 and the base casing 74 can be minimized by closely contacting the cylindrical outer tub 20.

The module mounting portion 210 corresponding to the coupling portion 743 is preferably a linear section. That is, the coupling portion and the module mounting portion are preferably formed such that the horizontal surface and the horizontal surface thereof are butted against each other. That is, the module mounting portion may be formed by additionally forming a linear section corresponding to the coupling portion 743 of the base housing, or by further extending a conventional linear section. Thus, the base housing can be more stably mounted on the module mounting part which is a part of the outer peripheral surface of the outer barrel.

Hereinafter, the structure of the connection part 25 of the outer tub 20 and the base casing 74 will be described with reference to fig. 20a and 20 b.

According to convenience in manufacturing and various functions, the outer tub 20 includes: a front outer tub 22 surrounding the front of the inner tub 30; a rear outer tub 21 surrounding the rear of the inner tub 30; and a connection part 25 connecting the front and rear

outer tubs

22 and 21 and formed along a circumferential direction of the outer tub 20. The sensing module 70 may be disposed within the front outer tub 22 and the rear outer tub 21. The connection portion 25 may be located at a center of the substantially entire outer tub 20 in a front-rear direction.

The connection portion 25 may be considered as a portion that can be maximally protruded in a radial direction from the outer circumferential surfaces of the front outer tub 22 and the rear outer tub 21. That is, the connection portion 25 is a portion where the front tub 22 and the rear tub 21 are coupled, and thus may be considered as a portion that is expanded outward in the radial direction to increase a coupling area. Further, such a connection portion 25 may be formed along the circumferential direction of the tub over the entire outer circumferential surface.

Therefore, in the case where the sensing module is mounted on the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub, interference between the sensing module and the connection part may occur. Also, if it is necessary to avoid such interference, the sensing module has to be disposed radially outside the connecting portion. Thereby, the spaced interval between the sensing module and the inner tub will be inevitably increased.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop a scheme for reducing the length of the induction module 70 spaced apart by the connection part 25, thereby increasing the induction heating efficiency.

The sensing module 70 includes: and reinforcing ribs 7412 protruding downward from the lower surface of the base casing 74 to compensate for the gap between the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 and the lower surface of the base casing 74, and the reinforcing ribs may be provided in front and rear of the connection part 25 protruding from the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub. That is, by forming the protruding length of the connection part 25 and the protruding length of the bead to be the same, the portion not meeting the connection part 25 can compensate for the interval with the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 by the bead. In this case, the ribs are formed in a radial direction at portions not meeting the connection portions 25, so that the strength of the base case 74 can be improved.

In other words, the connection portion 25 may contact the underside of the base 741 of the base housing 74. That is, the connecting portion 25 can be made to perform the same function as the reinforcing rib 7412. Accordingly, the base casing 74 can be more firmly coupled to the outer tub 20 by the connection portion 25.

The connection portion 25 may include a first coupling rib 211 and a second coupling rib 221. That is, both may be combined with each other to constitute the connection portion 25. The first coupling rib 211 may be formed at the front outer tub 22, in which case the second coupling rib 221 may be disposed at the rear outer tub 21. The configuration may be reversed. For convenience of description, the connection part 25 will be described by taking a case where the first coupling rib 211 is formed in the rear outer tub 21 and the second coupling rib 221 is formed in the front outer tub 22 as an example.

A portion of the connection portion 25 is located at a lower portion of the sensing module 70. That is, a portion corresponding to a predetermined angle among the connection portions formed along the circumferential direction of the outer tub is positioned at a lower portion of the sensing module. This portion may also be referred to as a module mounting portion.

The first coupling rib 211 may be bent to protrude outward in a radial direction from a vicinity of a distal end (front end) of the rear tub 21, thereby forming an insertion groove. The second coupling rib 221 may be formed to protrude outward in a radial direction from the vicinity of a rear end (rear end) of the front tub.

The first coupling rib 211 forms an insertion groove together with the end of the rear tub 21. The insertion groove can be inserted into the end of the front outer tub 22. Thereby, a sealing member such as a rubber packing may be inserted inside the insertion groove. Thereby, when the end of the front outer tub 22 is inserted into the insertion groove, the sealing member may be compressed to perform sealing.

As shown in fig. 20a, the end of the first coupling rib 211 may be bent outward in the radial direction. Further, the second coupling bead 221 may be protruded outward in a radial direction so as to be able to contact with the first coupling bead 211. With such shapes of the first bonding bead 211 and the second bonding bead 221, the bonding area on the connection portion 25 can be increased. That is, the coupling area can be increased by the radially expanded portion. However, in this case, the projection length of the connection portion will inevitably increase. Thereby, the spaced distance between the coil 71 and the inner barrel 20 will be inevitably increased.

Therefore, the base housing 74 is preferably formed with a through portion 7411 into which the connection portion 25 is inserted. That is, the coil can be brought closer to the outer peripheral surface of the outer tub by fixing the base case 74 by inserting the connection unit 25 into the through portion 7411. That is, the coil is substantially in contact with the radially outer surface of the connecting portion, so that the distance between the coil and the outer peripheral surface of the outer tub can be minimized.

In this case, the base housing base on the through portion may be omitted, and only the coil insertion groove is formed. Thus, a coil may be formed also in the through portion, the coil being in contact with the radially outer side surface of the connection portion. For this reason, the radially outer side surfaces of the first and

second coupling beads

211 and 221 are preferably formed to have the same radius.

The radially outer side surface and the radially outer side surface of the second coupling rib 221 may be formed to have the same radius. In addition, the radially expanding portion of the connecting portion in the foregoing embodiments may be omitted. Fig. 20b shows an example of a configuration in which the protruding height of the connecting portion 25 is reduced. In other words, an embodiment in which the radial bonding area on the connection portion 25 is reduced is shown. Such a connection part 25 is not formed entirely in the circumferential direction of the outer tub, but may be formed only at a connection part corresponding to the module mounting part. The connections on the other parts may be the same as in fig. 20 a.

As described above, the sensing module is preferably formed only in a partial section of the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub. That is, the circumferential length of the installation sensing module is relatively small on the entire circumferential length of the outer tub. Therefore, the radially expanded portion can be omitted from the connecting portion 25 located at the module mounting portion where the induction module is mounted. This allows the radially expanded portion to be omitted from the connecting portion 25 of this portion, and only a portion into which the rubber packing can be inserted can be provided.

In addition, the coupling force of the front and rear

outer tubs

22 and 21 may be formed by bolts or screws. That is, when the bolt or the screw is tightened in the front and rear direction of the tub at the connection part 25, the bolt or the screw can be closely coupled to each other. The fastening position of such a bolt or screw may be provided in plural along the circumferential direction of the outer tub. A structure for fastening a bolt or a screw may be referred to as an expansion connection portion 25a, and an example in which such an expansion connection portion 25a is formed in plural along a circumferential direction of the outer tub is shown in fig. 18.

Such fastening of bolts or screws may be omitted at the connecting portion 25 at the module mounting portion, and a structure for such fastening may also be omitted. This is because, by the structure for such fastening, the connecting portion 25 inevitably expands more in the radial direction. Therefore, on the connection part 25 corresponding to the module mounting part, a structure for generating a coupling force of the front and rear outer tubs is preferably omitted.

As shown in fig. 18, the expansion joint portions 25a are omitted from the module mounting portion, and the angle α between the expansion joint portions 25a located on both sides of the module mounting portion is approximately 50 degrees. This is to avoid interference of the module mounting portion and the expansion connecting portion 25a, and, as described above, is to ensure a straight section for mounting the module mounting portion. Therefore, the angle between the expansion connecting portions on both sides of the module mounting portion may be substantially 40 degrees front-rear angle instead of 50 degrees.

However, the angle between the expansion joints is further increased, which is not preferable in terms of bonding strength. In addition, there is a limit in further expanding the left and right width of the induction module by the angle between the expansion connection parts. For the convenience and stability of installation of the induction module itself, and for avoiding interference with the expansion connection part, expansion of the left and right width of the induction module will be inevitably limited.

In addition, the upper part of the tub is lower in the safety factor of combination than the lower part of the tub in terms of the characteristics of the tub for storing washing water and the load. Therefore, the structure of the connection part 25 can sufficiently secure reliability in consideration of the circumferential direction width of the sensing module and the circumferential length of the tub, and in consideration of the case where the sensing module is located at the upper side of the tub.

Similarly, in the present embodiment, a through portion may be formed in base housing 74, and the connection portion may be inserted into the through portion. In the present embodiment, the interval between the sensing module and the inner tub can be more reduced than the aforementioned embodiments.

In the above-described embodiment, the shape of the module mounting part, the structure of the connection part at the module mounting part, and the connection structure with the base case can significantly reduce the interval between the coil and the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub, thereby having very high efficiency.

In the laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the inner tub can be heated to 120 ℃ or more in a very fast time by the driving of the sensing module 70. If the sensing module 70 is driven in a state where the inner tub is stopped or in a state of a very slow rotation speed, a certain portion of the inner tub may be overheated very quickly. This is because heat transfer from the heated inner tub to the laundry is not sufficiently performed.

Therefore, the correlation between the rotation speed of the inner tub and the driving of the sensing module 70 is particularly important. In addition, it is more preferable to rotate the inner tub and then drive the sensing module, compared to the case of rotating the inner tub after driving the sensing module.

As shown in fig. 1a and 1b, the lifter 50 is installed to extend in the front-rear direction at the front-rear center of the inner tub. In addition, the lift 50 may be provided in plurality along the circumferential direction of the inner tub. As shown, the position of the lifting member 50 is similar to the installation position of the sensing module 70. That is, a greater part of the lifter 50 may be disposed to face the sensing module 70. Accordingly, the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub provided with the lifters 50 may be heated by the induction module 70. The outer circumferential surface of the inner tub provided with such lifters 50 is not a portion directly contacting with the laundry inside the inner tub. That is, since the lifters 50 are in contact with the laundry, heat generated from the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub is transferred to the lifters 50 instead of being transferred to the laundry. Therefore, a problem that the lifter 50 is overheated may be caused. Specifically, the circumferential surface of the inner tub contacting the lifter 50 may be overheated.

Fig. 21 illustrates a state in which the lifters 50 are mounted to the general inner tub 30. Only the center of the inner tub is illustrated, and the front and rear portions of the inner tub 30 are omitted. This is because the lifter 50 can be installed only at the center of the inner tub in general.

A plurality of lifters 50 are installed along a circumferential direction of the inner tub, and one example of three lifters is shown in the drawings.

The circumferential surface of the inner tub may be composed of a lifter installation part 323 to which a lifter is installed and a lifter exclusion part 322 to which no lifter is installed. The cylindrical inner barrel 30 may be formed by winding a metal plate in a circular manner and by a joining portion 326 (weaving). The joint 326 may represent a portion where both ends of the metal plate material are connected by welding or the like.

Various embossing patterns (embossing patterns) may be formed on the circumferential surface of the inner tub, and a plurality of through holes 324 and lifter communication holes 325 may be formed for mounting lifters. That is, various embossing patterns may be formed in the lifter excluding portion 322, and a plurality of through holes and lifter communication holes may be formed in the lifter mounting portion 323.

The lifter installation part 323 is a part of the circumferential surface of the inner tub. Therefore, only a minimum of holes for installing the lifters and passing the washing water are generally formed. This is because the more holes formed by perforation (piercing) or the like, the more the unnecessary manufacturing cost may be raised.

Therefore, a plurality of through holes 24 may be formed in the lifter mounting part 323 corresponding to the outer shape of the mounted lifter 50, and the lifter 50 may be coupled to the inner circumferential surface of the inner tub through the through holes 24. And, a plurality of lifter communication holes 325 may be formed at a central portion of the lifter mounting portion 323 to enable the washing water to move from the outside of the inner tub to the inside of the lifter.

However, the lifter mounting portion 323 is generally formed with only the

necessary holes

324 and 325, and the original structure is maintained in a large portion of the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub. That is, of the total area of the poppet mounting portion 323, the total area formed by the

holes

324, 325 is relatively small. Therefore, in the lifter installation part 323, a large area other than the area of the hole may directly face the sensing module 70. That is, the lifter mounting portion 23 itself may be heated by the induction module 70.

The lifter 50 is mounted at the lifter mounting portion 323 to be protruded to the inside in the radius direction of the inner tub 30. Thereby, the lifter installation part 23 itself does not contact with the laundry inside the inner tub. Only, the lifter itself will be in contact with the inner tub.

Generally, the lifting member 50 is formed of a plastic material. Since the lifter 50 made of plastic is in direct contact with the lifter mounting portion 323, heat generated from the lifter mounting portion 323 can be directly transferred to the lifter 50. On the other hand, since the lifter 50 is made of plastic, the heat transferred to the laundry contacting therewith will be small. This is because the plastic material of the poppet 50 itself has very low thermal conductivity characteristics. Therefore, only a portion of the lifter in contact with the lifter mounting portion is exposed to a high temperature, and such heat will not be transmitted to the lifter as a whole.

According to the experimental results of the inventors, the temperature on the lifter mounting portion may be raised to 160 degrees celsius, and on the other hand, the temperature on the portion where the lifter is not mounted may be raised to 140 degrees celsius. This may be considered that the heat generated from the lifter installation part cannot be transferred to the laundry.

Therefore, the lift 50 may be overheated, and thus may cause a problem in that the lift is damaged. In addition, since heat generated from the lifter installation part 323 cannot be transferred to the laundry, energy is wasted and efficiency may be reduced. An embodiment of the present invention is directed to solving such a problem.

Fig. 22 illustrates the inner tub and the lifter according to an embodiment of the present invention. The manufacturing method or shape of the inner barrel can be the same as or similar to that of the common inner barrel shown in figure 21. However, the lifter mounting portion 323 may become different.

As shown, the lifter escape portion 322 may be the same as that of a general inner tub. However, unlike the lifter excluding portion 322, the circumferential surface of the inner tub may be excluded or omitted in the lifter mounting portion 323. That is, an area of the circumferential surface of the inner tub having a size similar to that of the lifter may be omitted or excluded. A relatively larger area of the portion may be omitted than that based on the aforementioned omitted area of the hole for installing the lift or passing the washing water.

Specifically, a recess 325 may be formed at a central portion of the lifter mounting part 323. The recess 325 may be formed in a shape in which a portion of the circumferential surface of the inner barrel is cut, and may be formed in a shape in which a portion of the circumferential surface of the inner barrel is recessed toward the center of the inner barrel. An embodiment of the former is shown in fig. 22, and an embodiment of the latter is shown in fig. 25.

The lifter mounting portion 323 may have a plurality of through

holes

324 and 326 corresponding to the shape of the lifter 50 to be mounted. The through

holes

324 and 326 may be formed in plural numbers along the outer contour (frame) of the lifter corresponding to the outer contour of the lifter 50. For example, when the lifter has a rail shape, a plurality of through holes may be formed along the outer contour of the rail. Of course, such a through hole may be formed by drilling a hole in a part of the circumferential surface of the inner barrel.

A circumferential surface portion of the inner tub may be omitted at a central portion of the lifter mounting part 323. That is, an area facing the sensing module 70 may be omitted. That is, the entire portion surrounded by the through

holes

324 and 326 may be cut to form the recessed portion 325 in a cut form.

The recess 325 is formed corresponding to the inner side of the lifter and is blocked by the lifter. Thus, the cut-out recessed portion cannot be seen from the inner barrel. Further, a central portion of the lift mounted to the lift mounting part 323 can be observed outside the inner tub.

By such lifter installation part 323, an area of the inner tub circumferential surface facing the induction module 70 can be substantially entirely excluded from the portion where the lifter is installed. Thus, the amount of heat generated from the lifter mounting portion 323 will be very small. This means that a normal plastic form of the lift can be used equally well. This is because the lifter is not overheated by the heat transferred to the lifter since the heat generated from the lifter mounting portion as a whole is very small.

However, in the case of using a general plastic lifter, a local heating may be generated at a portion where the lifter and the lifter mounting portion are combined, which may cause a local damage of the lifter. In addition, although the heat generated when the area corresponding to the lifter mounting portion 323 faces the sensing module is minimized, the sensing module is driven at this time. Thus, energy losses will likely occur since a large part of the used energy is not converted into heat energy.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop a solution that simultaneously satisfies the prevention of the overheating of the lifter and the minimization of the energy loss generated in the lifter installation portion.

A provider who provides the laundry treating apparatus can provide not only a specific type of laundry treating apparatus but also various types of laundry treating apparatuses. As an example, a washing machine having no drying function and a washing machine having a drying function may be provided at the same time. Thus, it would be very economical to use common components in the same configuration to produce models of the same capacity.

For example, in the case of a washing machine having the same capacity (washing process capacity) or a dryer having a washing function at the same time, it is more economical from the manufacturer's point of view to use the same inner tub and the same lifter in common for various models. This facilitates the use of the previously used inner tub and lifter for a new model without modification in terms of product competitiveness. This is because, when mass production is assumed, if a conventional component is changed, initial investment cost, inventory management cost, or production cost may be increased.

Therefore, it is preferable to controllably prevent the lifter from being overheated without changing the structure or material of the inner tub or the lifter.

FIG. 22 is a schematic conceptual diagram of the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in fig. 22, the inner tub 30 is heated by the induction module 70 in the same manner in this embodiment. In addition, a lifter 50 is also installed inside the inner tub 30 in the same manner. Also, as in the previous embodiment or similar thereto, the sensing module 70 is installed at the outer side in the radial direction of the inner tub, more specifically, at the outer circumferential surface of the outer tub 20.

The present embodiment is characterized in that the magnitude of the current applied to the sensing module 70 or the magnitude of the output is changed by confirming the rotation angle of the inner tub. Specifically, since the inner tub may be formed in a cylindrical shape, a rotation angle of the inner tub may be defined as 0 to 360 degrees with reference to a specific point.

For example, the rotation angle of the inner tub of which the specific lifter is located at the uppermost a-site may be defined as 0 degree. In the case where the inner tub rotates in the counterclockwise direction and the three lifters are provided at the same interval in the circumferential direction of the inner tub, it can be considered that the lifters are respectively located at a position where the rotation angle of the inner tub is 0 degrees, a position where the rotation angle of the inner tub is 120 degrees, and a position where the rotation angle of the inner tub is 240 degrees. Considering the left and right width of the lifter, the lifter may be considered to be located in an angular range of approximately 2-10 degrees.

According to the present embodiment, the heating amount of the inner tub based on the sensing module can be changed by confirming the position of the lifter 50 when the inner tub is rotated. That is, when the lifter 50 is located at a position facing the sensing module 70, the heating amount of the inner tub by the sensing module is reduced or eliminated, and when the lifter escapes from the facing position, the heating amount of the inner tub can be normally exerted. Such a change in heating amount of the inner tub may be achieved by an output change of the sensing module.

Therefore, energy consumption of the induction module is always kept regardless of the rotation angle of the inner barrel, and energy efficiency can be improved. Also, since the consumed energy can be remarkably reduced at the portion of the inner tub corresponding to the lifter 50, the situation that the lifter 50 is partially overheated can be remarkably reduced.

Fig. 22 shows the permanent magnets 80a provided in the same manner as the lifters 50 provided at the same intervals in the circumferential direction of the inner tub. The magnet 80a may be configured to effectively confirm a rotation angle of the inner tub. Like the lifter 50, the magnets 80a may be arranged at the same intervals in the circumferential direction. Further, it may be configured to have the same number as the lifters. Of course, the angle between the lifter and the magnet may be the same between the plurality of lifters and the plurality of magnets.

Thus, when the position of the specific magnet is detected, the position of the lifter associated with the specific magnet can be detected. Specifically, when the positions of the three magnets are detected, the positions of the three lifters can be detected. As shown in fig. 22, when the magnet is detected at a specific position when the inner tub rotates, it is confirmed that the lifter is located at a position where the inner tub rotates counterclockwise by about 60 degrees.

Specifically, the present embodiment may further include: the sensor 85 detects the position of the magnet 80a according to the rotation of the inner tub, thereby detecting the position of the lifter 50. The sensor may detect at which angle position of the rotation angles of the inner tub the magnet is located, and may detect the position of the lifter through the position of the magnet.

Of course, the sensor 85 may detect the magnet and simply detect whether the magnet is detected or not. The rotation speed of the inner tub 30 may be constant at a certain time, and thus, when a certain time elapses from the moment when the magnet is detected, it may be determined that the lifter 50 reaches the position facing the sensing module 70.

To easily explain this, assuming that the inner tub rotates at 1RPM as a premise, the inner tub can rotate 360 degrees within 60 seconds. When the three magnets and the three lifters are arranged at the same angle, the lifter reaches a position facing the sensor 10 seconds after the inner tub is rotated by 60 degrees again at the time when the sensor 85 detects the specific magnet 80.

As shown in fig. 22, when the sensor 85 detects the magnet located at the lowermost portion of the inner tub 30, it can be determined that a specific lifter is located at a position opposite to the sensing module 70. Therefore, when the lifting member is located at a position opposite to the sensing module 70, the heating amount of the inner barrel based on the sensing module 70 is reduced, and when the lifting member escapes from the opposite position, the heating amount of the inner barrel can be increased. As an example, the output of the sensing module may be turned off or normally maintained.

Unlike the case shown in fig. 22, the magnet 80 may be disposed at the same position as the lifter 50. In this case, the magnet position detection may be the same as the lifter position detection. However, in this case, a pre-made sense module drive would likely not be easily achieved. Although the output of the sensing module can be changed in a short time, it is not easy to change the output of the sensing module while detecting the magnet. This is because the angle occupied by the lifter 50 will likely be greater than the angle occupied by the magnets. That is, although the position of the magnet may be defined as a specific angle, the angle of the lifter may be defined as a specific angle range rather than a specific angle.

Therefore, in order to achieve more accurate output change of the sensing module, it is preferable that the position of the magnet and the position of the lift member are spaced in the circumferential direction and have a prescribed angle, in consideration of the time interval for changing the output and the angle interval occupied by the lift member. In other words, it is preferable to allow a delay time of a prescribed time at the magnet detection timing to estimate the lifter position, thereby variably controlling the output of the sensing module. It is preferable to make the allowable delay time different according to the inner tub RPM.

The magnet 80a needs to rotate together with the inner tub. Therefore, the magnet 80a is preferably provided to the inner tub. Further, a sensor 85 for detecting the magnet 80a is preferably provided to the outer tub 20. That is, the magnet 80a is preferably rotated with respect to the fixed sensor 85 in the same manner as the inner tub 30 is rotated with respect to the fixed outer tub 20.

Fig. 23 shows a control structure for confirming the position of the lifter by detecting the position of the magnet 80 a.

The main control part 100 or the main processor of the laundry treating apparatus controls various driving of the laundry treating apparatus. For example, whether the inner tub 30 is driven or not and the rotation speed of the inner tub are controlled. Further, a module control part 200 may be provided to control the output of the sensing module 70 based on the control of the main control part 100. The module control part may be referred to as an Induction Heater (IH) control part, an Induction System (IS) control part, a Heating System (HS) control part, or a module processor.

The module control part 200 may control a current applied to the induction driving part or control an output of the induction module. For example, when the main control unit 100 instructs the module control unit 200 to operate the sensing module, the module control unit 200 may control the sensing module to operate. In the case where the sensing module simply repeats the opening/closing operation, it is possible to dispense with the provision of the additional module control part 20. For example, the sensing module may be controlled to be turned on when the inner tub is driven, and to be turned off when the inner tub is not driven.

However, in the present embodiment, the opening/closing of the sensing module may be repeatedly controlled during the driving of the inner tub. That is, the timing of such control change can be changed very quickly. Therefore, it is preferable to additionally provide a module control part 200 for controlling the driving of the sensing module with the main control part 100. This is also a measure for reducing the processing load of the main control section 100 to an excessive level.

The sensor 85 may be provided in various forms as long as it can detect the magnet 80a and transmit the detection result to the module control unit 200.

The sensor 85 may be configured in a reed switch (reed switch) mode. The reed switch is in a switch form, and may be a sensor in which the switch is turned on when receiving a magnetic force based on a magnet and is turned off when escaping from the magnetic force. That is, when the magnet is located as close as possible to the reed switch, the reed switch is turned on by the magnetic force of the magnet, and when the magnet escapes from the reed switch, the reed switch is turned off. The turning on and off of the reed switch will output signals or flags different from each other. For example, a 5V signal may be generated when the reed switch is turned on, and a 0V signal may be generated when the reed switch is turned off. Such a signal may be received from the module control 200 and the position of the lifter 50 may be estimated. Conversely, it is also possible to output a signal of 0V when the reed switch is turned on and a signal of 5V when it is turned off. Since the section in which the magnetic force is detected is necessarily larger than the section in which the magnetic force is not detected, it is preferable to output a signal of 0V when the magnetic force is detected.

The module control part 200 may know current inner tub RPM information through the main control part 100. In addition, the relative angle between the lifter and the magnet can be known. Thus, the module control part 200 can estimate the position of the lifter based on the signal of the reed switch. Of course, the module control unit 200 may change the output of the sensing module 70 based on the estimated position of the lifter. The module control part 200 may make the output of the sensing module reach 0 or decrease at a position where the lifter 50 faces the sensing module 70. Thereby, unnecessary energy consumption can be significantly reduced at the lifter 50 portion. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a situation in which the lifter 50 is partially overheated.

The sensor 85 may be in the form of a hall sensor. The hall sensor preferably detects the magnet 80a and outputs flags (flags) different from each other. For example, when the magnet 80a is detected, a 0 flag may be output, and when the magnet is not detected, a 1 flag may be output.

In any case, the module control part 200 may estimate the position of the lifter based on the signal of the detection magnet. In addition, the output of the sensing module can be variably controlled according to the estimated position of the lifting member.

In addition, the magnets may be used differently from the number of lifters. This is because, since the lifters can be arranged with the same interval from each other, when the position of a specific lifter is detected, the positions of the other lifters can be estimated very accurately. That is, two of the three magnets may be omitted, unlike the illustration of fig. 22. A block diagram associated with such an embodiment is shown in fig. 24.

Generally, the main control part 100 of the washing machine has already known the rotation angle of the inner tub and/or the rotation angle of the motor 41. That is, when it is assumed that the motor 41 is integrally rotated with the inner tub and the rotation angle of the motor 41 is the same as that of the inner tub, the three lifter positions can be confirmed by confirming the position of one magnet.

As an example, the inner tub is rotated at 1RPM, and the lifter may be located at a position rotated 60 degrees with respect to one magnet. When the sensor 85 detects the magnet 80a, it can be determined that the specific lifter is located at the 60-degree rotation position (i.e., after 10 seconds). Similarly, it is possible to determine the position of the second lift at the point of 20 seconds after the lapse of the second, and the position of the third lift at the point of 20 seconds after the lapse of the second.

That is, the main control unit 100 can confirm the three lifter positions from the information on one magnet detected by the sensor 85. Accordingly, the main control part 100 may make the module control part 200 variably control the output of the sensing module 70 based on such a lifter position.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the output of the sensing module may be controlled to be reduced or 0 at the time when the lifter is opposite to the sensing module or at the rotation angle interval of the inner tub, and the output of the sensing module may be normally maintained when the lifter escapes from the opposite time or the opposite interval.

Therefore, unnecessary waste of energy and overheating of the lifter portion can be prevented. Of course, it is very economical to use without modification of the inner tub and the lifters used in the prior art.

In addition, in the embodiment illustrated by fig. 22 to 24, an additional sensor and an additional magnet must be provided in order to confirm the position of the lift. Of course, the position of the lifter may be confirmed by a sensor having a different form from the sensor. However, an additional sensor for the purpose of confirming the position of the lift member would have to be provided.

It may be complicated to manufacture and increase costs due to the need to add an additional sensor for confirming the position of the lifter. This is because a sensor or a magnet, which is not required in the related art laundry treating apparatus, needs to be additionally provided. Of course, in order to mount such a structure, the shape or structure of the outer tub or the inner tub may need to be changed.

Hereinafter, embodiments that can achieve the aforementioned object without providing an additional sensor or magnet will be described in detail.

Fig. 25 shows a part of the inner barrel being spread out. As shown in the drawing, various embossing patterns 90 may be formed on the inner circumferential surface of the inner tub. Such embossing may be formed in various forms, for example, a male-engraved form protruding toward the inside of the inner tub, or a female-engraved form protruding toward the outside of the inner tub, or the like. The pattern of the embossing can be varied. However, the embossed pattern may be generally uniformly and repeatedly presented in the circumferential direction of the inner barrel.

Like such embossing, a through hole is generally formed through the inner and outer portions of the inner tub. This is to make the washing water go in and out of the inner tub.

However, such an embossing pattern 90 is preferably omitted at a portion where the lifters are installed in the circumferential direction of the inner tub. That is, this is because the lifter needs to be easily mounted while maintaining a constant radius of the inner circumferential surface of the inner tub. Therefore, the radius of the inner circumferential surface of the inner tub at the portion where the lifter is not mounted is largely changed.

More portions of the embossments are formed to protrude toward the inside of the inner tub. I.e. its projected area is relatively large. This is because the embossing needs to be protruded into the inner tub to increase the area of the inner circumferential surface of the inner tub based on the embossing, thereby further increasing the friction area between the laundry and the inner circumferential surface of the inner tub.

When the inner tub having no embossing and the same radius is assumed, the inner tub always has the same area and the same separation distance regardless of the rotation angle and faces the sensing module 70.

However, such an embossing pattern may be considered as a structure necessary for improving washing efficiency or drying efficiency. Therefore, the facing area and the facing distance corresponding to the sensing module will inevitably vary according to the rotation angle of the inner tub by the embossing pattern. This is because the facing area and the facing distance of the inner tub inevitably vary according to the rotation angle of the inner tub due to the presence or absence of the embossing pattern or the variation of the embossing pattern as described above. That is, the shape of the inner tub facing the sensing module will inevitably be changed.

Fig. 26 illustrates a change in current and output in the sensing module 70 corresponding to a rotation angle of the inner tub.

That is, it is known that the current and output in the sensing module vary according to the rotation angle of the inner tub. In other words, it can be determined that the current and output are significantly reduced at a particular time or at a particular angle.

By the change of the current or the output detected by the sensing module, the position of the lifting piece can be estimated without arranging an additional sensor. As an example, during the time when the output of the sensing module is maintained, the current or output in the sensing module may change as the inner tub rotates.

In a state of being controlled to have the same current or output through feedback control, when the lifter portion corresponds to the sensing module, the current or output is reduced. This is because this may be a position where the area and distance of the facing surface become the shortest. Therefore, the position of the lifter mounting portion may be estimated by a change in current or output (power) in the sensing module corresponding to a change in the rotation angle of the inner tub.

When the position of such lifter installation portion is estimated, it is possible to control the output of the sensing module at the lifter installation position to 0 or to significantly reduce the output (power).

According to FIG. 26, it can be estimated that the lifting member is located in the approximately 50-70 degree interval, the approximately 170-190 degree interval and the approximately 290-310 degree interval based on 360 degrees. For example, during the driving of the sensing module and one rotation of the inner tub, it can be estimated that the lifting member is located in three angular intervals. Of course, in order to confirm the position of the lifter more accurately, the same procedure may be repeated a plurality of times to correct the position of the lifter and estimate it.

Further, when the estimation of the position of the lifter is determined, it may be controlled from the subsequent rotation of the inner tub to change the output of the sensing module based on the position of the lifter.

By using the embodiment described with reference to fig. 22 to 26, it is possible to improve efficiency and prevent overheating of the lifters without making any special change to the inner tub and the lifters.

Hereinafter, a control method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

First, if necessary, the driving of the sensing module 70 is started (step S50) to heat the inner tub. Such inner tub heating may be performed for drying laundry inside the inner tub or heating wash water inside the outer tub. Accordingly, such a sensing module 70 may be driven at the time of a drying stroke or a washing stroke. In addition, the sensing module 70 may be driven during the dehydration stroke. In this case, since the inner tub rotates at a very fast speed, the heating amount of the inner tub will likely be relatively small. However, since the moisture removal by the centrifugal force and the moisture evaporation by heating are performed in combination, the dehydration effect can be more improved.

When the sensing block 70 starts driving, it is determined whether an end condition is satisfied (step S51), and when the end condition is satisfied, the driving of the sensing block 70 may be ended (step S56). The end condition may be the end of the washing stroke or the end of the drying stroke. However, such driving end (step S56) may be a temporary end within one washing stroke or drying stroke instead of a final end. Therefore, the opening/closing of the sensing module can be repeated.

Once the sensing module 70 starts driving, the sensing module 70 is preferably controlled to normally output until driving is finished (step S56). That is, it is controlled to have a preset output, and feedback control is possible for more accurate output control. Therefore, the driving step of the sensing module 70 may include a step in which the module control part controls the sensing module to normally perform an output.

In order to solve the overheating problem of the lifter portion, the step S53 of detecting the position of the lifter corresponding to the rotation of the inner tub is preferably performed. That is, the step of determining whether the lifter is located at a position facing the sensing module (a position facing the sensing module at the closest position) may be performed. Such position detection of the lift may be continuously performed during driving of the inner tub. Of course, the sensing module may not be driven all the time during the driving of the inner tub. For example, the inner tub may be driven but the sensing module may not be driven during the rinsing stroke. In addition, in a washing process that continues after the heating of the washing water is completed, the inner tub may be continuously driven but the sensing module may not be driven.

Therefore, it is preferable that the position of the lift is detected after the sensing module is driven. That is, the position detection of the lifter is preferably performed on the premise that the sensing module starts driving.

When the position of the lifting member is detected, it is possible to judge whether the lifting member is located at a specific position. That is, it is determined whether the output is reduced or made 0 (step S54). When the lifter is detected to be in the opposite position, a condition of reducing the output or making it 0 is satisfied. Therefore, the output is reduced or set to 0 (step S55). When it is detected that the lifter is not located at the opposite position, the output is kept normal (step S57).

Such steps will be performed repeatedly. Thus, the output can be controlled to be lowered at the position opposite to the lifter and can be controlled to be normally output at the position other than the position opposite to the lifter. Thus, the energy efficiency can be improved while preventing the lifter portion from being overheated in a controlled manner.

Further, the output control corresponding to the position of the lifter may not always be executed. That is, during the driving of the inner tub and the driving of the sensing module, the output can be always maintained regardless of the position of the lifter. I.e. if overheating of the lift can be neglected, such control can be omitted.

For this reason, step S52 of determining whether position detection and output control of the lifter for avoiding overheating of the lifter is necessary may be performed. This may be performed before the position detection of the lift is performed.

For example, when the rotation speed of the inner tub is high, for example, 200RPM or more, the heating amount generated in the lifter portion is relatively small due to the high rotation speed of the inner tub. Of course, it can be considered that the area and time for the inner tub to contact the laundry are relatively large because the inner tub rotates at a high speed. This is because, in this case, the laundry is not shaken by the lifter and is closely attached to the inner circumferential surface of the inner tub.

That is, in the case where the inner tub is rotated (spin) driven, not rotated (tumbling) driven, at a specific RPM or more, the heating amount control corresponding to the lifter position may not have significance.

Thus, step S52 of determining whether lift heating avoidance logic is to be employed would likely be very effective. Of course, the conditions employed in such steps are not only RPM, but may be other conditions. For example, when the inner tub is heated in the drying stroke, the amount of heat transferred to the laundry is large. Therefore, there will be a possibility that a problem that a lifter portion not in contact with the laundry is overheated is caused. On the other hand, when the outer tub contains washing water and the outer peripheral surface of the inner tub is partially immersed in the washing water, most of the heat is transferred to the washing water when the inner tub is heated. This will be the case in the lifter installation part, except in the lifter exclusion part. Furthermore, at least a portion of the lifter will be directly immersed in the wash water. Therefore, even in the case of heating the washing water, the lifter heating avoidance logic can be eliminated.

Therefore, the condition for determining whether or not the lifter heating avoidance logic is to be employed may be determining which stroke it belongs to. In the case of a wash stroke, the lifter heating avoidance logic can be eliminated. Thus, the conditions for entering the poppet heating avoidance logic may be modified in various ways.

In addition, the lifter position detecting step S50 may be performed in various forms. That is, the above-described sensor and magnet may be used, or the current change or the output change of the induction module may be used without providing a sensor.

Based on the positional relationship between the sensing module and the inner tub and the shapes of the sensing module and the inner tub, the sensing module will substantially heat only a specific portion of the inner tub. Therefore, when the sensing module heats the stopped inner tub, only a specific portion of the inner tub will be heated to a very high temperature. For example, in the case that the sensing module is located at the upper side of the outer tub and the inner tub does not rotate, only the upper outer circumferential surface of the inner tub may be heated when the sensing module is driven.

The outer peripheral surface of the upper part of the inner barrel does not contact with the washing water and the washing liquid under the state that the inner barrel is stopped. Therefore, the upper outer circumferential surface of the inner tub will be likely to be overheated to a large extent. Therefore, in order to prevent overheating of the inner tub, the inner tub needs to be rotated. That is, it is necessary to change the heated portion by rotating the inner tub and transfer the heated heat to the washing water or the laundry.

Therefore, in order to operate the sensing module, it is preferable that the inner tub is first rotated.

Hereinafter, embodiments related to control logic corresponding between the operation of the sensing module and the driving of the inner tub will be described.

As previously described, the inner tub heating mode for heating the inner tub 30 may be performed during the washing stroke or the drying stroke. Essentially, the drum heating mode may also be continuously performed during the washing stroke and the drying stroke interval.

When the inner tub heating (step S10) mode is performed, it may be judged whether a heating end condition is satisfied (step S20). Any one of the conditions of the heating duration, the target inner tub temperature, the target drying degree, the target washing water temperature, etc. may be the heating end condition. That is, when a certain condition is satisfied, the heating mode may be ended (step S70).

For example, in the washing stroke, the inner tub heating (step S10) may be continuously performed until the washing water is heated to 90 degrees. The inner tub heating (step S10) may be finished when the washing water reaches 90 degrees. In the drying stroke, the inner tub heating (step S10) may be continuously performed until the dryness is satisfied.

In the washing machine or the dryer, the rotation speed of the inner tub is generally driven at a rotation speed capable of performing the tumbling driving. When the inner tub is stopped, the drum is accelerated to a speed at which the drum is tumble-driven. Further, the tumble drive may be driven in a forward and reverse rotation manner. That is, after the tumbling driving is continuously performed in the clockwise direction, the inner tub may be stopped from being driven, and then the tumbling driving may be performed in the counterclockwise direction.

When the rotation speed of the inner tub is very low, a certain portion of the inner tub may be overheated as well. For example, when the tumbling driving speed is 40RPM, it takes a predetermined time until the inner tub is rotated at 40RPM from a stopped state. Therefore, the time when the inner tub starts to be tumbling-driven is different from the time when the inner tub normally performs the tumbling-driving. That is, when the inner tub starts to be tumble-driven, the inner tub is gradually accelerated from a stopped state, and is driven at the tumble RPM after reaching the tumble RPM. It can perform the tumbling driving in the predetermined direction before stopping the driving of the inner tub and then perform the tumbling driving in the other direction.

Among them, it is required to prevent overheating of the inner tub and to increase heating energy efficiency and time efficiency.

As an example, the sensing module may be operated in case the inner tub RPM is greater than 30 RPM. That is, the inner tub RPM condition is judged (step S40), and the sensing module is turned on if the condition is satisfied (step S50). Further, in the case where the tub RPM is less than 30RPM, the sensing module may be made inoperative. That is, the sensing module may be turned off (step S60).

Therefore, it can be considered that, in the normal tumbling driving interval, the sensing module is driven after the inner tub starts to rotate and stops driving before the inner tub stops rotating. That is, it can be considered that the sensing module is turned on/off with reference to a preset RPM smaller than a normal tumble RPM. Therefore, in the case where the tumbling driving section is repeated a plurality of times, the turning on/off of such a sensing module is also repeated.

In this embodiment, in order to prevent overheating of the inner tub, a step S30 of judging a temperature condition of the inner tub may be included. Of course, the inner tub temperature condition may be employed together with or separately from the aforementioned inner tub RPM condition. In the case of being used together, the order of the condition determination timings may be changed. Fig. 28 illustrates a case where the judgment of the inner tub temperature condition is first performed.

As previously described, the central portion of the inner tub is heated to a relatively higher temperature than the front and rear end portions of the inner tub. As an example, the central portion of the inner tub may be heated to about 140 ℃. Wherein, when the central part of the inner barrel is heated to 160 ℃ or above, the overheating of the inner barrel can be judged. Of course, the temperature condition of the inner tub related to the overheat judgment may be changed.

The temperature of 160 degrees celsius may be a temperature preset to prevent thermal deformation of the peripheral structure of the inner tub or damage of the laundry. Therefore, in case the inner tub temperature is above or exceeds the preset temperature, the operation of the sensing module is preferably turned off (step S60).

Therefore, in an embodiment shown in fig. 28, as an example, assuming that the temperature of the inner tub is less than 160 degrees, the RPM of the inner tub is 40, the temperature of the target washing water is 90 degrees celsius, and the current temperature of the washing water is 40 degrees celsius, the sensing module may be considered as an on state. Therefore, the inner tub heating which ensures reliability and safety can be realized by various conditions.

In addition, the variable control of the sensing module is performed in a state where the sensing module is turned on. Therefore, the output variable control of the sensing module may be performed in the sensing module activation step S50. An embodiment of such output variable control has been explained with reference to fig. 27. Therefore, the sensing module may repeat the normal output section and the reduced output section in a case where the tumbling driving is continued.

Thus, both the control logic related to the inner tub heating mode and the control logic related to the prevention of the lifter from overheating may be compositely implemented. Accordingly, overheating of the inner tub can be prevented in advance, heating of the inner tub can be rapidly interrupted when the inner tub is unexpectedly overheated, and overheating of the lifter can be prevented.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the temperature sensor 60 for detecting the temperature of the inner tub will be described in detail.

The heating target heated by the induction module 70 is the inner tub 30. Therefore, a structure in which overheating may directly occur may be referred to as the inner tub 30. However, the inner tub 30 is configured to rotate. Further, as described above, the inner tub heating is preferably performed on the premise that the inner tub is rotated.

Therefore, it is difficult to detect the temperature of the inner tub itself due to the particularity of the inner tub. In particular, it is not easy to detect the inner tub temperature at the central portion of the inner tub (i.e., the front and rear central portions on the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub) where the temperature is the highest among the inner tubs.

In order to measure the temperature of the inner tub, the temperature of the inner tub may be directly measured. For example, the temperature of the inner tub may be directly measured using a non-contact temperature sensor. For example, the temperature of the outer peripheral surface of the inner barrel to be detected may be detected by an infrared temperature sensor.

However, as described above, the inner tub is configured to rotate and is provided inside the outer tub. Therefore, the environment inside and outside the inner tub may be hot and humid. Therefore, it is difficult to detect the temperature by irradiating infrared rays toward the outer peripheral surface of the inner barrel.

Faced with such difficulties, the inventors did not measure the temperature of the inner barrel directly, but could derive a solution to do the measurement in an indirect way. That is, the inner tub temperature is indirectly measured by an air temperature value corresponding to the heat generation of the inner tub.

The interval between the outer circumference of the inner tub and the inner circumference of the outer tub may be about 20 mm. Therefore, the inner tub temperature may be indirectly measured by measuring the air temperature between the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub and the inner circumferential surface of the outer tub.

The temperature sensor 60 mounted on the inner circumferential surface of the outer tub 20 detects the temperature of air between the inner circumferential surface of the outer tub and the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub. Air is present between the inner peripheral surface of the outer barrel and the outer peripheral surface of the inner barrel. Therefore, the difference between the actual temperature of the outer peripheral surface of the inner tub and the temperature of the air (the temperature detected in the temperature sensor) may be a value obtained by multiplying the heat conduction amount based on the air (between the outer peripheral surface of the inner tub and the temperature sensor) and the thermal resistance based on the air.

In the case where a predetermined air flow occurs at an outer circumferential surface portion of the inner tub due to the rotation of the inner tub, a difference between the temperature of the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub and the temperature of the air measured inside the outer tub may be constant. Therefore, the temperature of the outer peripheral surface of the inner tub can be estimated by using the sum of the constant and the measured temperature value.

Therefore, the driving of the sensing module can be controlled based on the estimated temperature of the outer peripheral surface of the inner barrel.

In order to estimate the temperature of the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub more accurately, it is preferable to exclude an external environment causing an increase or decrease in temperature between the outer circumferential surface of the inner tub and the temperature sensor as much as possible.

Of course, in such an external environment, most will be a reduced temperature environment.

For example, in a case where the air flow based on other factors is more active than the air flow based on the rotation of the inner tub, it may be difficult to accurately estimate the temperature. For example, in a portion into which cooling water flows, heat is transferred to the cooling water by a portion having a large amount of heat in the inner tub, and it may be difficult to estimate the temperature accurately. For example, in a portion directly communicating with a relatively low temperature environment outside the outer tub, a portion of the inner tub having a large amount of heat may be thermally conducted to the outside of the outer tub. Also, in case that a portion affected by the magnetic field of the induction module is provided with a temperature sensor, it may not be easy to perform accurate temperature measurement.

Therefore, the mounting position of the temperature sensor will inevitably be greatly limited. This is because various factors such as accurate temperature measurement, temperature measurement of the portion of the inner tub having the highest temperature, and avoidance of interference with the tub connection portion (the portion where the front and rear tubs are coupled to each other) due to the structure of the tub itself have to be considered.

Fig. 29 shows a cross section relating to the mounting position of the temperature sensor 60 of an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 29 shows the inner rear wall 201 and the inner side wall 202 of the tub with a cross section of the tub 20.

First, as previously described, the sensing module 70 is preferably located at an upper side of the tub. In the case of dividing the outer tub into four quadrants, the sensing module 70 may be positioned at an upper portion of the first quadrant 2S or the second quadrant 2S. Of course, they may be set within both ranges. In any case, the sensing module 70 is located at a position higher than the upper and lower center lines of the tub.

The vent holes 203 may be generally provided in the second quadrant 2S of the outer tub 20. That is, the inside of the tub is not completely closed to the outside of the tub, but the communication of air can be achieved through the ventilation holes 203. Therefore, the second quadrant 2S of the outer tub 20 corresponding to the airing hole 203 will be affected by the external air having a relatively low temperature.

A condensation port 230 for cooling the heated humid air to condense moisture may be provided in the second quadrant 2S of the outer tub 20. That is, a condensation port 230 may be provided to supply cooling water from the outside of the tub to the inside of the tub to perform a function of cooling the heated humid air inside the tub. The inside of the tub corresponding to the second quadrant 2S supplied with the cooling water will be affected by the condensed water having a low temperature.

A duct hole 202 for discharging air inside the tub to the outside may be provided in the fourth quadrant 4S of the tub 20. The air, from which moisture is removed by the cooling water inside the outer tub, is discharged to the outside of the outer tub 20 through the duct holes 202. Of course, the discharged air may flow into the inside of the tub again.

Therefore, in the pipe hole 202 portion, i.e., the inside of the tub corresponding to the fourth quadrant 4S, the temperature thereof will be relatively lower than other portions, and the flow of air will become fast.

In addition, when air is heated, its density tends to decrease and rise. Therefore, it is known that the temperature sensors are preferably disposed in the first quadrant 1S and the second quadrant 2S, as compared to the fourth quadrant 4S and the third quadrant 3S of the outer tub.

In particular, the optimal temperature sensor location will be the first quadrant 1S, considering the vent 203, condensation port 230, and duct aperture 202 configuration. However, in the first quadrant 1S, the temperature sensor 60 is also preferably installed at a position deviated from the sensing module 70 by a predetermined angle in a circumferential direction from the center of the tub. This is because it is preferable to exclude the temperature sensor 60 from being affected by the magnetic field generated from the sensing module 70. The region of influence of the magnetic field is shown by the "B" box in fig. 29. Therefore, the temperature sensor 60 is preferably mounted to the inner circumferential surface of the outer tub in the first quadrant 1S of the outer tub departing from the "B" area.

Fig. 29 shows a connecting portion 209 where the front tub and the rear tub are coupled by a bolt or a screw. The connecting portion 209 is formed to protrude outward in the radial direction than the outer peripheral surface of the tub. Therefore, in order to avoid interference with the connection portion 209, the temperature sensor is preferably located in front of or behind the connection portion.

As a result, the position of the temperature sensor is located in the first quadrant 1S with respect to the cross section of the tub and is a position having a positive value with respect to the x-axis and the y-axis. Further, the temperature sensor is preferably located in front of or behind the connection portion 209 in the vicinity of the front-rear center of the tub with respect to the front-rear length direction of the tub.

Fig. 23 and 24 show an example in which the temperature sensor 60 is connected to the main control unit 100. That is, the main control unit 100 performs a process of estimating the temperature of the inner tub based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 60. Thus, when the inner tub temperature is estimated, step S30 shown in fig. 28 may be executed accordingly.

However, the temperature sensor 60 may be configured to additionally perform a process for estimating the temperature of the inner tub. In this case, the result of the inner tub temperature estimated by the temperature sensor 60 may be transmitted to the main control part 100.

In addition, step S30 may be executed by the module control unit 200 instead of the main control unit 100. In any case, in case the temperature of the inner tub exceeds the preset temperature, it will also be recognized as overheating of the inner tub and turn off the output of the sensing module.

According to the foregoing embodiments, it is possible to provide a laundry treating apparatus that is safer and ensures reliability by a control logic for preventing overheating of an inner tub, a control logic for preventing overheating of a lifter, a temperature sensor for preventing overheating of the inner tub, and a control logic using the same. In addition, the temperature sensor and the mounting position of the temperature sensor can be provided, which can detect the temperature of the inner barrel indirectly and more accurately.

Industrial applicability

Including the detailed description of the invention.

Claims

1. A clothes treating apparatus, in which,

the method comprises the following steps:

an outer tub;

an inner tub accommodating laundry and rotatably disposed inside the outer tub, the inner tub being formed of a metal material; and

an induction module disposed at the outer tub and spaced apart from a circumferential surface of the inner tub, the induction module heating the circumferential surface of the inner tub by generating an electromagnetic field,

the sensing module includes:

a coil, around which a metal wire is wound, to which a current is applied to generate a magnetic field; and

and a base housing installed on an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub, and formed with a plurality of coil slots for installing the coils, each of the coil slots having an overall shape of a rectangle including linear portions with each corner portion having a radian.

2. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1,

the induction module includes a module cover combined with the base housing to cover the coil.

3. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 2,

a permanent magnet is disposed between the module cover and the coil to concentrate a magnetic field generated from the coil toward the inner tub.

4. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 3,

the permanent magnets are provided in plural along a longitudinal direction of the coil, and the permanent magnets are arranged so as to be perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the coil.

5. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 4,

and a permanent magnet mounting part is arranged below the module cover, and the permanent magnet mounting part is used for inserting and fixing the permanent magnet.

6. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 2,

the module cover includes a clinging rib which protrudes from the lower surface of the module cover to the lower portion and presses the coil.

7. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1,

a module mounting part including a linear section for mounting the sensing module is formed at a portion of an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub.

8. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 7,

the distance between the straight line section and the center of the outer barrel is smaller than the distance between the outer peripheral surface of the outer barrel and the center of the outer barrel.

9. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 8,

the straight section is formed by changing a part of the curved outer peripheral surface of the outer tub into a straight line.

10. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 8,

the module mounting part is formed by recessing a portion of an outer circumferential surface of the outer tub in a direction toward the inner tub.

11. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 7,

the outer tub includes: a front outer tub; a rear outer tub; and a connecting part connecting the front outer barrel and the rear outer barrel and extending to the outside of the radius direction,

the base shell is tightly attached to the upper part of the connecting part.

12. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 11,

the connecting part comprises a connecting part body and an expansion connecting part, the expansion connecting part protrudes to the outer side of the radius direction than the connecting part body, and is fastened by a screw or a bolt,

the expansion connection portion is excluded from the module mounting portion.

13. The laundry treating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12,

and a reinforcing rib is formed in a downward protruding manner below the base shell and used for compensating the separation distance between the base shell and the outer peripheral surface of the outer barrel.

14. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 13,

the base housing is formed with a through portion that allows air to be discharged from an upper portion to a lower portion.

15. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 13,

the coil socket includes: a plurality of fixing ribs facing each other; and a coil insertion portion provided between the fixing ribs;

the coil socket extends along the coil.

16. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 15,

the interval between the fixing rib and the fixing rib is formed to be smaller than the wire diameter of the metal wire, so that the metal wire is arranged in an interference fit manner.

17. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 16,

the fixing rib has a protruding height greater than a wire diameter of the wire, and an upper end of the fixing rib is melted to cover an upper portion of the wire after the wire is inserted.

18. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 13,

the coil is formed as a single layer that is not multi-layered within the coil slot.

19. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 18,

the coil insertion slot is formed in a rectangular shape in which each corner portion of the straight line portion is arranged along the front-rear direction of the inner barrel with a curvature.

20. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 19,

the coil includes: front, back, left and right straight line sections; and four curved sections, the four curved sections being located between the straight section and the straight section, in the curved sections, the radius of curvature of the radially inner side wire being the same as the radius of curvature of the radially outer side wire.