EP4603633A1

EP4603633A1 - Clothes treatment apparatus

Info

Publication number: EP4603633A1
Application number: EP23886013.4A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jaehyung Kim; Hyungha KANG; Jinhyuk Jang; Seungwoo Park
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2022-10-31
Filing date: 2023-09-20
Publication date: 2025-08-20
Also published as: WO2024096316A1; EP4603633A4; AU2023373265A1; CN120153144A

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a clothes treatment apparatus comprising: a cabinet including a first chamber in which clothes are accommodated; a second chamber positioned below the first chamber; a circulation flow path part for circulating the air of the first chamber in the second chamber; a base part for supporting the lower portion of the circulation flow path part in the second chamber; a heat exchange part positioned in the circulation flow path part so that heat is exchanged between a flammable refrigerant and the air passing through the circulation flow path part; a compressor for compressing and circulating the flammable refrigerant; and a ventilation part for discharging, to the outside of the cabinet, the internal air of the second chamber through the bottom surface of the base part.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a laundry treatment apparatus. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a laundry treatment apparatus for deodorizing and drying laundry, and removing wrinkles from laundry.

BACKGROUND

In general, a laundry treatment apparatus is a concept that includes a washing machine that soaks laundry in water to make a wet laundry and then removes foreign substances through a chemical action of detergent and a physical action such as drum rotation, and a dryer that dries the wet laundry by using hot air and steam.
However, recently, laundry care devices have appeared that can deodorize laundry, remove moisture, or remove wrinkles from dry laundry without wetting the laundry in water. The laundry care device can perform a refreshing process of supplying steam or hot air to laundry while being placed to deodorize the laundry and dry or sterilize the laundry.
A heat pump or heater can generally be used to dry laundry in a laundry treatment apparatus. A laundry treatment apparatus that uses a heat pump dehumidifies moist air by using an evaporator and a condenser, then reheats the air and supplies dry and high-temperature air to a laundry. The heat pump is superior in energy efficiency as the heat pump can produce high-temperature heat by using a small amount of energy compared to the heater.
The heat pump can dehumidify moist air by circulating a refrigerant or heat the air. The refrigerant may be classified into a natural refrigerant, first-generation chlorofluorocarbon (CFC), second-generation hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC), third-generation hydrofluorocarbon (HFC), and fourth-generation hydrofluoroolefin (HFO). Among these, CFC and HCFC-series refrigerants, which are classified as freon gases, are known to be major substances that destroy the ozone layer and are therefore regulated by the Montreal Protocol.
The HFC-series refrigerant does not have any side effects such as ozone layer destruction, but are considered as global warming substances. A representative refrigerant is R-134a. The HFC-series refrigerant has been gradually restricted in use as being classified as a global warming substance under the Montreal Protocol. Accordingly, the HFO-series refrigerant with a low global warming potential (GWP) has emerged as a next-generation refrigerant.
The GWP indicates an extent to which other greenhouse gases contribute to global warming, relative to an impact of carbon dioxide on global warming. That is, the GWP refers to a value obtained by dividing a solar energy absorption of 1 kg of separate greenhouse gases by a solar energy absorption of 1 kg of carbon dioxide. The GWP is obtained by indexing a warming effect per unit mass. For example, when the GWP of carbon dioxide is 1, the GWP of methane is 21, the GWP of nitrous oxide is 310, the GWP of hydrofluorocarbons is 1,300, and the GWP of sulfur hexafluoride is 23,900.
To prevent acceleration of global warming, the use of high-GWP substances has been restricted worldwide. Accordingly, a heat pump using R-290, a low GWP refrigerant, and a laundry treatment apparatus using the same have been developed. However, R-290 is a high-purity propane gas that is combustible and combustible. In particular, when R-290 leaks and a concentration thereof in the air is equal to or greater than 1.8 %, there is a risk of ignition or explosion during use.
Accordingly, a device or control method for detecting refrigerant leakage during an operation and preventing ignition of the refrigerant has emerged. Cited references related to prevention of ignition of a refrigerant includes Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2021-0001769 . The cited reference discloses a laundry treatment apparatus including a heat pump using a combustible refrigerant. The cited reference discloses a method of controlling a laundry treatment apparatus that operates a fan for a preset time regardless of whether there is a leak to prevent ignition of a refrigerant.
FIG. 1 illustrates a laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art. In particular, FIG. 1 illustrates a dryer for removing moisture from laundry in a wet state, according to the present disclosure.
A laundry treatment apparatus 1 according to the related art includes a cabinet 11 defining an outer appearance and including an inlet 12 on a front surface, a door 13 for opening and closing the inlet 12, a drum 14 provided inside the cabinet 11 for accommodating laundry, and a driver (not shown) for rotating the drum 14. The cabinet 11 may include an input unit 15 through which a user can input a control command and a display unit 16 that displays information to the user. Inside the cabinet 11, a duct (see FIG. 2) for circulating air inside the drum 14 and a heat pump (see FIG. 2) for dehumidifying and heating moist air discharged from the drum may be provided.
FIG. 2 illustrates the inside of a cabinet in which a duct and heat pump of a laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art are installed.
Referring to FIG. 2, the laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art includes a duct 20 through which air of the drum 14 circulates, an evaporator 21 and a condenser 22 that are installed inside the duct 20. The laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art includes a compressor 23 that compresses a combustible refrigerant circulating through the evaporator 21 and the condenser 22. The laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art includes a cooling fan 24 that generates air flow to cool the compressor 23. The laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art includes a drum driver 25 for generating power to rotate the drum (see FIG. 1).
Proposed is a method by which the laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art uses the cooling fan 24 to prevent the combustible refrigerant from being concentrated in one place and increasing the concentration of the combustible refrigerant when the combustible refrigerant leaks. By operating the cooling fan 24 to form an internal airflow, the concentration of combustible refrigerant may be prevented from increasing. This may reduce the possibility of ignition.
The laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art may for airflow inside a space in which refrigerant leakage is expected by using the cooling fan 24. Due to the function of the cooling fan 24, an airflow of as much volume as possible may be formed in the compressor 23. Accordingly, the cooling fan 24 is located in a height direction of the compressor 23 to form air flow in the compressor 23.
In other words, the cooling fan 24 may be provided as a box fan, and as shown in the drawing, a rotation shaft of the fan extends in a direction parallel to the ground. That is, it may be seen that a general design feature is that airflow in a direction parallel to the ground is generated by the cooling fan 24.
However, combustible refrigerants such as R-290 have high density characteristics. In other words, the leaked combustible refrigerant is laid on the floor by the original density. However, the cooling fan 24 is located in a height direction of the compressor 23, and thus the farther a point is from the rotation shaft of the cooling fan 24, the less air flow occurs. Naturally, the air flow generated at a lower portion of the cooling fan 24 may be insufficient to dilute the refrigerant.
To more effectively disperse high-density combustible refrigerants such as R-290, the airflow may be formed to be concentrated at the bottom of the space. In other words, when the cooling fan 24 is located like the laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art, it may be seen that there is a fundamental limitation in dispersing the refrigerant concentrated at the bottom.
In the laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art, the main function of the cooling fan 24 is to cool the compressor. As an additional utilization method of the cooling fan 24, a method of generating air flow to disperse the refrigerant is disclosed. That is, it may be seen that the general usage environment is one in which the cooling fan 24 forms an airflow that can reach the entire compressor. It is difficult to regard forming airflow by concentrating the airflow at the bottom of the compressor as a typical usage environment for the cooling fan 24. Therefore, in the laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art, it is difficult to change the position of the cooling fan 24 to focus on dispersing the refrigerant located at the bottom rather than cooling the compressor.
Accordingly, although the laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art has an object of generating airflow to lower the density of refrigerant, there is a limit in dispersing or diluting refrigerant laid at the bottom of the space by concentrating the air current at the bottom of the space in consideration of the basic function of a configuration of generating airflow.
As a result, the laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art has a limitation in providing technical details regarding effective dispersion of refrigerant at the bottom of the space when a refrigerant leaks in a laundry treatment apparatus using a high-density combustible refrigerant such as R-290.

DISCLOSURE

Technical Problem

An object of the present disclosure is to provide components that prevent explosion due to leakage of a combustible refrigerant in a laundry treatment apparatus to which a heat pump using a combustible refrigerant is applied.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide components that more effectively ventilate refrigerant accumulated at the bottom when high-density combustible refrigerant is accumulated at the bottom of a space.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treatment apparatus that efficiently uses a limited space by utilizing an arrangement structure of a device for ventilating a combustible refrigerant.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a flow path for more effectively discharging a high-density combustible refrigerant.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treatment apparatus that intensively ventilates an area in which a combustible refrigerant is likely to explode due to spark generation.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treatment apparatus that preemptively ventilates a refrigerant by using a ventilation portion before an operation of all electrical components to prevent explosion of combustible refrigerant.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treatment apparatus that effectively ventilates leaked refrigerant by ventilating a bottom of a compressor in which there is a high possibility of refrigerant leakage.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treatment apparatus that performs a safety course in which a ventilation portion is operated first before a main course is performed.

Technical Solution

To resolve the problem, in a laundry treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a ventilation portion for discharging leaked refrigerant to the outside may be disposed on a lower surface of a base portion.
In the laundry treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a ventilation portion may be located below the ventilation portion to increase the efficiency of space utilization.
In the laundry treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a ventilation hole may be provided in a controller installation portion to intensively ventilate an area in which there is a high possibility of explosion of combustible refrigerant.
In the laundry treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a high-density refrigerant may be more effectively ventilated by forming a ventilation flow path on a lower surface of the base portion.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a laundry treatment apparatus includes a cabinet including a first chamber that accommodates laundry therein, a second chamber located below the first chamber within the cabinet, a circulation flow path located inside the second chamber and circulating air of the first chamber, a base portion that supports a bottom of the compressor within the second chamber, a heat exchanger located inside the circulation flow path and exchanging heat between air passing through the circulation flow path and a combustible refrigerant, a compressor that compresses and circulates the combustible refrigerant, and a ventilation portion that discharge internal air of the second chamber to an outside of the cabinet through a lower surface of the base portion.
The ventilation portion may include a ventilation hole formed to pass through the base portion and a ventilation fan installed in the base portion and moving internal air of the second chamber to the ventilation hole.
The ventilation fan may move air from an upper side of the base portion to a lower surface of the base portion.
The ventilation fan may be located below the compressor and may guide internal air of the second chamber to a discharge flow path connected to an outside of the cabinet.
The ventilation hole may define a ventilation path such that the internal air of the second chamber flows to the ventilation fan.
The ventilation portion may include a discharge flow path provided in the base portion to guide air discharged from the ventilation fan to the outside of the cabinet.
The discharge flow path may guide air discharged from the ventilation fan to a rear side of the cabinet.
The discharge flow path may be located below than the compressor.
The base portion may include a compressor installation portion that provides a space in which the compressor is installed, and the ventilation hole may include a compressor through hole formed to pass through the compressor installation portion in a height direction of the cabinet.
The ventilation fan may be located in the compressor through hole.
a compressor ventilation flow path that sequentially connects the compressor installation portion, the ventilation fan, and the discharge flow path to each other may be formed in the base portion.
The laundry treatment apparatus may further include a controller configured to control the compressor, wherein the base portion is located below the circulation flow path and defines a space in which the controller is installed, and the ventilation hole includes a controller through thole formed on one surface of both surfaces of the controller installation portion, which faces a direction in which the compressor is located.
The controller through hole may connect the controller installation portion to a lower surface of the base portion.
A controller ventilation flow path that sequentially connects the controller through hole, the ventilation fan, and the discharge flow path to each other may be formed in the base portion. The controller through hole may be located below an upper end of the controller.
The base portion may include a support surface that supports a bottom of the circulation flow path, and the ventilation hole may include a piping portion through hole formed to pass through one surface of the support surface, which faces the controller through hole.
The piping portion through hole may connect an upper surface of the base portion to a lower surface of the base portion.
A piping portion ventilation flow path that sequentially connects the piping portion through hole, the ventilation fan, and the discharge flow path to each other may be formed in the base portion.
The controller installation portion may be located lower than the circulation flow path, and the ventilation portion may be located below the heat exchanger.
The ventilation portion may be located below an upper end of the controller.
The ventilation portion may include a ventilation fan that generates air flow, and a rotation shaft of the ventilation fan may extend in a height direction of the cabinet.
The ventilation fan may suck in air in an extension direction of the rotation shaft and discharge air in a direction perpendicular to the rotation shaft.
The ventilation portion may be located on a lower surface of the base portion and may include a passing flow path connecting the ventilation hole and the discharge flow path.
The circulation flow path may include a water collector in which water condensed in the heat exchanger is stored, and at least a portion of the passing flow path may be located at the bottom of the water collector.
A bottom surface of the water collector may define an upper surface of the passing flow path.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a laundry treatment apparatus includes a controller that controls the compressor, and the base portion is disposed below the circulation flow path and includes a controller installation portion that forms a space in which the controller is installed, and the circulation flow path overlaps the controller installation portion and the base portion in a width direction.
The combustible refrigerant may be R-290.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a laundry treatment apparatus includes a cabinet including a first chamber for accommodating laundry therein, a second chamber located below the first chamber inside the cabinet, a circulation flow path located positioned inside the second chamber for circulating air in the first chamber, a heat exchanger located inside the circulation flow path for exchanging heat between air passing through the circulation flow path and a combustible refrigerant, a compressor for compressing and circulating the combustible refrigerant, and a ventilation portion installed below the heat exchanger for circulating air inside the second chamber or discharging the air inside the second chamber to the outside of the cabinet.
According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a laundry treatment apparatus includes a cabinet including a first chamber for accommodating laundry therein, a second chamber located below the first chamber within the cabinet, a circulation flow path located within the second chamber for circulating air in the first chamber, a base portion supporting a lower portion of the circulation flow path within the second chamber, a heat exchanger located within the circulation flow path for exchanging heat between air passing through the circulation flow path and a combustible refrigerant, a compressor for compressing and circulating the combustible refrigerant, a controller for controlling the compressor, a controller installation part provided within the second chamber and forming a space in which the controller is installed, and a ventilation portion for discharging air within the controller installation portion to the outside of the controller installation portion.

Advantageous Effects

The present disclosure has an effect of significantly reducing a possibility of explosion by effectively discharging combustible refrigerant.
The present disclosure has an effect of effectively discharging high-density refrigerant by intensively ventilating the lower part of the refrigerant leakage area.
The present disclosure has an effect of enabling more efficient use of a limited space by compactly locating a ventilation portion and preventing the overall size of the apparatus from increasing.
The present disclosure has an effect of intensively ventilating an area in which combustible refrigerant is likely to explode due to spark generation.
The present disclosure has an effect of preventing a possibility of refrigerant explosion in advance by operating the ventilation portion before operations of other electrical components.
The present disclosure has an effect of effectively ventilating the leaked refrigerant by ventilating a lower portion of the compressor in which there is a high possibility of refrigerant leakage.
The present disclosure has an effect of effectively ventilating leaked refrigerant by performing a safety course in which the ventilation portion is operated first before the main course is performed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a machine room of a laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art.
FIG. 3 illustrates an outer appearance of a laundry treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 4 illustrates an internal structure of a laundry treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 5 illustrates a structure of a machine room of a laundry treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 6 illustrates a base portion and a circulation flow path according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 7 illustrates a machine room of a laundry treatment apparatus viewed from above according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a structure of a ventilation portion according to the present disclosure.
FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram for explaining a structure of a ventilation portion according to the present disclosure.
FIG. 10 illustrates a ventilation portion according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a base portion and a circulation flow path viewed from above according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a base portion and a circulation flow path viewed from below according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 13 illustrates a lower surface of a base portion and a ventilation portion according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 14 illustrates a lower surface of a base portion and a ventilation portion according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a ventilation portion located at a side of a compressor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 16 illustrates an operation process of a ventilation portion according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 17 illustrates an operation process of a ventilation portion according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 18 illustrates an operation process of a ventilation portion according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 19 illustrates an operation process of a ventilation portion according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 20 illustrates a manipulation sequence of a manipulation unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 21 illustrates an operation process of a laundry treatment apparatus according to a manipulation sequence of FIG. 20.
FIG. 22 illustrates a manipulation sequence of a manipulation unit according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 23 illustrates an operation process of a laundry treatment apparatus according to a manipulation sequence of FIG. 22.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, embodiments disclosed in this specification will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. In this specification, identical or similar components in different embodiments are given identical or similar reference numbers, and their descriptions are replaced with the first description. As used herein, singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. When describing the embodiments disclosed in this specification, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known technology may obscure the gist of the embodiments disclosed in this specification, the detailed description is omitted. It should be noted that the attached drawings are only intended to facilitate easy understanding of the embodiments disclosed in this specification, and should not be construed as limiting the technical ideas disclosed in this specification by the attached drawings.
FIG. 3 illustrates an outer appearance of a laundry treatment apparatus 1 according to the present disclosure.
Referring to FIG. 3(a), a laundry treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure may include a cabinet 100 that defines an outer appearance and a door 400 rotatably coupled to the cabinet 100.
The door 400 may include a main body 410 defining a front surface of the cabinet 100, and an installation body 420 that extends from one side of the main body 410 and on which a display for displaying information of the laundry treatment apparatus is to be installed.
The installation body 420 may be provided to form a step difference 430 toward a rear side of the cabinet 100 from the main body 410.
At least a portion of the installation body 420 may be located to overlap the main body 410 in a front-back direction at the rear side of the main body 410. Thereby, the step difference 430 may function as a handle.
The installation body 420 may be provided with a different material or color than the main body 410. The installation body 420 may include a translucent material through which light emitted from the display is to be transmitted.
A manipulation unit 500 to which a user command is input may be provided on the front surface of the door 400. The user command may be input to the manipulation unit 500 through a physical button. The manipulation unit 500 may be provided as a touchscreen such that the user command is to be input to the manipulation unit 500.
The manipulation unit 500 may include a display. The manipulation unit 500 may display a manipulation state of a user through the display. The manipulation unit 500 may display a state of the laundry treatment apparatus through the display.
Referring to FIG. 3(b), an inner case 200 having a first chamber 220 for accommodating laundry may be provided inside the cabinet 100. The inner case 200 may include an opening 210 with a front side through which laundry enters and exits, and the opening 210 may be shielded by the door 400.
The first chamber 220 may be defined as a rectangular parallelopiped space as shown in the drawing. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the first chamber 220 may also be defined by a cylindrical drum. That is, the description of the first chamber in this specification may also be applied to a washing machine or dryer including a drum.
The inner case 200 may include a plastic resin-series material and may include a reinforced plastic resin-series material that does not deform even when exposed to air at a temperature higher than room temperature or heated air (hereinafter, hot air) and steam or moisture.
The inner case 200 may define the first chamber 220 in which laundry is accommodated. The first chamber 220 may be named a receiving space. The inner case 200 may include an inlet 210 formed on a front surface thereof through which laundry enters and exits. Laundry may be introduced into the first chamber 220 or taken out of the first chamber 220 through the inlet 210.
The inner case 200 may be provided with a height greater than a width. Thereby, the laundry may be accommodated in the first chamber 220 without being folded or wrinkled.
The laundry treatment apparatus 1 according to the present disclosure may include a holding portion 500 for holding laundry thereon in the first chamber 220 of the inner case 200.
The holding portion 500 may include a hanger portion 510 provided on an upper surface of the inner case 200 to hold laundry thereon.
When the laundry is held on the hanger portion 510, the laundry may be located floating in the air inside the first chamber 220.
The holding portion 500 may further include a pressurizer 520 that is coupled to an inner surface of the door 400 and fixes the laundry.
The hanger portion 510 may be provided in a bar shape located in a width direction of the inner case 200 to support a hanger on which laundry is held. As illustrated, the hanger portion 510 may be provided in a hanger shape such that laundry is to be directly held thereon. The hanger portion 510 may be provided in a bar shape extending in a front-back direction.
The laundry treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure may further include a vibration unit that vibrates the hanger portion 510 to remove foreign substances such as fine dust attached to laundry.
The holding portion 500 may include the pressurizer 520 that is provided on the door 400 and pressurizes and fixes the laundry. The pressurizer 520 may include a support portion 522 that is fixed to an inner surface of the door 400 and supports one surface of the laundry, and a pressing portion 521 that pressurizes the laundry supported by the support portion 522.
The pressing portion 521 may be provided to move toward or away from the support portion 522. For example, the pressing portion 521 may be rotatably provided on the support portion 522 or the inner surface of the support portion 522.
Thereby, the pressing portion 521 and the support portion 522 may pressurize both surfaces of the laundry to remove wrinkles from the laundry and generate intended creases.
The laundry treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure may include a second chamber 300 in which various devices for supplying at least one of hot air or steam to the first chamber 220 or purifying or dehumidifying external air of the cabinet 100 are installed. The second chamber 300 may be named a machine room. That is, in this specification, the machine room and the second chamber may be used with the same meaning.
The second chamber 300 may be located to be separated or partitioned from the inner case 200 and may be provided to communicate with the first chamber 220.
The second chamber 300 may be located below the first chamber 220. That is, the second chamber 300 may be located at the bottom of the inner case 200. In other words, the machine room may be located at the bottom of the inner case 200. Accordingly, when small-volume hot air and steam are supplied into the inner case 200, the hot air and steam may be naturally supplied to laundry located in the first chamber 220.
Various devices for supplying hot air to the inside of the inner case 200 may be provided inside the second chamber 300. In particular, the second chamber 300 may include a heat exchanger 330 that dehumidifies or heats air. The second chamber 300 may include a compressor 340 that compresses a refrigerant circulating through the heat exchanger 330. The heat exchanger 330 may include a heat pump system that dehumidifies and heats air through refrigerant circulation.
When provided as a heat pump system, the heat supply unit 330 may be provided to dehumidify and heat the air discharged from the first chamber 220 again and supply the air to the first chamber 220. A detailed configuration is described below.
The second chamber 300 may include a steam supply unit 380 for supplying steam to the inside of the inner case 200. The steam supply unit 380 may be provided to directly supply steam to the inside of the inner case 200. A detailed configuration is described below.
A water supply tank 301 for supplying water to the steam supply unit 800 and a drain tank 302 in which condensed water from the heat supply unit 340 is collected may be provided in front of the second chamber 300.
The water supply tank 301 and the drain tank 302 may be detachably provided in front of the second chamber 300. Accordingly, the laundry treatment apparatus 1 according to the present disclosure may be freely installed without being restricted by a water supply source or a drainage source.
A drawer 303 that is extended forward and has a separate first chamber may be further provided in front of the second chamber 300. The drawer 303 may also store a steam generator or an iron.
FIG. 4 is a schematic conceptual diagram illustrating an air or moisture supply process between a first chamber and a second chamber in a laundry treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 4(a) shows the air supply process, and FIG. 4(b) shows the moisture supply process.
Rather than showing the specific locations of respective components, FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b) may be viewed as a simplified representation of the mechanism for each component. That is, an arrangement relationship between components shown in FIG. 4(a) and FIG. 4(b) may be changed.
FIG. 4(a) illustrates a structure in which internal air of the first chamber 220 is to be circulated. The inside of the cabinet 100 may be divided into the first chamber 220 and the second chamber 300. The second chamber 300 may be located below the first chamber 220. An internal space of the cabinet 100 may be divided into the first chamber 220 and the second chamber 300 by the inner case 200.
The door 400 may be rotatably coupled to the cabinet 100. The door may define one surface of the first chamber 220. That is, the first chamber 220 may refer to a space formed by the inner case 200 and the door 400.
The inner case 200 may have a plurality of through holes 231, 232, and 233 formed to pass through one surface and communicating with the machine room 300.
Through the through holes 231, 232, and 233, air from the first chamber 220 may be supplied to the machine room 300, and at least one of hot air or steam generated in the machine room 300 may be supplied to the first chamber 200.
The through hole may include an inlet hole 231 that is formed to pass through a lower surface of the inner case 200 and through which air inside the inner case 200 is discharged or sucked into the machine room 300, and a discharge hole 232 that is formed to pass through the lower surface of the inner case 200 and through which hot air generated in the machine room 300 is discharged.
The discharge hole 232 may be located toward a rear surface of the lower surface of the inner case 200. For example, the discharge hole 232 may be located at an angle to the ground between the lower surface or the rear surface of the inner case 200 and facing the hanger portion 510. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the discharge hole 232 may be located to be offset to either the left or right side of the inner case 200.
The inlet hole 231 may be located toward a front side of the lower surface of the inner case 200. Accordingly, the inlet hole 231 may be located apart from the discharge hole 232. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the inlet hole 231 may be located to be offset to another side of the left or right side of the inner case 200.
The inlet hole 231 and the discharge hole 232 connecting the first chamber 220 to the second chamber 300 may be provided at the bottom of the inner case 200. The inlet hole 231 and the discharge hole 232 may be formed to pass through a lower surface of the inner case 200. A front surface of the inner case 200 may be open to form the inlet 210 through which laundry enters and exits.
A circulation flow path 320 that circulates air of the first chamber 220 may be located in the second chamber 300. A portion of the heat exchanger 330 may be accommodated inside the circulation flow path 320. That is, an evaporator 331 and a condenser 332 may be located inside the circulation flow path 320. The compressor 340 and an expansion valve 334 may be located outside the circulation flow path 320. The compressor 340 may compress a refrigerant and supply the refrigerant to the condenser 332. The refrigerant compressed in the compressor 340 may be a combustible refrigerant. In particular, the refrigerant may be R-290.
A fan installation portion 350 may be located on a downstream side of the circulation flow path 320. The circulation flow path 320 and the fan installation portion 350 may define one flow path. A blower fan 353 may be provided in the fan installation portion 350. The blower fan 353 may rotate by a motor and circulate air inside the first chamber 220 and the second chamber 300.
A process of circulating air in the first chamber 220 and second chamber 300 is described. When the blower fan 353 rotates by the motor, airflow is formed inside the second chamber 300. In particular, airflow is formed in the circulation flow path 320 and a fan housing 351. When airflow is formed in the circulation flow path 320 and the fan housing 351, the air in the first chamber 220 may move to the circulation flow path 320 through the inlet hole 231. At the same time, the air in the circulation flow path 320 may move to the first chamber 220 through the fan housing 351.
As described above, air circulation may occur between the first chamber 220 and the second chamber 300. In this case, the compressor 340 may be operated to compress the refrigerant. The refrigerant compressed by the compressor 340 may be supplied to the condenser 332. The refrigerant may be returned to the compressor 340 via the condenser 332, the expansion valve 334, and the evaporator 331.
The air introduced into the circulation flow path 320 from the first chamber 220 comes into contact with the evaporator 331 and is cooled. Moisture contained in the air may be removed during the cooling cycle. Air passing through the evaporator 331 may come into contact with the condenser 332. The air that comes into contact with the condenser 332 may be heated. The air passing through the condenser 332 may pass through the blower fan 353 and may be supplied to the first chamber 220 again.
The air supplied to the first chamber 220 may be used to dry or deodorize laundry accommodated inside the first chamber 220 with hot and humid air.
A condensate generated in the evaporator 331 may be moved to the drain tank 302. Various methods may be applied to move the condensate to the drain tank 302, such as a pump or natural discharge. The drain tank 302 may be detachably coupled to the second chamber 300. When the drain tank 302 is full, a user may detach the drain tank 302 and drain water.
FIG. 4(b) illustrates configurations for supplying steam to the inside of the first chamber 220. The steam supply unit 380 may be provided inside the second chamber 300. The water supply tank 301 that stores water to be supplied to the steam supply unit 380 may be located in the second chamber 300. The steam supply unit 380 may receive water from the water supply tank 301 and generate steam.
The through hole may include a steam hole 233 through which the steam generated from the steam supply unit 380 is supplied. The steam hole 233 may be located on one side of the discharge hole 232.
The steam supply unit 380 may include a heater 381 that heats water to generate steam and a steam supply flow path 382 that guides the steam generated in the heater 381 to the first chamber 220. The steam supply flow path 382 may be connected to the steam hole 233 provided on one surface of the inner case 220.
That is, the heater 381 heats the water inside the water supply tank 301 to generate steam. The generated steam may move into the inner case 200 through the steam supply flow path 382 and the steam hole 233. That is, steam may be supplied into the first chamber 220 through the above path.
Although the steam supply unit 380 is illustrated as being located at the bottom of the second chamber 300 in the drawing, the drawing merely shows the existence of the steam supply unit 380. In an actual embodiment of the present disclosure, the steam supply unit 380 may be located at various locations inside the second chamber 300.
FIG. 5 illustrates an internal structure of a second chamber of a laundry treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure.
FIG. 5(a) is a diagram of the second chamber 300 from the front, and FIG. 5(b) is a diagram of the second chamber 300 from the rear.
Inside the second chamber 300, components may be arranged to supply hot air to a laundry treatment space, circulate air inside the laundry treatment space, supply steam to the laundry treatment space, or purify air outside a cabinet.
The second chamber 300 may include a base portion 310 that supports various devices or provides a space for installation. The base portion 310 may provide an area in which various devices are installed.
The base portion 310 may have the circulation flow path 320 installed through which air introduced from outside the inner case 200 or the cabinet 100 moves.
The base portion 310 may be formed integrally with the circulation flow path 320. In this specification, the base portion 310 may refer to any structure provided in the second chamber 300 to support various components or provide a surface on which various components are installed. In particular, when the circulation flow path 320 and the base portion 310 are formed integrally, the entire injection molded product excluding the circulation flow path 320 from the formed integrally injection molded product may be referred to as the base portion 310.
The circulation flow path 320 may be provided in a case shape with an open upper surface, and at least a portion of the heat exchanger 330 may be located inside the circulation flow path 320.
When the heat supply unit 330 is provided as a heat pump system, heat exchangers 331 and 332 described below may be included inside the circulation flow path 320. The compressor 340 that compresses a refrigerant supplied to the heat exchangers 331 and 332 may be provided outside the circulation flow path 320.
The heat exchangers 331 and 332 may be accommodated inside the circulation flow path 320 and may cool and dehumidify the air flowing through the circulation flow path 320 or heat the air to generate hot air.
When the circulation flow path 320 is provided to suck in air from the outside of the cabinet 100, an outside air duct 370 that sucks in outside air may be installed in front of the circulation flow path 320.
The circulation flow path 320 may be provided to communicate with the outside air duct 370 and may be provided to selectively suck in outside air.
The water supply tank and the drain tank may be detachably connected to the front surface of the circulation flow path 320. The water supply tank 301 and the drain tank 302 may be installed and located above the outside air duct 370.
The circulation flow path 320 may be manufactured as a separate configuration from the base portion 310 and may be combined with the same. The circulation flow path 320 may be provided integrally with the base portion 310. For example, the base portion 310 and the circulation flow path 320 may be manufactured integrally by injection molding.
The second chamber 300 may include a base cover 360 provided to connect the circulation flow path 320 to the inlet hole 231.
The base cover 360 may be coupled to an upper portion of the circulation flow path 320 to guide air sucked in from the inlet hole 231 into the circulation flow path 320.
The base cover 360 may block air inside the circulation flow path 320 from being discharged to the outside by shielding an upper surface of the circulation flow path 320. The bottom of the base cover 360 and the upper surface of the circulation flow path 320 may define a flow path surface along which air moves together inside the circulation flow path 320. Here, the upper surface of the circulation flow path 320 may mean a portion that is exposed when the circulation flow path 320 is viewed from above.
The base cover 360 may include an inlet portion 362 connecting the inlet hole 231 to the circulation flow path 320. The inlet portion 362 may be provided in a duct shape and may function as an intake duct that delivers air from the first chamber 220 to the circulation flow path 320.
The second chamber 300 may have the steam supply unit 380 installed to be connected to the water supply tank 301 to receive water, generate steam, and supply the steam to the inner case 200. The steam supply unit 380 may be installed and located above the base cover 360.
The steam supply unit 380 may be located at a rear side of the inlet portion 362.
The second chamber 300 may include the fan installation portion 350 provided to connect the circulation flow path 320 to the first chamber 220. The fan installation portion 350 may include the blower fan 353 that provides power for air inside the circulation flow path 320 to move in one direction, and the fan housing 351 that accommodates the blower fan 353 and is coupled to or extended from the circulation flow path 320.
The fan installation portion 350 may include a discharge duct 352 provided to connect the circulation flow path 320 to the discharge hole 232.
The discharge duct 352 may be provided to extend toward the discharge hole 232 with a cross-section corresponding to an area of the discharge hole 232 in the fan housing 351.
As a result, air inside the first chamber 220 may be introduced through the base cover 360, may pass through the circulation flow path 320, and then may be supplied back into the first chamber 220 through the fan installation portion 350.
The base portion 310 may support the compressor 340. The base portion 310 may include a compressor installation portion 312 in which the compressor 340 that supplies a refrigerant to the heat exchangers 331 and 332 is installed. The compressor installation portion 313 may be located outside the circulation flow path 320.
A controller 390 that controls the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure may be installed in the base portion 310. The controller may be referred to as a control panel or a PCB board.
The base portion 310 may include a controller installation portion 313 that provides a space in which the controller 390 is installed. The controller installation portion 313 may be located at the bottom of the circulation flow path 320. The controller installation portion 313 may define a space into which the controller 390 is to be inserted.
The controller 390 may be configured to control all electronically controlled components, such as the compressor 340, the steam supply unit 380, and the blower fan 353.
The controller 390 may be inserted into and supported by the base portion 310, and thus vibration or shock applied to the controller 390 may be alleviated. The controller 390 may be located close to all electronic components, and thus occurrence of control errors such as noise may be minimized.
The steam supply unit 380 may be located above the circulation flow path 320, and the controller 390 may be located below the circulation flow path 320. Accordingly, the circulation flow path 320 may be provided in a straight duct shape between the steam supply unit 380 and the controller 390. Accordingly, the resistance of a flow path of air passing through the circulation flow path 320 may be minimized.
The circulation flow path 320, the outside air duct 370, the steam supply unit 380, the controller 390, the heat exchanger 330, and the compressor 340 may be installed or arranged in a module form on the base portion 310.
Accordingly, the base portion 310 may be easily installed and maintained by being pulled in and out forward or backward from the second chamber 300.
FIG. 6 illustrates a base portion and circulation flow path of a laundry treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure.
FIG. 6(a) is a perspective view of the base portion 310 and the circulation flow path 320 viewed from the front, and FIGS. 6(b) and 6(c) are perspective views of the base portion 310 and the circulation flow path 320 viewed from the rear.
The base portion 310 may be installed on a base cabinet that defines a lower surface of the laundry treatment apparatus. The base portion 310 itself may define the lower surface of the laundry treatment apparatus.
The base portion 310 may include a base bottom portion 311 defining a support surface. The base bottom portion 311 may define the lower surface of the laundry treatment apparatus. The base bottom portion 311 may be installed on an upper surface of the lower surface of the cabinet 100 defining the lower surface of the laundry treatment apparatus. That is, the base bottom portion 311 may be installed on the upper surface of the base cabinet.
The base portion 310 may be integrally provided with the circulation flow path 320 that defines at least a portion of a path through which air moves. The circulation flow path 320 may be located inside the second chamber 300 and may circulate air inside the first chamber 220. The circulation flow path 320 may be formed by extending upward from the base bottom portion 311.
The circulation flow path 320 may include a flow path body 321 that extends from the base bottom portion 311 to form a flow path, a heat exchanger installation portion 3212 that provides a space in which the evaporator 331 or the condenser 332 is installed inside the flow path body 321, and an air discharger 323 that is provided at a rear side of the flow path body 321 and through which air of the flow path body 321 is discharged.
The air discharger 323 may be provided in a pipe shape provided in the flow path body 321 to be extended backward. A diameter of the air discharger 323 may be provided to be less than a width of the flow path body 321.
The air discharger 323 may be connected to the fan housing 350. Air discharged from the air discharger 323 may be guided into the inner case 200 or the first chamber 220 through the fan housing 350.
The circulation flow path 320 may include an outside air intake portion 322 formed by penetrating the front surface of the flow path body 321.
The outside air intake portion 322 may be provided to communicate with the outside air duct 370. The outside air duct 370 may be installed and supported in front of the outside air intake portion 322.
The circulation flow path 320 may include a damper that opens and closes the outside air intake portion 322. By opening and closing the damper, outside air may be allowed or blocked from being introduced into the circulation flow path 320.
The base portion 310 may include the compressor installation portion 312 that provides a space in which the compressor 340 is installed. The compressor installation portion 312 may be formed on one side of the base bottom portion 311 and may be formed integrally with the base bottom portion 311.
The compressor installation portion 312 may have a protrusion formed to support the compressor 340. The compressor installation portion 312 may be positioned toward the rear side of the base portion 310. The compressor installation portion 312 may be disposed to overlap at least a portion of the air discharger 323 in a width direction.
The compressor installation portion 312 may include a buffer member that reduces vibration transmitted from the compressor 340. The buffer member may be fixed to the protrusion.
The base portion 310 may include the controller installation portion 313 in which the controller 390 is installed. The controller installation portion 313 may be formed between the base bottom portion 311 and the circulation flow path 320. The controller installation portion 313 may be formed between the base bottom portion 311 and a bottom surface of the circulation flow path 320. The controller installation portion 313 may be provided in the shape of a duct with one of the front and rear sides open at the bottom of the circulation flow path 320.
The structure of the controller installation portion 313 is described below.
FIG. 7 illustrates a structure of a circulation flow path of a laundry treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure.
The circulation flow path 320 may extend upward from the base portion 310 to define a flow path through which air flows. The circulation flow path 320 may include the heat exchanger installation portion 3212 that provides a space in which the evaporator 331 and the condenser 332 are installed. The heat exchanger installation portion 3212 may be provided inside the flow path body 321.
The flow path body 321 may be provided with an open upper surface. The condenser 332 and the evaporator 331 may be installed and installed through an opening of the flow path body 321.
The upper opening of the flow path body 321 may be shielded by the base cover 360, and the base cover 360 and the flow path body 321 may define a flow path of the circulation flow path 320.
The front surface of the flow path body 321 may be located backward away from a front end of the base portion 310. The front surface of the flow path body 321 may be located backward away from a front end of the base bottom portion 311.
Accordingly, the base bottom portion 311 may ensure a bottom support surface 3111 on which the water supply tank 301 or at least one of the drain tank 302 and the external air duct 370 are installed and supported.
The heat exchanger 330 may the evaporator 331 installed inside the circulation flow path 320 and provided as a heat exchanger that cools and dehumidifies air flowing into the circulation flow path 320, and the condenser 332 provided as a heat exchanger that heats air passing through the evaporator 331 to form hot air.
The compressor 340 may supply a refrigerant that exchanges heat with the air to the condenser 332. The compressor 340 may be located outside the circulation flow path 320. The compressor 340 may further include the expansion valve 334 that expands and cools the refrigerant passing through the condenser 332.
As the flow path body 321 is integrally formed with the base portion 310, the height of the heat exchanger installation portion 3212 may be ensured more, and the heights of the condenser 332 and the evaporator 331 may also be increased.
As a result, the width in the front-back direction of the condenser 332 and the evaporator 331 may be reduced, and thus the number of refrigerant pipes passing through the condenser and the evaporator may be reduced. Accordingly, there is an effect of reducing a flow loss of air passing through the condenser and the evaporator.
The sum of the length of the evaporator 331 and the length of the condenser 332 may be provided to be less than the length of the heat exchanger installation portion 3212. Accordingly, the length in the front-back direction of the heat exchanger installation portion 3212 may be equal to or less than half the length of the flow path body 321.
Accordingly, the heat exchanger installation portion 3212 may be sufficiently spaced from the outside air intake portion 322, and thus a sufficient space may be ensured for the outside air and the air inside the inner case 200 to be introduced into the inside of the circulation flow path 320.
The inside of the flow path body 321 may include an installation partition 3211 that separates the heat exchanger installation portion 3212 from the outside of the heat exchanger installation portion 3212. The installation partition 3211 may be provided to protrude from a lateral surface of the flow path body 321 and support a front side of the evaporator 331.
The flow path body 321 may be extended backward in width based on the installation partition 3211.
As a result, the width of the heat exchanger installation portion 3212 may be provided to be greater than half the width of the base portion 310. The width of the circulation flow path 320 may be provided to be greater than half the width of the base portion 310.
The width of the condenser 332 and the width of the evaporator 331 may also be provided to be greater than half of the entire width of the base portion 310.
As described above, when the width of the condenser 332 and the evaporator 331 is ensured, there is an effect of ensuring a sufficient heat exchange capacity.
The fan housing 351 may be disposed to overlap the condenser 332 or the evaporator 331 in the front-back direction. Accordingly, the air passing through the evaporator 331 and the condenser 332 may be introduced into the fan housing 351 without bending a flow path. That is, the air introduced into the circulation flow path 320 has an effect of minimizing flow loss by not bending the path during the process of moving to the fan housing 351.
Referring to FIG. 7, points at which refrigerant leakage is expected are indicated. There are two main areas in which a refrigerant is likely to leak.
First, from among pipes defining the condenser 332 or the evaporator 331, there is a portion defining as a U-shaped pipe C1. For efficient heat exchange, pipes defining the condenser 332 or the evaporator 331 needs to form a continuous passage. To increase heat exchange efficiency, a single pipe through which refrigerant flows is bent in an overlapping shape.
The bent portion of the pipe may be formed into a U-shaped pipe C1. The U-shaped pipe C1 may be provided for connection between one straight pipe L11 and another straight pipe L12. In general, straight pipes L11 and L12 and the U-shaped pipe C1 may be connected through a coupling method such as welding. This may allow the straight pipes L11 and L12 and the U-shaped pipe C1 to define a single passage through which the refrigerant flows.
In this case, a welding portion may become vulnerable to refrigerant leakage. The coupling portion may not be formed as one piece at a time of production, but may manufactured as separate components and then arbitrarily combined together, and thus the coupling portion may be relatively vulnerable to pressure or temperature.
In particular, a pipe defining the condenser 332 may be more vulnerable to leakage because the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant compressed in the compressor 340 flows through the pipe.
Therefore, there is a possibility of refrigerant leakage at the indicated coupling portion of pipes.
Even if the straight pipes L11 and L12 and the U-shaped pipe C1 described above are formed integrally, the U-shaped pipe C1 is likely to have stress concentrated due to its bent shape. Therefore, there is a possibility that cracks or microscopic holes may form in the U-shaped pipe C1, causing refrigerant leakage.
The expansion valve 334 and the compressor 340 connected to the condenser 332 or the evaporator 331 may be provided outside the circulation flow path 320. The refrigerant flowing through the expansion valve 334 and compressor 340 is also the same as the refrigerant flowing through the condenser 332 and the evaporator 331.
That is, the condenser 332 and the evaporator 331 may be connected to the compressor 340 and the expansion valve 334 through piping. In general, when installing the condenser 332 and the evaporator 331 in the circulation flow path 320, the condenser 332 and the evaporator 331 are located inside the circulation flow path 320, and then pipes extending from the condenser 332 and the evaporator 331 are connected to the expansion valve 334 or the compressor 340 through welding.
In this case, there is a high possibility that micro cracks or pin holes will occur in a coupling portion C2 formed by a method such as welding. Therefore, there is a possibility that combustible refrigerant may leak at the corresponding coupling portion C2.
Micro cracks or pin holes occur in the coupling portion C2 due to stress caused by mechanical vibration or welding defects.
Considering an operation process of the laundry treatment apparatus, the inside of the circulation flow path 320 and the outside of the circulation flow path 320 are separated from each other in terms of air flow. Therefore, refrigerant leaked from the U-shaped pipe C1 inside the circulation flow path is likely to circulate through the circulation flow path. On the other hand, refrigerant leaked from a coupling portion outside the circulation flow path is likely to remain outside the circulation flow path. That is, refrigerant leaked from outside the circulation flow path is likely to be accumulated above the base portion 310 due to its high density. Therefore, the refrigerant may be maintained at a high concentration, which may increase a possibility of ignition.
FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a ventilation portion of a laundry treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure. FIG. 8(a) shows an area in which a refrigerant is expected to become dense when high-density combustible refrigerant leaks in a laundry treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure. FIGS. 8(b) to 8(e) are schematic diagrams illustrating a possibility of dispersing a refrigerant when the ventilation portion is arranged in different ways, according to the present disclosure.
Referring to FIG. 8(a), the inside of the cabinet 100 may be divided into the first chamber 220 and the second chamber 300. An internal space of the cabinet 100 may be divided into the first chamber 220 and the second chamber 300 by the inner case 200. A portion directly related to refrigerant leakage may be seen as the second chamber 300. Therefore, hereinafter, the arrangement of a ventilation portion 600 will be examined with a focus on the second chamber 300.
Referring to FIG. 8(a), the base portion 310 is located below the second chamber 300. The base portion 310 may define a bottom surface of the second chamber 300. The present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the base portion 310 may be located on an upper surface of the base cabinet.
The leaked refrigerant may flow inside the second chamber 300 and may be accumulated above the base portion 310 due to a density of the refrigerant. An accumulation area of the refrigerant is indicated by 'R' in the drawing. When the refrigerant is accumulated to be stagnant, a refrigerant density in the corresponding area may increase. A refrigerant such as R-290 are considered non-explosive when a concentration of the refrigerant is maintained to be less than or equal to 0.5 %. That is, even if the refrigerant leaks, a risk of explosion may be significantly reduced by dispersing the refrigerant and lowering the concentration to 0.5% or less.
The ventilation portion 600 that forms an airflow inside the second chamber 300 may be located to disperse the leaked refrigerant. The ventilation portion 600 may be located on the base portion 310. The ventilation portion 600 may include a ventilation fan 620 that generates air flow. Depending on an arrangement of the ventilation fan 620, an effect of dispersing a refrigerant may significantly vary. The ventilation portion 600 may include a discharge flow path 630 that guides air discharged from the ventilation fan 620 to the outside of the cabinet. The ventilation portion 600 may include a ventilation hole 610 formed to pass through the base portion 310. The ventilation hole 610 may connect areas separated from each other by the structure of the base portion 310.
Referring to FIG. 8(b), the ventilation fan 620 is installed upright on the base portion 310. That is, a rotation shaft 620r of the ventilation fan is arranged parallel to the base portion 310. It is assumed that the ventilation fan 620 is provided as a box fan. The box fan may mean that air intake and exhaust directions are the same. In other words, the airflow formed by the ventilation fan 620 may be arranged parallel to the base portion 310.
A portion marked as 'R1' on the drawing may be understood as an area in which airflow is generated by the ventilation fan 620 and a refrigerant is dispersed. In other words, the portion marked as 'R1' may be understood as an area with a low risk of explosion.
A portion marked as 'R2' on the drawing indicates an area in which an airflow generated by the ventilation fan 620 is not sufficiently affected. That is, the portion marked as 'R2' on the drawing may be understood as an 'explosion hazard area' that is maintained at a high concentration despite an operation of the ventilation fan 620.
When the ventilation fan 620 forms an airflow in a direction parallel to the base portion 310 as shown in FIG. 8(b), an airflow may not be sufficiently formed in a lower area of the ventilation fan 620. Therefore, an area in which a concentration of combustible refrigerant is maintained high may remain.
Referring to FIG. 8(c), the ventilation fan 620 may be installed and located above the base portion 310. In other words, the rotation shaft 620r of the ventilation fan may be located in a direction perpendicular to the base portion 310. In other words, the rotation shaft 620r of the ventilation fan may be extended in a height direction of the cabinet 100.
In the drawing, it is assumed that the ventilation fan 620 is formed as a centrifugal fan. The centrifugal fan may refer to a fan in which air inlet and air outlet directions are different. In particular, the centrifugal fan may refer to a Sirocco fan in which air is introduced in a shaft direction and air is discharged in a direction different from the shaft.
Referring to FIG. 8(c), a refrigerant above the base portion 310 may be introduced into the ventilation fan 620 in a direction perpendicular to the base portion 310 and then discharged in a direction parallel to the base portion 310. A discharge side of the ventilation fan 620 may be connected to the discharge flow path 630. That is, the air located above the base portion 310 may be discharged in a lateral direction of the base portion 310.
However, a hazard region R2 as shown in the drawing may be generated due to the height of the ventilation fan 620. In conclusion, when the ventilation fan 620 is located as in FIG. 8(c), there is a risk that combustible refrigerant may not be sufficiently ventilated.
Referring to FIG. 8(d), the ventilation fan 620 may be installed and located above the base portion 310. The arrangement of the ventilation fan 620 itself may be the same as in FIG. 8(c). However, in FIG. 8(c), air may be introduced into the upper portion of the ventilation fan, whereas in FIG. 8(d), air may be introduced into a lower portion of the ventilation fan.
The ventilation portion 600 may include a ventilation hole (not shown) formed to pass through the base portion 310. The refrigerant located on an upper side of the base portion 310 may be introduced into a lower surface of the base portion 310 or the inside of the base portion 310 through the ventilation hole 610. Air passing through the lower surface or internal side of the base portion 310 may be introduced into the bottom of the ventilation fan 620.
When the ventilation fan 620 is located as in FIG. 8(d), the refrigerant accumulated above the base portion 310 may be discharged to the outside of the cabinet 100 after moving to the lower surface or inside of the base portion 310. That is, the accumulated refrigerant may primarily move to a space lower than an upper surface of the base portion 310. Therefore, compared to FIGS. 8(b) and 8(c), there is an effect of efficiently reducing a hazard region in which a refrigerant becomes dense.
As seen from FIG. 8(e), the ventilation fan 620 is located on the same line as the base portion. When the ventilation fan 620 is located as such, the refrigerant accumulated above the base portion 310 may be introduced into the ventilation fan 620 through the upper portion of the ventilation fan 620 and then discharged in a direction parallel to the base portion 310. The air discharged from the ventilation fan 620 may be discharged to the outside of the cabinet through the discharge flow path 630. In this case, the discharge flow path 630 may be formed inside the base portion 310 or on the lower surface of the base portion 310.
When the ventilation fan 620 is arranged as in FIG. 8(e), the refrigerant accumulated above the base portion 310 may be effectively discharged. The ventilation fan 620 may effectively eliminate a hazard region because the ventilation fan 620 forms a flow path through which the refrigerants located above the base portion 310 may move to a lower space.
Comparing FIGS. 8(b) to 8(e), there is a problem that residual refrigerant may inevitably remain when only an upper surface of the base portion 310 is used for refrigerant ventilation. That is, stability may be reduced because the explosion hazard area of the refrigerant may not be eliminated due to the shape and physical limitations of the ventilation fan 620.
However, when ventilating the refrigerant, if the lower surface of the base portion 310 as well as the upper surface of the base portion 310 is used, the refrigerant may be discharged effectively. That is, it has an effect of significantly reducing a possibility of explosion by minimizing residual refrigerant.
In this specification, the upper surface and lower surface of the base portion 310 may be understood to mean two areas separated by a structure of the base portion 310. That is, the upper surface and lower surface of the base portion 310 may be arranged vertically with respect to a specific partition, and the upper surface and lower surface of the base portion 310 may be arranged left and right with respect to a specific partition.
The description in which the lower surface of the base portion 310 is used to ventilate the air inside the second chamber 300 may be applied to the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure. To ventilate the air inside the second chamber 300, ventilation may be implemented by utilizing an area located closer to the ground from among areas separated by the structure of the base portion 310 as a flow path.
The ventilation fan 620 according to the present disclosure may have the rotation shaft 620r of the ventilation fan, which extends in a height direction of the cabinet 100. The ventilation fan 620 may suck in air in an extension direction of the rotation shaft 620r of the ventilation fan. The ventilation fan 620 may discharge air in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the rotation shaft 620r of the ventilation fan.
Here, discharging air in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the rotation shaft 620r of the ventilation fan may mean that an air intake direction and air discharge direction of the ventilation fan are not parallel to each other, but intersect with each other. That is, vertical may not mean physically perpendicular, but rather intersecting, that is, not parallel.
FIG. 9 illustrates a ventilation portion arranged in a different structure from FIGS. 8(b) to 8(e).
FIGS. 9 illustrates a region R in which combustible refrigerant is accumulated below the second chamber 300. The ventilation fan 620 is illustrated as sucking in air from an upper side and discharging air downward. That is, the rotation shaft 620r of the ventilation fan may be located perpendicularly to the base portion 310. In other words, the rotation shaft 620r of the ventilation fan may be extended in a height direction of the cabinet 100.
The structure illustrated in FIG. 9 is similar to the structure illustrated in FIG. 8(e), but it may be seen that directions of the air discharged from the ventilation fan 620 are different. In detail, the ventilation fan 620 may be located to communicate between the upper and lower sides of the base portion 310. That is, the ventilation fan 620 may suck in air from the upper side of the base portion 310 and discharge the air to the lower side of the base portion 310.
However, when the ventilation fan 620 is installed with this structure, there is a risk that the ventilation efficiency may change depending on an environment below the base portion 310. FIG. 9 illustrates the base portion 310 installed on an uneven ground such as a rug.
When the ground on which the base portion 310 is installed, such as a rug or carpet, includes a combination of fibers, there is a possibility that an area in which air is discharged is shielded by the fibers. That is, there is a possibility that an outlet side of the ventilation fan 620 is blocked by lint or fiber, preventing smooth ventilation of the refrigerant.
Therefore, considering a ground environment in which the laundry treatment apparatus is installed, the air discharged from the ventilation fan 620 may be guided in a lateral direction of the base portion 310. However, when the ventilation fan 620 is located to discharge air downward as shown in FIG. 9, a sufficient distance between the ground and a point where air is discharged outside the cabinet may be provided.
For example, when the sufficient distance between the ground and the bottom surface of the cabinet is provided by installing legs below the cabinet, the problem mentioned above may not occur.
FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a ventilation portion of a laundry treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure.
The ventilation portion 600 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may discharge the internal air of the second chamber 300 to the outside of the cabinet 100 through the lower surface of the base portion 310. The ventilation portion 600 may be located on the base portion 310.
The ventilation portion 600 may include the ventilation fan 620 that moves air inside the second chamber 300. The ventilation fan 620 may move air inside the second chamber 300 to the outside of the cabinet 100. The ventilation fan 620 may move air inside the second chamber 300 to the lower surface of the base portion 310.
The ventilation portion 600 may include a ventilation hole 610 (see FIG. 11) formed to pass through the base portion 310. When the ventilation hole 610 is formed to pass through the base portion 310, this may mean that the ventilation hole 610 is formed to pass through the base bottom portion 311. It may also mean that the ventilation hole 610 is formed to pass through the compressor installation portion 312 or the controller installation portion 313.
That is, when the ventilation hole 610 is formed to pass through the base portion 310, the ventilation hole 610 may be understood as connecting two areas separated by the structure constituting the base portion 310.
In other words, assuming that there is a partition defining the base portion 310, when the ventilation hole 610 is formed to pass through the corresponding partition, it may also be understood that the ventilation hole 610 is formed to pass through the base portion 310.
The ventilation fan 620 may move air inside the second chamber 300 to the ventilation hole 610. The ventilation fan 620 may move air above the base portion 310 to the ventilation hole 610. The ventilation fan 620 may move air above the base portion 310 to the lower surface of the base portion 310 through the ventilation hole 610.
Here, the upper side of the base portion 310 or the upper surface of the base portion 310 may mean a surface exposed to a user when the base portion 310 is installed to be supported on the ground. On the other hand, the lower surface of the base portion 310 or the bottom surface of the base portion 310 may mean a surface that is shielded by the ground and not exposed to the outside when the base portion 310 is installed on the ground.
That is, assuming a partition perpendicular to the ground from among components of the base portion 310, when the base portion 310 is installed on the ground, a surface of both surfaces of the partition, which is exposed to the outside, may be defined as an upper side of the base portion 310 or the upper surface of the base portion 310. On the other hand, a surface located opposite the surface exposed to the outside from among both surfaces of the portion or the surface not exposed to the outside from among both surfaces of the partition may be defined as the lower surface of the base portion 310 or the bottom surface of the base portion 310.
In other words, the upper surface and lower surface of the base portion 310 in this specification may mean a surface located at an upper side and a surface located at a lower side based on a height direction. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and in terms of spatial separation of a structure, the exposed surface may be defined as an upper surface, and the non-exposed surface may be defined as a lower surface or a bottom surface.
Based on the definition above, the ventilation fan 620 may move air from an upper side of the base portion 310 to the lower surface of the base portion 310. In the laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art, it is difficult to connect one area and another area separated based on the base portion 310. That is, ventilation of internal air is usually performed only in one area of the base portion 310. In other words, the air inside the second chamber 300 may only flow on the upper surface of the base portion 310.
However, the ventilation fan 620 according to the present disclosure may move air from one area (the upper surface of the base portion) to another area (the lower surface of the base portion) based on the base portion 310. That is, a ventilation effect may be further increased by moving combustible refrigerant accumulated in one area of the base portion 310 from one area of the base portion 310 to another area due to its high density.
The ventilation portion 600 according to the present disclosure may include the discharge flow path 630 that guides air discharged from the ventilation fan 620 to the cabinet 100. The discharge flow path 630 may be formed integrally with the base portion 310. In particular, the discharge flow path 630 may be provided in a form in which the lower surface of the base portion 310 is sunken upward. The lower surface of the discharge flow path 630 may be kept open. A base cabinet 100 defining the bottom surface of the cabinet may be located below the discharge flow path 630. The discharge flow path 630 may be combined with the base cabinet 100 to form a tube shape.
The embodiment described above has been described that the discharge flow path 630 is exposed onto the lower surface of the base portion 310. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the discharge flow path 630 may be formed to pass through a lateral surface of the base portion 310. That is, the discharge flow path 630 may be formed inside the base portion 310.
The discharge flow path 630 may include a discharge flow path inlet 631 provided at one end and connected to the outlet side of the ventilation fan 620 and a discharge flow path outlet 632 provided at the other end and discharged to the outside of the base portion 310. The discharge flow path 630 may include a movement flow path 633 connecting the discharge flow path inlet 631 to the discharge flow path outlet 632. The discharge flow path 630 may discharge air toward the rear side of the base portion 310.
That is, when explaining an air flow path on the discharge flow path 630, air discharged from the ventilation fan 620 may flow into the discharge flow path inlet 631, pass through the movement flow path 633, and be discharged through the discharge flow path outlet 632.
As described in FIG. 9, when the discharge flow path 630 discharges air downward, ventilation efficiency may vary depending on an environment of an installation surface. Therefore, when the discharge flow path 630 is provided to discharge air to the rear side, there is an effect of ensuring ventilation efficiency regardless of the environment of the installation surface.
An area of the discharge flow path 630, to which air is discharged, is open for air discharge. In this case, there is a possibility that internal noise may escape through the open area. That is, when the discharge flow path 630 guides the air discharged from the ventilation fan 620 to the rear side of the cabinet, the open area of the discharge flow path 630 may be located at the rear side. Therefore, there is an effect of preventing noise from being transmitted to a user.
Referring to FIG. 10, the discharge flow path 630 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be located at the bottom of the compressor 340. The ventilation fan 620 may be located at the bottom of the compressor 340. The ventilation fan 620 may suck in air from the top and discharge the air to the lateral surface. That is, the air discharged from the ventilation fan 620 may be discharged to the outside of the cabinet 100 toward the discharge flow path 630.
In the laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art, no separate components are located at the bottom of the compressor. However, when the discharge flow path 630 is located at the bottom of the compressor 340 as in the present disclosure, the efficiency of space utilization may be increased. That is, the configuration for ventilating the internal air may be prevented from consuming space.
The compressor is a 'high temperature and high pressure' area, and thus there is a significantly higher possibility of refrigerant leakage in the compressor. That is, an area around the compressor may be an area with a high possibility of refrigerant leakage. That is, when the ventilation fan 620 is installed near the compressor, it has an effect of ventilating an area in which there is a high possibility of refrigerant leakage.
In particular, refrigerant leaked from the compressor may be concentrated at the bottom of the compressor due to its high density. That is, there is a possibility that the refrigerant concentration at the bottom of the compressor may remain high even from among areas near the compressor. Therefore, when the ventilation fan 620 is located at the bottom of the compressor, the ventilation effect may be increased by ventilating the area in which a possibility of refrigerant leakage is highest.
The compressor installation portion 312 according to the present disclosure may include a fixing pin 3121 that supports the bottom of the compressor 340 and a main installation portion 3122. The fixing pin 3121 may be inserted into one side of the compressor 340. A plurality of fixed pins 3121 may be provided and may be inserted and fixed to various portions of the compressor 340.
The main installation portion 3122 may be located between the plurality of fixed pins 3121. The main installation portion 3122 may be located at the bottom of the center of the compressor. The compressor 340 may be coupled and supported by the fixing pin 3121 and may be spaced apart from the main installation portion 3122.
The compressor installation portion 312 may include a partition portion 3123 for dividing a space in which the compressor 340 is installed. The partition portion 3123 may extend from a lateral wall of the circulation flow path 320. The partition portion 3123 may connect the circulation flow path 320 to the base portion 310. The compressor 340 may be located on one side of the partition portion 3123 and a piping of the heat exchanger 330 may be located at the other side. The partition portion 3123 may limit noise generated from the compressor 340 from being emitted.
The ventilation hole 610 according to the present disclosure may include a compressor through hole 613 that is formed to pass through the compressor installation portion 312 in a height direction. The compressor through hole 613 may be formed to pass through the compressor installation portion 312 in a height direction of the cabinet 100. In particular, the compressor through hole 613 may be formed to pass through the main installation portion 3122. The compressor through hole 613 may be formed to pass through the base bottom portion 311.
That is, the compressor through hole 613 may connect a space of the compressor installation portion 312 separated by the base portion 310 to the lower surface of the base portion 310. That is, the refrigerant or air accumulated on the compressor installation portion 312 may move to the lower surface of the base portion 310 through the compressor through hole 613.
The ventilation fan 620 may be located in the compressor through hole 613. That is, the ventilation fan 620 may move the refrigerant or air located around the compressor 340 toward the compressor through hole 613. In particular, the ventilation fan 620 may move the refrigerant located at the bottom of the compressor installation portion 312 further downward. That is, by locating the ventilation fan 620 in the compressor through hole 613, a high-density refrigerant may be ventilated more effectively.
In other words, the compressor through hole 613 is located at the bottom of the compressor, and thus leaked refrigerant may be concentrated near the compressor through hole 613. That is, the compressor through hole 613 is likely to maintain a high refrigerant concentration even from among areas near the compressor in which a possibility of refrigerant leakage is high. Therefore, when the ventilation fan 620 is located in the compressor through hole 613, a ventilation effect may be improved.
The base portion 310 may include a ventilation portion installation portion 316 that fixes the ventilation fan 620 to the base portion 310. The ventilation portion installation portion 316 may be provided around the compressor through hole 613. The ventilation portion installation portion 316 may be provided in a hook shape and may fix the ventilation fan 620 to the base portion 310.
The controller installation portion 313 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be located lower than the circulation flow path 320, and the ventilation portion 600 may be located lower than the heat exchanger 330.
That is, the circulation flow path 320 and the controller installation portion 313 may be arranged vertically, and the heat exchanger 330 and the ventilation portion 600 may also be arranged vertically. Therefore, the ventilation portion 600 may be located lower than the heat exchanger 330. Therefore, the ventilation portion 600 may ventilate the inside of the controller installation portion 313 more effectively. The controller installation portion 313 may be located closer to the ground than other components, and thus a concentration of the refrigerant is likely to be maintained high. Therefore, when the controller installation portion 313 is effectively ventilated, it may be possible to prevent combustible refrigerant from exploding in the controller installation portion 313.
The ventilation portion 600 may be located lower than an upper end of the controller 390. That is, the ventilation portion 600 may ventilate the refrigerant remaining in the controller installation portion 313 from below. Considering the characteristic of moving downward due to a density of the refrigerant, a possibility of ignition may be reduced more effectively when the ventilation portion 600 is located lower than components at risk of ignition.
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a base portion and a circulation flow path, taken from above, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of a base portion and a circulation flow path, taken from below, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Hereinafter, a description is given with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. The base portion 310 according to the present disclosure may include the controller installation portion 313. The controller installation portion 313 may be located at the bottom of the circulation flow path 320. In particular, the bottom surface of the circulation flow path 320 may define an upper surface of the controller installation portion 313.
The controller installation portion 313 may be formed in a form in which the bottom of the circulation flow path 320 is sunken forward or backward. The controller 390 formed as a PCB board assembly or the like may be inserted and installed inside the controller installation portion 313.
One lateral surface of both lateral surfaces of the controller installation portion 313 in a width direction may define an outer wall of the base portion 310. The other lateral surface of the controller installation portion 313 may be located toward the discharge flow path 630.
External power may be supplied to operate each component of the laundry treatment apparatus. The external power may be supplied via alternating current (AC) or high voltage direct current (DC). In this case, there is a possibility of ignition due to arcing from AC or high voltage DC ends.
When a refrigerant such as R-290 is maintained to be equal to or greater than a certain concentration, there is a risk of ignition in the controller 390. Therefore, ventilating the inside of the controller installation portion 313 is an important factor in ensuring the stability of the laundry treatment apparatus by using a combustible refrigerant.
In the case of the laundry treatment apparatus according to the related art, the controller is located at an upper side of the cabinet. Therefore, even if high-density R-290 is used, there is little possibility of ignition of the combustible refrigerant on the controller. However, in the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure, the controller installation portion 313 is located at the bottom of the entire apparatus. Therefore, when a refrigerant with a high density is used, there is a higher possibility that the combustible refrigerant may ignite in the controller 390. Therefore, in the present disclosure, it is necessary to ventilate an area around the controller installation portion 313 to reduce the possibility of ignition.
For the reason described above, the ventilation hole 610 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may further include a controller through hole 611 formed to pass through one surface of the controller installation portion 313. The air inside the controller installation portion 313 may be more easily ventilated through the controller through hole 611. In an embodiment, the controller through hole 611 may be located lower than an upper end of the controller 390.
In particular, the controller through hole 611 may be formed to pass through one surface of both lateral surfaces of the controller installation portion 313, which faces the discharge flow path 630. The controller through hole 611 is formed on one surface of both lateral surfaces of the controller installation portion 313, which faces a portion in which the compressor 340 is located. The controller installation portion 313 may communicate with the lower surface of the base portion 310 through the controller through hole 611. That is, the controller through hole 611 may connect the controller installation portion 313 to the lower surface of the base portion 310.
Both lateral surfaces of the controller installation portion 313 may be provided as partitions extending in a height direction. In this case, the controller through hole 611 may be formed to pass through one surface of both lateral surfaces of the controller installation portion 313 in a width direction.
That is, the controller through hole 611 may be connected to the controller installation portion 313 and the lower surface of the base portion 310, and in this case, the lower surface of the base portion 310 may mean a portion that is exposed to the outside when the base portion 310 is turned over.
The base portion 310 may further include a support surface 315 that supports the bottom of the circulation flow path 320. The support surface 315 may support the bottom of one lateral surface adjacent to the compressor installation portion 312 from among both lateral surfaces in a width direction of the circulation flow path 320. The support surface 315 may support the bottom of one lateral surface of the circulation flow path 320, close to the discharge flow path 630. The support surface 315 may be located to face the lateral surface of the controller installation portion 313. The support surface 315 may be located to face the controller through hole 611.
In other words, one side of the support surface 315 may define an upper surface of the base portion 310, and the other side may define the lower surface of the base portion 310.
The base portion 310 may include a piping portion 314 in which a piping of the heat exchanger 330 and the expansion valve 334 are arranged, at one side located close to the compressor installation portion 312. The circulation flow path 320 may be located to be biased toward one side in a width direction of the base portion 310. In this case, the piping portion 314 may be disposed at the other side in the width direction of the base portion 310.
The support surface 315 may be provided in the piping portion 314 of the base portion 310. The ventilation hole 610 may include a piping portion through hole 612 formed to pass through the support surface 315. The piping portion through hole 612 may be formed to pass through one surface of the support surface 315, which faces the controller through hole 611.
The support surface 315 may be a partition extending in a height direction of the cabinet 100. In this case, the piping portion through hole 612 may be formed to pass through the support surface 315 in a width direction of the base portion 310.
The piping portion through hole 612 may connect one side to the other side of the support surface 315. As described above, one side of the support surface 315 may define an upper surface of the base portion 310, and the other side may define the lower surface of the base portion 310. Accordingly, the piping portion through hole 612 may connect the upper surface of the base portion 310 to the lower surface of the base portion 310.
The refrigerant or air accumulated on the upper surface of the base portion 310 may move to the lower surface of the base portion 310 through the piping portion through hole 612. That is, the combustible refrigerant accumulated on the piping portion 314 may be ventilated through the lower surface of the base portion 310 by using the piping portion through hole 612. That is, the piping portion through hole 612 may effectively discharge the refrigerant by utilizing the characteristic of combustible refrigerant that moves downward due to high density.
The ventilation portion 600 may include a passing flow path 650 formed on the lower surface of the base portion 310. The passing flow path 650 may be located on the lower surface of the base portion 310. The passing flow path 650 may connect the ventilation hole 610 to the discharge flow path 630.
The bottom surface of the circulation flow path 320 may define an upper surface of the passing flow path 650. That is, the circulation flow path 320 may be formed at an upper side and the passing flow path 650 may be formed at an lower side based on a specific partition.
The circulation flow path 320 may include the heat exchanger 330, in particular, a water collector 324 in which water condensed in the evaporator 331 is stored. The water collector 324 may be formed such that a portion of the bottom surface of the circulation flow path 320 is stepped downward. In particular, the water collector 324 may further include a water collection bottom surface 3241 that defines a bottom surface in which water is stored.
The water collection bottom surface 3241 may be stepped with the heat exchanger installation portion 3212. The water collection bottom surface 3241 may be located closer to the ground than the heat exchanger installation portion 3212.
The passing flow path 650 may be formed at a lower side of the water collection bottom surface 3241. The water collection bottom surface 3241 may define an upper lateral surface of the passing flow path 650. That is, one side of the water collection bottom surface 3241 may define the circulation flow path 320 and the other side may define the bottom surface of the base portion 310.
The lateral surface of the controller installation portion 313, the water collection bottom surface 3241 and the support surface 315 may define the passing flow path 650. The passing flow path 650 may be connected to the discharge flow path 630. The ventilation fan 620 may be located between the passing flow path 650 and the discharge flow path 630.
That is, air discharged outside the cabinet through the lower surface of the base portion 310 may be guided to the discharge flow path 630 through the passing flow path 650. In other words, the passing flow path 650 may be located on the lower surface of the base portion 310. The passing flow path 650 may be formed on the lower surface of the base portion 310.
The passing flow path 650 may be arranged to overlap the controller installation portion 313 in a width direction of the base portion 310. The passing flow path 650 may define a flow path that moves air in the controller installation portion 313. In this case, when the passing flow path 650 overlaps the controller installation portion 313, the passing flow path 650 may discharge a larger amount of air to the outside from the controller installation portion 313. That is, there is an effect of improving the ventilation efficiency of air.
The controller installation portion 313 may have a high possibility of ignition of R-290 refrigerant as described above. Therefore, when the controller installation portion 313 is ventilated more efficiently, the stability of the entire laundry treatment apparatus may be ensured.
Referring back to FIGS. 5 and 10 to 12, it is possible that sparks may be generated in electrical components that require power input for an operation. In particular, the controller 390, the blower fan 353, the compressor 340, and the steam supply unit 380 need to be powered for an operation, and sparks may be generated at a power input terminal.
In particular, referring to FIG. 5, an area in which sparks are likely to occur is indicated. An area marked as W1 is an area in which the controller 390 is located. Power needs to be input to the controller 390, and thus there is a possibility that a spark may occur at the power input terminal.
An area marked as W2 indicates a terminal through which power is input to the blower fan 353. External power needs to be input for the blower fan 353 to rotate. In particular, power needs to be supplied to the motor. The power input terminal may be provided at the bottom of the motor, and sparks may be generated in the corresponding area.
An area marked as W3 indicates a location of the power supply terminal that supplies power to the compressor 340. Power may be supplied through the upper side of the compressor 340, and there is a possibility that sparks may occur at a portion to which power is supplied.
An area marked as W4 indicates a terminal through which power is input to the steam supply unit 380. The steam supply unit 380 receives power and heats water. Therefore, the steam supply unit 380 requires a terminal to receive external power. There is a possibility that sparks may occur at the power input terminal.
In the W1 to W4 described above, there is a possibility that a spark may occur, and the spark may cause an explosion of the combustible refrigerant R-290. Therefore, when an area in which the components described above are located is intensively ventilated, there is an effect that may reduce the possibility of explosion.
The components described above may be located far from the ground in the order of the controller 390, the blower fan 353, the compressor 340, and the steam supply unit 380. That is, the controller 390 may be located closest to the ground. combustible refrigerant, in particular R-290, are dense and may naturally move downward when the refrigerant leaks. That is, the concentration of R-290 may remain highest in a bottom region. Naturally, the bottom regions are more likely to ignite.
Therefore, an electrical component located closer to the ground is most likely to cause an explosion. That is, from among the components described above, a possibility of an explosion occurring in the controller 390 is highest. Therefore, it may be seen that more intensive ventilation of the controller installation portion 313 is effective in reducing the overall possibility of explosion.
However, the present disclosure is not limited to the arrangement order described above, and the location on the ground may change depending on an installation structure or design.
FIG. 13 illustrates a state in which a lower surface of a base portion is located to face upward. In particular, the controller through hole is shown exposed.
Referring to FIG. 13, the controller through hole 611, the passing flow path 650, the ventilation fan 620, and the discharge flow path 630 are illustrated. As described above, the controller 390 is located in the controller installation portion 313. Power is supplied to the controller 390, and there is a possibility that combustible refrigerant may be ignited by the supplied power.
It may be seen that the controller installation portion 313 is located close to the ground throughout the base portion 310. That is, the combustible refrigerant applied to the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure may be accumulated downward due to its inherent density. There is a possibility that the refrigerant accumulated at the bottom may be collected in large quantities in the controller installation portion 313.
That is, there is a high possibility of ignition at the controller installation portion 313 due to an arrangement in which the controller installation portion 313 is located at the bottom and the high density of the combustible refrigerant. Therefore, it is important to ventilate the internal air of the controller installation portion 313 more effectively.
Through the controller through hole 611, air inside the controller installation portion 313 may move to the passing flow path 650. Air moved to the passing flow path 650 may be introduced into the bottom of the ventilation fan 620 in an airflow formed by the ventilation fan 620. Air introduced to the ventilation fan 620 may move to the discharge flow path 630. Air moved to the discharge flow path 630 may be moved outside the cabinet.
That is, a controller ventilation flow path P1 that sequentially connects the controller through hole 611, the ventilation fan 620, and the discharge flow path 630 may be formed in the base portion 310. The controller ventilation flow path P1 may be formed on the lower surface of the base portion 310.
The controller ventilation flow path P1 may include an area P11 that passes air through the controller through hole 611, an area P12 that introduces air to the ventilation fan 620 through the passing flow path 650, and an area P13 that discharges air to the outside of the cabinet 100 through the discharge flow path 630. In other words, the controller ventilation flow path P1 may be formed by connecting the three areas P11, P12, and P13 described above.
As shown in the drawing, the bottom surface of the controller ventilation flow path P1 may be provided in an open form. Although the current drawing shows the upper side as being open, the drawing shows the lower surface of the base portion, which faces upward. That is, the bottom surface of the controller ventilation flow path P1 may be provided in an open form.
A base cabinet 110 (see FIG. 15) defining the lower surface of the cabinet 100 may be located on the lower surface of the base portion 310. That is, the base cabinet 100 may shield the open bottom surface of the controller ventilation flow path P1. Thus, the controller ventilation flow path P1 may define a duct shape through which air flows.
However, the present disclosure is not limited to the examples described above. The controller ventilation flow path P1 may be formed inside the lower surface of the base portion 310. When the controller ventilation flow path P1 is formed inside the base portion 310, the base cabinet 100 may not define a duct. The base portion 310 may define the bottom surface of the laundry treatment apparatus itself.
FIG. 14 illustrates a state in which a lower surface of a base portion is located to face upward. In particular, a piping portion through hole is shown exposed.
Referring to FIG. 14, the piping portion through hole 612, the passing flow path 650, the ventilation fan 620, and the discharge flow path 630 are illustrated. As described above, the piping portion 314 has a piping that connects the heat exchanger 330 to the expansion valve 334 and a piping that connects the expansion valve 334 to the compressor 340. There is a possibility of combustible refrigerant leaked from the piping.
That is, the piping portion 314 may be viewed as an area in which leaked refrigerant is likely to be located. That is, when the piping portion 314 is effectively ventilated, a density of the combustible refrigerant may be prevented from being maintained to be equal to or greater than a combustible concentration.
Accordingly, the combustible refrigerant accumulated on the piping portion may be moved to the passing flow path 650 through the piping portion through hole 612. Therefore, the combustible refrigerant accumulated on the piping portion may be discharged to the outside through the lower surface of the base portion 310.
The refrigerant moved to the passing flow path 650 through the piping portion through hole 612 may be introduced into the bottom of the ventilation fan 620. Air introduced into the bottom of the ventilation fan 620 may be discharged to the discharge flow path 630 through a lateral surface of the ventilation fan 620. That is, air introduced through the piping portion through hole 612 may be discharged to the outside of the cabinet 100.
That is, a piping portion ventilation flow path P2 that sequentially connects the piping portion through hole 612, the ventilation fan 620, and the discharge flow path 630 to each other may be formed in the base portion 310. The piping portion ventilation flow path P2 may be formed on the lower surface of the base portion 310. The piping portion ventilation flow path P2 may be formed by the lower surface of the base portion 310.
The piping portion ventilation flow path P2 may include an area P21 that passes air through the piping portion through hole 612, an area P22 that introduces air to the ventilation fan 620 through the passing flow path 650, and an area P23 that discharges air to the outside of the cabinet 100 through the discharge flow path 630. In other words, the piping portion ventilation flow path P2 may be formed by connecting the three areas P21, P22, and P23 described above.
The piping portion ventilation flow path P2 may differ from the controller ventilation flow path P1 only in a point at which air is introduced from an upper surface of the base portion 310 and may have the same subsequent path as the controller ventilation flow path P1. That is, the piping portion ventilation flow path P2 may ventilate air on the upper surface of the base portion 310 through the piping portion through hole 612. On the other hand, the controller ventilation flow path P1 may ventilate air on the upper surface of the base portion 310 through the controller through hole 611.
That is, the controller ventilation flow path P1 and the piping portion ventilation flow path P2 may be maintained in the same manner in the remaining air flow sections, except that upstream of the flow paths corresponds to the controller through hole 611 and the piping portion through hole 612, respectively.
In other words, the controller ventilation flow path P1 and the piping portion ventilation flow path P2 may share the areas P12 and P22 that introduce air to the ventilation fan 620 through the passing flow path 650 and the areas P13 and P23 that discharge air to the outside of the cabinet 100 through the discharge flow path 630.
The controller through hole 611 and the piping portion through hole 612 may be arranged to face each other with the passing flow path 650 located therebetween.
A portion of the controller ventilation flow path P1 and the piping portion ventilation flow path P2 may be located on the lower surface of the compressor installation portion 312.
As described above, the controller ventilation flow path P1 and the piping portion ventilation flow path P2 may be formed on the lower surface of the base portion 310. Therefore, it is effective to ventilate a refrigerant such as R-290, which is a dense combustible refrigerant. This is because, to more effectively discharge the refrigerant accumulated above the base portion 310, a location that is lower than the upper surface of the base portion 310 is used as a flow path. When the location lower than the upper surface of the base portion 310 is utilized as a flow path, flow of the refrigerant may be generated by utilizing gravity. It may be possible to move the refrigerant to a point to which an airflow generated by rotation of the fan does not reach.
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view of a cross section of an area in which a ventilation fan is installed.
In particular, FIG. 15 illustrates a cross section of an area around a compressor and a a ventilation portion, taken along a dotted line A-A' of FIG. 10.
Referring to FIG. 15, the compressor 340 is installed in the compressor installation portion 312. The ventilation portion 600 may be located at the bottom of the compressor 340. In particular, the ventilation fan 620 may be located at the bottom of the compressor 340. The ventilation fan 620 may be located in the compressor through hole 613.
The compressor through hole 613 may connect the compressor installation portion 312 to the lower surface of the base portion 310.
The compressor 340 may receive external power for an operation. When external power is input, sparks may occur near the compressor 340. Therefore, there is a possibility that combustible refrigerant may ignite near the compressor 340.
When the ventilation fan 620 operates, the refrigerant located on the lateral surface or bottom of the compressor may flow into the upper side of the ventilation fan 620. The refrigerant introduced into the ventilation fan 620 may be discharged to the outside of the cabinet 100 through the discharge flow path 630.
A compressor ventilation flow path P3 that sequentially connects the compressor installation portion 312, the ventilation fan 620, and the discharge flow path 630 to each other may be formed in the base portion 310. The compressor discharge flow path 630 may define a path connecting the upper surface of the base portion 310 to the lower surface of the base portion 310.
The compressor ventilation flow path P3 may effectively ventilate the refrigerant accumulated around the compressor installation portion. This prevents combustible refrigerant from igniting due to sparks generated from the compressor.
Referring to FIG. 10, the steam supply unit 380 may be located on the upper side of the compressor. The steam supply unit 380 receives power, generates heat, and uses the generated heat to generate steam.
That is, the steam supply unit 380 needs to be supplied with external power to operate. During a power supply process, the steam supply unit 380 has a possibility to generate sparks, similar to the compressor 340. There is a possibility that a spark may occur at a terminal to which power is supplied from the steam supply unit 380.
That is, combustible refrigerant may ignite even in the vicinity of the steam supply unit 380. Therefore, sufficiently ventilating the surrounding air of the steam supply unit 380 is effective in reducing the possibility of ignition of the combustible refrigerant.
The compressor ventilation flow path P3 described above may effectively ventilate the air around the steam supply unit 380. Accordingly, the compressor ventilation flow path P3 may prevent combustible refrigerant from igniting due to a spark generated in the steam supply unit 380.
FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of a laundry treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Referring to FIG. 16, a method of controlling a ventilation portion to implement refrigerant ventilation according to the present disclosure may be seen.
The method of controlling the laundry treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a ventilation fan operating operation S10. The ventilation fan operating operation S10 may be performed prior to operations of other components. That is, a possibility of explosion may be prevented in advance by preemptively operating the ventilation fan 620 without a separate refrigerant concentration detection process.
After the ventilation fan operating operation S10 is performed, operating operations of other components may be performed. When a concentration of combustible refrigerant is maintained to be equal to or less than 2.5 %, there is no risk of explosion. Therefore, the ventilation fan operating operation S10 may continue until the concentration of combustible refrigerant falls below 2.5 %. Here, a preset time may be defined as 30 seconds.
The explosive concentration and time of the refrigerant described above may vary depending on the detailed specifications of the refrigerant or fan applied.
In the control method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, after the ventilation fan operating operation S10 continues for a preset time, operations of other components may begin (S31, S32, and S33). That is, a ventilation fan operating operation S31 in which the ventilation fan 620 is operated for a preset time and then circulates internal air, a compressor operating operation S32 in which a refrigerant is compressed, and a steam supply unit operating operation S33 in which steam is supplied may be initiated.
The ventilation fan 620 may continue to operate even after a preset time has elapsed. That is, even while other components are currently operated, the operation of the ventilation fan 620 may be maintained without being terminated.
The ventilation fan 620 may be stopped after all other components have stopped operating. That is, the ventilation fan 620 may start operating first and end operating last from among all the components.
To prevent explosion of combustible refrigerant, the ventilation fan 620 may be continuously operated. A spark may be generated in the controller 390 when all internal components operate. In other words, it may be seen that there is a possibility of ignition during an operation of the laundry treatment apparatus.
Therefore, when the ventilation fan 620 is operated to dilute the refrigerant throughout the operation process of the laundry treatment apparatus, explosion of the combustible refrigerant may be effectively prevented.
After the ventilation fan operating operation S10, operation starts S31, S32, and S33 and shutdown operations S34, S35, and S36 of other components may be completed. That is, an operating and shutdown operation S30 of components other than the ventilation fan may be intervene between the ventilation fan operating operation S10 and the ventilation fan ending operation S40.
In other words, after a blower fan shutdown operation S34, a compressor shutdown operation S35, and a steam supply unit shutdown operation S36 are completed, the ventilation fan ending operation S40 for shutdown of an operation of the ventilation fan 620 may be performed.
Components required to detect leaked refrigerant and accurately determine that refrigerant has leaked will be described. Leaked combustible refrigerants, such as R290, are colorless and odorless and may not be detected by sight or smell. Therefore, a component is required to determine leakage.
To this end, a first temperature sensor 601 (see FIG. 5) located upstream of the circulation flow path 320 and measuring the temperature (first temperature) of air discharged from the first chamber 220 and a second temperature sensor 602 (see FIG. 5) that measures the temperature of combustible refrigerant flowing into the evaporator may be provided. The controller 390 may read a current load applied to the compressor 340, and thus a separate current measuring device, or the like may not be required. However, if necessary, a separate measuring device or sensor for measuring the current of the compressor 340 may be provided. The first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor may be of any type as long as the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor are capable of measuring the first temperature and the second temperature.
The controller 390 may receive a control signal from the first temperature sensor 601 and the second temperature sensor 302 and may transmit control signals that controls rotation of a motor inside the compressor, power supplied to the steam supply unit 380, rotation of the blower fan, and rotation of the ventilation fan 620. Through the control signal, the compressor 340, the blower fan 353, and the ventilation fan 620 may also variably control rotation by an inverter method.
When started by a user, the laundry treatment apparatus goes through a drying cycle in which laundry inside the first chamber 220 is dried by compressing a refrigerant with the compressor 340 of a heat pump and generating high-temperature dry air through the evaporator 331 and the condenser 332, and a cooling cycle in which the laundry is dried by circulating only the already heated air without using the heat pump and slowly cooling the air.
In the drying and cooling cycles, a controller (not shown) operates the ventilation fan at a preset time to prevent explosion regardless of leakage. This is to circulate air inside the cabinet during normal times. Therefore, even if combustible refrigerant leaks, a concentration of the combustible refrigerant may be diluted by circulating air.
During the drying cycle in which the compressor operates, the refrigerant circulates due to an operation of the compressor, and thus refrigerant leakage may occur quickly and in large quantities. Therefore, simply operating the fan at a preset time may not be enough to dilute a concentration of the leaked refrigerant, and thus it is necessary to detect the leakage during the drying cycle in which the compressor operates. To this end, the temperature of the first temperature sensor 601 and the second temperature sensor 602 may be measured in real time, and a current load of the compressor 340 may be read in real time to determine whether there is a leak. By using two methods of measuring a temperature difference and a current value and determining a leak only when both different conditions are satisfied, the accuracy may be increased compared to determining a leak by using only one method.
Hereinafter, a method of determining leakage is describe in detail. The first temperature sensor 601 measures the temperature of high-temperature air (first temperature) discharged from the first chamber, and the second temperature sensor 602 measures the refrigerant temperature (second temperature) at an evaporator inlet corresponding to the lowest temperature in a refrigerant circulation path. Under a normal circumstance, that is, when the refrigerant circulates without leakage and heat exchange occurs between air and the refrigerant, the difference between the first temperature and the second temperature is large. However, when leakage occurs, the more the refrigerant leaks, the less the compression and condensation of the refrigerant occurs. Accordingly, heat exchange between the refrigerant and air does not occur, and ultimately the difference between the first temperature and the second temperature disappears. This may be used to determine leakage.
In the control method according to the present disclosure, a case in which an absolute value of the difference between the first temperature and the second temperature is less than or equal to a preset allowable temperature difference is determined as a leak, and the allowable temperature difference may be set to 2 °C.
The air temperature and refrigerant temperature become the same when a refrigerant leaks, and thus it is not necessary to measure the air temperature in the second chamber or the refrigerant temperature at the evaporator inlet. Depending on an environment in which a temperature sensor is used, even if the temperature sensor is installed in different locations, leakage may be identified as long as the air temperature and the refrigerant temperature are measured. However, a certain amount of transient time is required for the evaporator 331 and the condenser 332 to operate in a steady state, and thus refrigerant leakage may be identified by comparing the first temperature and the second temperature after a preset second reference time. That is, the compressor does not operate in the steady state before the second reference time, and thus the difference between the first temperature and the second temperature may not be large, and it may be difficult to determine that there is a leak in this case.
Leakage may also be detected by using a current load of the compressor 340. When there is a refrigerant leak, power consumed by the compressor may gradually decrease, and thus the current or current load applied to the compressor at the time of leakage may also decrease. Therefore, in the control method according to the present disclosure, it may be determined that the refrigerant has leaked when the current falls to be equal to or less than a preset critical current (or critical current load). It may be set to 0.8 ampere (A).
However, it takes a certain amount of time for the compressor 340 to operate in the steady state, and thus when the current (or current load) of the compressor is determined to be lower than the critical current (or critical current load) after a preset first reference time, it may be determined that the refrigerant has leaked. That is, the compressor does not operate in the steady state before the second reference time, and thus the current load of the compressor may not be large, and it may be difficult to determine that there is a leak in this case.
Therefore, the second reference time may mean an elapsed time after the compressor 340 operates in the drying cycle or may mean the elapsed time after the compressor 340 is stopped and then restarted. The second reference time may be set to 15 minutes.
FIG. 17 relates to a control method that is always performed to prevent explosion regardless of leakage of combustible refrigerant in a drying cycle.
When a user starts operating the laundry treatment apparatus, the control method according to the present disclosure starts a drying cycle start operation S100. In detail, in the control method according to the present disclosure, the ventilation fan 620 may be preferentially operated together with start of the drying cycle in the drying cycle start operation S100. Then, in the control method according to the present disclosure, the blower fan 353 and the compressor 200 may be sequentially operated. That is, the ventilation fan 620 may be operated together with start of the drying cycle, and when a preset operation time of a blower fan is reached, in the control method according to the present disclosure, the blower fan 353 may be operated (S130). Then, when a preset operation time of the compressor is reached, in the control method according to the present disclosure, the compressor 340 may be operated (S150). The operation time of the blower fan and the operation time of the compressor may be set to 10 seconds and 15 seconds, respectively, after start of the drying cycle. However, this is only an example, and a setting time of the operation time of the compressor may be changed or the order may be changed.
In the control method according to the present disclosure, whether a preset operation time of the ventilation fan has elapsed (S171) for the ventilation fan 620 that operates together with start of the drying cycle, and when it is determined that the operation time of the ventilation fan has elapsed, the operation of the ventilation fan 620 may be terminated (S172). This assumes that there is an already leaked refrigerant prior to the current operation. That is, when refrigerant has leaked during a period of time from end of previous use to beginning of current use, the refrigerant may be accumulated near the compressor 340 inside the cabinet 100, and thus a controller (not shown) circulates air during the operation time of the ventilation fan by using the ventilation fan 620 to dilute the leaked refrigerant or discharge the refrigerant to the outside. The operation time of the ventilation fan may be set to 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
Then an operation S200 of setting a first operation period time PT1 of the ventilation fan and a first operation time OT1 of the ventilation fan may be performed depending on whether a preset first reference time has elapsed. The first reference time may be set to 20 minutes as the elapsed time from a time when the drying cycle starts (the ventilation fan operates).
The ventilation fan 620 also operates to cool the compressor, and generally, there is no case in which the ventilation fan 620 does not operate for more than 10 minutes after 9 to 10 minutes have passed since the drying cycle starts (the fan operates). Therefore, the ventilation fan 620 needs to be operated more frequently before 9 to 10 minutes have elapsed since the drying cycle starts (the ventilation fan operates), but after 9 to 10 minutes have elapsed since the drying cycle starts (the ventilation fan operates), the ventilation fan 620 operates to cool the compressor, and thus there is no need to operate the fan frequently separately to prevent explosion.
Therefore, to ensure that the ventilation fan 620 operates to cool the compressor, the first reference time may be set to 20 minutes.
If it is determined that the first reference time has not elapsed after determining whether the first reference time has elapsed (S210), the control method according to the present disclosure may set the first operation period time PT1 of the ventilation fan to be short (S221) to operate frequently. However, if it is determined that the first reference time has elapsed, the control method according to the present disclosure may set the first operation period time PT1 of the ventilation fan to be relatively long (S222). If the first reference time has not elapsed, in the control method according to the present disclosure, the first operation period time PT1 of the ventilation fan and the first operation time OT1 of the ventilation fan may be set to 5 minutes and 10 seconds, and if the first reference time has elapsed, the first operation period time PT1 of the ventilation fan and the first operation time OT1 of the ventilation fan may be set to 20 minutes and 10 seconds.
Then, in the control method according to the present disclosure, the operation and stop of the ventilation fan 620 may be periodically repeated until a preset drying cycle time t1 ends according to the preset first operation period time PT1 of the ventilation fan and the preset first operation time OT1 of the ventilation fan (S300).
That is, in the control method according to the present disclosure, whether the first operation period time PT1 of the ventilation fan has been reached may be determined (S301), if the first operation period time PT1 of the ventilation fan has been reached, the ventilation fan 620 may be operated (S303), and whether the first operation time OT1 of the ventilation fan has elapsed may be determined (S305), and if the first operation time OT1 of the ventilation fan has elapsed, the ventilation fan 620 may be stopped. In the control method according to the present disclosure, whether a preset drying cycle time t1 has elapsed may be determined (S309), and when the drying cycle time t1 has elapsed, the compressor 340 may be stopped to end the drying cycle (S310), and the cooling cycle as a next operation may be initiated (S330).
If it is determined that the first operation period time PT1 of ventilation fan has been reached (S301) and the first operation period time PT1 of the ventilation fan has not been reached, in the control method according to the present disclosure, the ventilation fan 620 may be operated, whether the drying cycle time t1 has elapsed may be determined, and if the drying cycle time t1 has not elapsed, the method may return to the operation of setting the first operation period time PT1 of the ventilation fan and the first operation time OT1 of the ventilation fan according to the first reference time.
For example, if the drying cycle time is 72 minutes and the first reference time is 20 minutes, the ventilation fan 620 operates for 2 minutes and 30 seconds from start of the drying cycle to prevent explosion, and then operates for 10 seconds when the elapsed time of the drying cycle (time elapsed after start of the drying cycle) is 5 minutes, 10 seconds when it is 10 minutes, 10 seconds when it is 15 minutes, 10 seconds when it is 20 minutes, 10 seconds when it is 40 minutes, and 10 seconds when it is 60 minutes. After 72 minutes, the drying cycle ends. That is, within the first reference time of 20 minutes, except for a drying cycle start operation S110, the ventilation fan 620 operates for 10 seconds every 5 minutes. If the first reference time exceeds 20 minutes, the ventilation fan 620 operates for 10 seconds every 20 minutes.
If the drying cycle time t1 is a multiple of the first operation period time PT1 of the ventilation fan, an operation of the laundry treatment apparatus ends when the drying cycle time t1 is reached. Therefore, in this case, prior to determining whether the first operation period time PT1 of the ventilation fan has been reached (S301), an operation of determining whether the drying cycle time t1 has ended may be additionally performed.
FIG. 18 illustrates a control method that is always performed to prevent explosion regardless of leakage of combustible refrigerant when a cooling cycle is initiated after a drying cycle is completed.
When the cooling cycle is initiated (S400), the control method according to the present disclosure operates the ventilation fan 620. In this case, in the control method according to the present disclosure, the operation and stop of the ventilation fan 620 may be periodically repeated until a preset cooling cycle time t2 ends according to a preset second operation period time PT2 of the ventilation fan and a preset second operation time OT2 of the ventilation fan (S500). The second operation period time PT2 of the ventilation fan and the second operation time OT2 of the ventilation fan may be set to 20 minutes and 10 seconds, respectively.
The second operation period time PT2 of the ventilation fan and the second operation time OT2 of the ventilation fan may be set to be equal to or greater than the first operation period time PT1 of the ventilation fan and the first operation time OT1 of the ventilation fan. This is because, in the cooling cycle, the compressor 200 does not operate and only the already heated air is circulated using the blower fan 353 to gradually cool the refrigerant, thus reducing a need to frequently operate the ventilation fan 620.
That is, in the control method according to the present disclosure, whether the second operation period time PT2 of the ventilation fan has been reached may be determined (S501), if the second operation period time PT2 of the ventilation fan has been reached, the ventilation fan 620 may be operated (S503), and whether the second operation time OT2 of the ventilation fan has elapsed may be determined (S505), and if the second operation time OT2 of the ventilation fan has elapsed, the ventilation fan 620 may be stopped. In the control method according to the present disclosure, whether a preset cooling cycle time t2 has elapsed may be determined (S509) and, when the cooling cycle time t2 has elapsed, the compressor 340 and the blower fan 353 may be shut down and the cooling cycle may be ended (S510).
In the control method according to the present disclosure, whether the second operation period time PT2 of the ventilation fan has been reached may be determined (S301), if the second operation period time PT2 of the ventilation fan has not been reached, the ventilation fan 620 is not operated, and if the cooling cycle time t2 has elapsed, the method returns to the operation of determining whether the second operation period time PT2 of the ventilation fan has been reached (S501).
For example, when the cooling cycle time t2 is 43 minutes, the ventilation fan 620 may operate for 10 seconds along with start of the cooling cycle, and when the cooling cycle time t2 is 40 minutes, the ventilation fan 620 may operate for 10 seconds.
If the cooling cycle time t2 is a multiple of the second operation period time PT2 of the ventilation fan, an operation of the laundry treatment apparatus 100 ends when the cooling cycle time t2 is reached, and thus the ventilation fan 620 may not be operated. Therefore, in this case, prior to determining whether the second operation period time PT2 of the ventilation fan has been reached (S501), an operation of determining whether the cooling cycle time t2 has ended may be additionally performed.
FIG. 19 illustrates a determination method of detecting leakage of combustible refrigerant in a drying cycle in which a compressor operates, and a control method for countermeasures in case of leakage. In the drying cycle, the compressor 340 may be driven, and thus refrigerant leakage may occur more quickly. Therefore, the control method for explosion prevention illustrated in FIGS. 17 and 18 alone may not be sufficient to ensure prevention of explosion due to leakage of combustible refrigerant. Therefore, in the drying cycle, a separate control method may be required to actively determine and respond to leakage according to an operation of the compressor.
The control method of leakage detection in FIG. 19 may be performed simultaneously with the explosion prevention control method in FIG. 17. Hereinafter, a detailed description will be given with reference to FIG. 19.
When a user starts operating the laundry treatment apparatus, the control method according to the present disclosure starts a drying cycle start operation S100. This is the same as the drying cycle start operation in FIG. 17. In the drying cycle start operation S100, the ventilation fan 620 may first operate together with start of the drying cycle. Then, the compressor 340 and the blower fan 353 may operate sequentially. That is, the ventilation fan 620 may be operated together with start of the drying cycle, and when a preset operation time of a blower fan is reached, the blower fan 353 may be operated. Then, when an operation time of the compressor is reached, the compressor 340 may be operated. The operation time of the blower fan and the operation time of the compressor may be set to 10 seconds and 15 seconds, respectively, after start of the drying cycle. However, this is only an example, and the order of the operation time of the blower fan and the operation time of the compressor may be changed.
The ventilation fan 620 that operates together with start of the drying cycle may determine whether a preset operation of the ventilation fan has elapsed (S171), and if it is determined that the time has elapsed, the operation of the ventilation fan 620 may be ended (S172). This assumes that there is a leaked refrigerant prior to the current operation. That is, when refrigerant has leaked during a period of time from previous use to current use, the refrigerant may be accumulated near the compressor 340 inside the cabinet 100, and thus a controller (not shown) circulates air during the operation time of the ventilation fan by using the ventilation fan 620 to dilute the leaked refrigerant or discharge the refrigerant to the outside. The operation time of the ventilation fan may be set to 2 minutes and 30 seconds. This means that the drying cycle start operation indicated as S100 in FIG. 19 is the same as the drying cycle start operation S100 in FIG. 17.
Then, in the control method according to the present disclosure, whether the operation time of the compressor exceeds a preset second time may be determined (S700). This is because, as described above, the compressor may not operate in a steady state before the second reference time, the difference between the first temperature and the second temperature may not be large, and the measured current may be less than the critical current, it may be difficult to determine this case as a leak.
Therefore, the second reference time may mean an operation time of the compressor 340 after the compressor 340 operates in the drying cycle or may mean an operation time of the compressor 340 after the compressor 340 is stopped and then restarted. The second reference time may be set to 15 minutes.
After determining whether the operating time of the compressor 340 exceeds the second reference time (S700), if the operating time of the compressor 340 exceeds the second reference time, in a leakage measurement operation S800, a controller (not shown) measures a current load (Icomp) actually used by the compressor 340, i.e., the current, in real time. This may be known by reading a current value flowing from a PCB of the controller to the compressor by using a microcomputer, which is one of components constituting the controller. The first temperature sensor 601 measures a first temperature T1, which is the temperature of air discharged from the first chamber 220, and the second temperature sensor 602 measures a second temperature T2, which is the temperature of a refrigerant at an evaporator inlet, in real time (S800). Here, real-time measurement means sampling at a measurement interval of less than 1 second.
The first temperature sensor 601 may be located at a point through which air from the first chamber 220 flows to the second chamber 300. In the drawing, the first temperature sensor 601 is installed on a wall of a circulation flow path, but this is only an example, and the first temperature sensor 601 may also be installed on the floor or at the entrance.
The second temperature sensor 602 may be located at the evaporator inlet in which the refrigerant passing through the condenser 332 expands and enters the evaporator.
In the control method according to the present disclosure, whether there is a leak by using the measured first temperature and second temperature and the measured current value (Icomp) of the compressor (S900).
In the control method according to the present disclosure, the measured current value (Icomp) applied to the compressor 340 may be compared with the critical current (S911). If the measured current value (Icomp) applied to the compressor 340 is less than or equal to the critical current, the controller (not shown) compares a first measurement time with a preset first continuous time (S912). If the measured current value (Icomp) applied to the compressor 340 exceeds the critical current, there is no leakage, and thus instead of accumulating the first measurement time and the second measurement time, initialization is performed (S801) and the current of the compressor is measured again (S810) and the first temperature and the second temperature are measured (S821 and S822).
This is because leakage may be determined only when both current and temperature difference are satisfied at the same time, and thus if all leakage conditions are not satisfied, the control method according to the present disclosure may initialize the first measurement time and the second measurement time again.
Here, the first measurement time refers to a time during which a current value used by the compressor during the drying cycle is continuously measured to be equal to or less than a preset critical current value. Therefore, if the measured current value (Icomp) of the compressor is measured to be less than or equal to the critical current value for 2 seconds, then exceeds the critical current value, and then less than or equal to the critical current value again for 4 seconds, the first measurement time is not 6 seconds, but 4 seconds re-measured 2 seconds later.
The second measurement time refers to a time during which the difference (absolute value) between the first temperature measured by the first temperature sensor and the second temperature measured by the second temperature sensor during the drying cycle is continuously measured to be less than or equal to a preset allowable temperature difference. Therefore, if the allowable temperature difference is exceeded in the middle, the second measurement time may be initialized and restarted.
When the measured current value (Icomp) applied to the compressor 200 is less than or equal to the critical current and the first measurement time is equal to or greater than the first continuous time preset in succession (S912), in the control method according to the present disclosure, leakage may be determined based on current measurement. Here, the first continuous time may be set to 5 seconds.
If the measured current value (Icomp) applied to the compressor 340 is less than or equal to the critical current, but the first measurement time is continuously less than the first continuous time, in the control method according to the present disclosure, the first measurement time may be accumulated (S913) and the current of the compressor may be measured again (S810).
Similarly, the controller (not shown) compares whether an absolute value of the difference between the first temperature T1 and the second temperature T2 is less than or equal to the allowable temperature difference (S921). If the absolute value of the difference between the first temperature T1 and the second temperature T2 is less than or equal to the allowable temperature difference, the controller (not shown) compares the second measurement time with the preset second continuous time (S922). If the absolute value of the difference between the first temperature T1 and the second temperature T2 exceeds the allowable temperature difference, there is no leakage, and thus instead of accumulating the first measurement time and the second measurement time, initialization is performed (S801) and the current of the compressor is measured again (S810) and the first temperature and the second temperature are measured (S821 and S822).
This is because leakage may be determined only when both current and temperature difference are satisfied at the same time, and thus if all leakage conditions are not satisfied, the control method according to the present disclosure may initialize the first measurement time and the second measurement time again (S801).
When the absolute value of the difference between the first temperature T1 and the second temperature T2 is less than or equal to the allowable temperature difference and the first measurement time is equal to or greater than the first continuous time preset in succession (S912), in the control method according to the present disclosure, leakage may be determined based on current measurement. Here, the second continuous time may be set to 5 seconds.
If the absolute value of the difference between the first temperature T1 and the second temperature T2 is less than or equal to the allowable temperature difference, but the second measurement time is continuously less than the second continuous time, in the control method according to the present disclosure, the second measurement time may be accumulated (S923) and the first temperature T1 and the second temperature T2 may be measured again (S821 and S822).
In the control method according to the present disclosure, whether leakage based on current measurement and leakage based on temperature measurement are satisfied at the same time may be determined (S930), and leakage may be finally determined only when they are satisfied at the same time. If determination based on current measurement and the determination based on temperature measurement are different, the method may return to the operation of measuring the current value (Icomp) of the compressor 340 again (S810) and measuring the first temperature and the second temperature (S821 and S822).
Therefore, the condition for finally determining leakage is when the leakage condition based on current measurement and the leakage condition based on temperature measurement are simultaneously satisfied. In detail, only when the measured current value (Icomp) applied to the compressor 340 is less than or equal to the critical current, the first measurement time is equal to or greater than the first continuous time continuously, and the absolute value of the difference between the first temperature T1 and the second temperature T2 is equal to or less than the allowable temperature difference and the second measurement time is equal to or greater than the second continuous time continuously, in the control method according to the present disclosure, an emergency operating operation S1000 as a next operation may be performed.
The emergency operating operation S1000 may include a first emergency operating operation (S940) in which the ventilation fan is repeatedly operated three times during a preset first emergency operation time, and a second emergency operating operation (S960) in which the first emergency operating operation (S940) is performed more than three times.
In the first emergency operating operation (S940) of the control method according to the present disclosure, the compressor 340 and the blower fan 353 may be operated without being stopped. The first emergency operation time may be set to 5 minutes.
In the control method according to the present disclosure, whether the number of times the ventilation fan 620 has been operated in the first emergency operation due to detection of leakage exceeds three times may be checked, and if the number of times is three times or less, the method may return to an operation of initializing the first measurement time and the second measurement time (S801), measuring the current value (Icomp) of the compressor 200 (S810), and measuring the first temperature and the second temperature (S821 and S822). If the number of times the emergency operation occurs exceeds 3, the second emergency operating operation (S960) may be performed.
In the second emergency operating operation (S960) of the control method according to the present disclosure, the compressor 340 and the blower fan 353 may be stopped. However, the ventilation fan 620 may be operated in the second emergency operation during a preset second emergency operation time. The second emergency operation time may be set to 5 minutes.
Then, the controller 390 may display an error through a display located on a door. Alternatively, errors may be notified to a user via a speaker or an alarm message may be transmitted to a mobile phone of the user via wireless communication.
FIG. 20 illustrates a manipulation sequence of a manipulation unit according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
Referring to FIG. 20, the manipulation unit 500 of the laundry treatment apparatus is illustrated. The user command may be input through the manipulation unit 500. The user may check a manipulation state or a state of the laundry treatment apparatus based on information displayed on the manipulation unit 500.
The manipulation unit 500 may include a power button 501 that powers on or off the laundry treatment apparatus. Power may be supplied to the laundry treatment apparatus by pressing the power button 501. If the power button 501 is pressed again while the power is on, the power to the laundry treatment apparatus may be cut off.
The manipulation unit 500 may include a start button 502 that starts an operation of the laundry treatment apparatus or temporarily stops the laundry treatment apparatus in operation. When a user selects a course of the laundry treatment apparatus and presses the start button 502, the selected course may proceed.
In this specification, 'course' may mean operating various devices constituting a laundry treatment apparatus in a preset manner. For example, 'Course A' may mean operating a heat exchanger, a compressor, a blower fan, or the like at a preset value. In this specification, 'course' may include various courses such as a standard course, an express course, and an intensive course.
The manipulation unit 500 may include course input units 511, 512, 513, and 514 that select a course of the laundry treatment apparatus. The course input unit may include a first course input button 511, a second course input button 512, a third course input button 513, and a fourth course input button 514, which select courses assigned to the respective buttons.
The manipulation unit 500 may further include a reservation button 515 that causes the selected course to be executed after a preset time has elapsed.
The manipulation unit 500 may include course display units 521, 522, 523, and 524 that display input information through the course input units 511, 512, 513, and 514.
The course display units 521, 522, 523, and 524 may include a first course screen 521, a second course screen 522, a third course screen 523, and a fourth course screen 524, which display commands received through each of the course input units 511, 512, 513, and 514.
A command input through the first course input button 511 may be displayed on the first course screen 521. Referring to the drawing, when the first course input button 511 is pressed once, the 'standard course' may be displayed as selected on the first course screen 521. When the first course input button 511 is pressed twice, the 'express course' may be displayed as selected on the first course screen 521.
The course selection method and manipulation method described above are merely exemplary, and various manipulation methods that are to be applied by a person skilled in the art are also considered to be included in the embodiments of the present disclosure.
The course of the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present disclosure may include a 'safety course' in which only the ventilation fan 620 is operated without operating the heat exchanger, the blower fan, the compressor, and the like. On the drawing, the safety course may be selected by manipulating the fourth course input button 514.
A process of selecting a safety course is explained as follows with reference to FIGS. 20(a) to 20(d).
Referring to FIG. 20(a), the user may press the power button 501 to supply power to the laundry treatment apparatus.
Then, referring to FIG. 20(b), the user may select the safety course by pressing the fourth course input button 514 on the powered laundry treatment apparatus. When the safety course is selected, the word 'safety' may light up on the fourth course screen 524. The user may recognize that the safety course has been selected by lighting of the word 'safety' on the fourth course screen 524.
Then, referring to FIG. 20(c), the user may execute the safety course by pressing the start button 502 while the safety course is selected. When the safety course is executed, only the ventilation fan 620 may operate. If only the ventilation fan 620 operates, explosion of leaked refrigerant may be prevented because the cause of explosion is reduced.
That is, when the safety course is executed, the laundry treatment apparatus may discharge the leaked refrigerant to the outside by only operating the ventilation fan 620 without operating other components for treating laundry. The safety course has an effect of preventing leakage of refrigerant from exploding.
The manipulation unit 500 may include a time display screen 525 that displays the remaining time of the safety course. A time at which the safety course ends may be displayed on the time display screen 525. The number displayed on the time display screen 525 may be set to decrease as time passes.
Referring to FIG. 20(d), the number '10' is displayed on the time display screen 525. When the number on the time display screen 525 is 0, the time display screen 525 may be turned off.
The user may confirm end of the safety course through the time display screen 525. When it is confirmed that the safety course has ended, the user may operate the manipulation unit 500 again to select and execute a laundry treatment course.
FIG. 21 illustrates an operation process of a laundry treatment apparatus according to a manipulation sequence of FIG. 20.
FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing each manipulation operation of a manipulation unit shown in FIG. 20. That is, FIG. 21 illustrates a first safety course operation process S4.
FIG. 20(a) may be understood as illustrating a power input operation S41 in FIG. 21. FIG. 20(b) may be understood as illustrating a safety course input operation S42 in FIG. 21. FIG. 20(c) may be understood as illustrating an execution operation S43 in FIG. 21. FIG. 20(d) may be understood as illustrating a safety course operating operation S44 in which the safety course is executed and operated.
However, each operation of FIG. 21 is not limited to the manipulation method of FIG. 20. FIG. 20 merely illustrates an example of the manipulation process for performing each operation of FIG. 21.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, each operation may be sequentially performed to execute a safety course in which the ventilation fan 620 operates.
First, the power input operation S41 in which power is supplied to the laundry treatment apparatus may be performed. The power input operation S41 may be performed by manipulating the power button 501 described above.
After the power input operation S41 is performed, the safety course input operation S42 in which a safety course is selected may be performed. A user may perform the safety course input operation S42 by manipulating the manipulation unit 500 and visually recognizing the manipulation unit 500.
After the safety course input operation S42 is performed, the execution operation S43 in which the safety course is executed may be performed. After the safety course input operation S42 is performed, the user may manipulate the start button 502 to perform the execution operation S43.
When the execution operation S43 is performed, the safety course operating operation S44 in which the ventilation fan 620 is operated may be performed. During the safety course operating operation S44, only the ventilation fan 620 may be operated. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and during the safety course operating operation S44, internal devices without a risk of fire, including the ventilation fan 620, may be operated.
FIG. 22 illustrates a manipulation sequence of a manipulation unit according to another embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIGS. 20 and 21 illustrate a case in which a safety course is set to one of courses, such as a standard course or an express course.
Referring to FIG. 22, the manipulation unit 500 may further include a separate input device for executing the safety course.
The manipulation unit 500 may further include a safety button 516 that inputs a command to select the safety course. A user may input a command via the safety button 516 and select an additional course related to laundry treatment.
FIG. 22 illustrates a manipulation sequence of a manipulation unit according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 22, any content that overlaps with FIG. 20 will be omitted.
FIG. 22(a) illustrates a state in which power is supplied to the laundry treatment apparatus by pressing the power button 501.
FIG 22(b) illustrates a user selecting a safety course by manipulating the safety button 516. When the user presses the safety button 516, the safety button 516 lights up to indicate to the user that a safety course has been selected.
Referring to FIG. 22(c), unlike in FIG. 20, the user may additionally input a command to select a course related to laundry treatment after inputting a command to select the safety course.
The user may select a course related to laundry treatment through the first course input button 511. That is, the user may sequentially select the safety course and the laundry treatment course. The drawing shows that the safety course is selected first and then the laundry treatment course is selected. However, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and the safety course may be selected after the laundry treatment course is selected first.
Referring to FIG. 22(d), after the safety course and the laundry treatment course are each selected, the user may input a manipulation command for the laundry treatment apparatus through the start button 502. When the manipulation unit 500 is operated in the order described above, the ventilation fan 620 in the laundry treatment apparatus may be operated first and then the laundry treatment course may be performed.
That is, the user may input a command to the manipulation unit 500 such that the safety course is operated first before the course for laundry treatment. Through manipulation such as that in FIG. 22, the user may sequentially operate the safety course and laundry treatment course in one execution.
Accordingly, the ventilation fan 620 is operated first in the safety course, and then the compressor, the heat exchanger, the blower fan, and the like are operated in the laundry treatment course, and thus a possibility of refrigerant explosion may be significantly reduced. There is an effect of increasing user convenience since there is no need to perform separate laundry treatment after the safety course is completed.
FIG. 23 illustrates an operation process of a laundry treatment apparatus according to a manipulation sequence of FIG. 22.
FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing each manipulation operation of a manipulation unit shown in FIG. 22. FIG. 23 illustrates a second safety course operation process S5.
FIG. 23 has overlapping content with FIG. 21. When explaining FIG. 23, contents similar to FIG. 21 are omitted. However, from among the operations in FIG. 23, operations with similar names to those in FIG. 21 are distinguished by adding 'concurrent' in front of the names.
FIG. 23 shows a manipulation process of sequentially selecting a safety course and a laundry treatment course and then executing them all at once.
First, the process may include a concurrent power input operation S51 of supplying power to the laundry treatment apparatus. The concurrent power input operation S51 is the same as the power input operation S41. Therefore, a description of the concurrent power input operation S51 may be understood as being the same as the power input operation S41.
After the concurrent power input operation S51 is performed, a concurrent safety course input operation S52 in which a user selects a safety course may be performed. The user may perform the concurrent safety course input operation S52 by manipulating the safety button 516.
After the concurrent safety course input operation S52 is performed, a concurrent main course input operation S53 in which the user selects a laundry treatment course may be performed. The user may perform the concurrent main course input operation S53 by manipulating the first course input button 511, the second course input button 512, the third course input button 513, and the fourth course input button 514.
After the concurrent main course input operation S53 is performed, a concurrent execution operation S54 for receiving a command to execute the input safety course and laundry treatment course may be performed.
The concurrent execution operation S54 may be performed by the user manipulating the start button 502, similar to the execution operation S43.
When the concurrent execution operation S54 is performed, a concurrent safety course operating operation S55 in which the ventilation fan 620 is operated may be performed. In the concurrent safety course operating operation S55, only the ventilation fan 620 may be operated, similar to the safety course operating operation S44. In the concurrent safety course operating operation S55, only components that are not related to refrigerant explosion may be operated.
When the concurrent safety course operating operation S55 is completed, a concurrent main course operating operation S56 in which the selected laundry treatment course is performed may be performed. During the concurrent main course operating operation S56, components related to refrigerant explosion may also be operated. For example, in the concurrent main course operating operation S56, components related to laundry treatment, such as a heat exchanger, a blower fan, and a compressor may be operated.
As described above, by a single concurrent execution operation S54, the concurrent safety course operating operation S55 may be performed first, and the concurrent main course operating operation S56 may be performed sequentially. Accordingly, a risk of refrigerant explosion is reduced while user convenience is increased.

While specific embodiments have been illustrated in this specification, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the specific embodiments illustrated may be replaced by any reconfiguration calculated to achieve the same purpose, and that the present disclosure may be applied differently in other environments. That is, the present application should be understood to cover any application or variation of the present disclosure. The scope of the following claims is not limited to the disclosure relating to specific embodiments of this specification. Therefore, if a modified embodiment includes an element of the claims of the present disclosure, it should be considered to fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

[Explanation of reference numbers]

100:	Cabinet	110:	Base Cabinet	200:	Inner Case
210:	Opening	220:	First chamber	230:	Through hole
231:	Inlet hole	232:	Discharge hole	233:	Steam hole
300:	Secondchamber	301:	Water supply tank	302:	Drain tank
303:	Drawer	310:	Base portion	311:	Base bottom portion
3111:	Floor supportsurface	312:	Compressor installation portion	3121:	Fixing pin
3122:	main installation portion	3123:	partition portion	3125:	handle portion
313:	controller installation portion	3131:	controller installation partition	314:	Piping portion
315:	Support surface	316:	Ventilation portion installation	320:	Circulation flow path
321:	Flow path body	3211:	Installation partition	3212:	Heat exchanger installation portion
322:	Outside air intake portion	323:	Air discharger	324:	Water collector
324:	Water collection bottom surface	330:	Heat exchanger	331:	Evaporator
332:	Condenser	334:	Expansion valve	340:	Compressor
350:	Fan installation portion	351:	Fan housing	352:	Discharge duct
353:	Blower fan	360:	Base cover	362:	Inlet portion
3621:	filtering inlet portion	3622:	Bypass inlet portion	370:	Outside air duct
380:	Steam supply unit	381:	Heater	382:	Steam supply flow path
390:	Controller	400:	Door	410:	Main body
420:	Installation body	430:	Step difference	500:	Holding portion
600:	Ventilation portion	610:	Ventilation hole	611:	Control through hole
612:	Portion through hole	613:	Compressor through hole	614	External through hole
620:	Ventilation fan	630:	Discharge flow path	631:	Discharge flow path inlet
632:	Discharge flow path outlet	633:	Movement flow path	650:	Passing flow path
P1:	Controller ventilation flow path	P2:	Piping portion ventilation flow path	P3:	Compressorventilation flow path

Claims

A laundry treatment apparatus comprising:
a cabinet including a first chamber that accommodates laundry therein;

a second chamber located below the first chamber within the cabinet;

a circulation flow path located inside the second chamber and circulating air of the first chamber;

a heat exchanger located inside the circulation flow path and exchanging heat between air passing through the circulation flow path and a combustible refrigerant;

a compressor that compresses and circulates the combustible refrigerant; and

a base portion that supports a bottom of the compressor within the second chamber; and

a ventilation fan located below the compressor and guiding internal air of the second chamber to a discharge flow path connected to an outside of the cabinet.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein a ventilation hole is formed in the base portion to form a ventilation flow path such that internal air of the second chamber flows to the ventilation fan.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 2, wherein the ventilation fan moves air from an upper side of the base portion to a lower surface of the base portion.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the discharge flow path guides air discharged from the ventilation fan to a rear side of the cabinet.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the discharge flow path is located below than the compressor.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 2, wherein the base portion includes a compressor installation portion that provides a space in which the compressor is installed, and
the ventilation hole includes a compressor through hole formed to pass through the compressor installation portion in a height direction of the cabinet.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 6, wherein the ventilation fan is located in the compressor through hole.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 7, wherein a compressor ventilation flow path that sequentially connects the compressor installation portion, the ventilation fan, and the discharge flow path to each other is formed in the base portion.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a controller configured to control the compressor,
wherein the base portion is located below the circulation flow path and defines a space in which the controller is installed, and

the ventilation hole includes a controller through thole formed on one surface of both surfaces of the controller installation portion, which faces a direction in which the compressor is located.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 9, wherein the controller through hole connects the controller installation portion to a lower surface of the base portion.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 10, wherein a controller ventilation flow path that sequentially connects the controller through hole, the ventilation fan, and the discharge flow path to each other is formed in the base portion.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 16, wherein the controller through hole is located below an upper end of the controller.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 9, wherein the base portion includes a support surface that supports a bottom of the circulation flow path, and
the ventilation hole includes a piping portion through hole formed to pass through one surface of the support surface, which faces the controller through hole.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 13, wherein the piping portion through hole connects an upper surface of the base portion to a lower surface of the base portion.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 14, wherein a piping portion ventilation flow path that sequentially connects the piping portion through hole, the ventilation fan, and the discharge flow path to each other is formed in the base portion.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein a rotation shaft of the ventilation fan is located in a height direction of the cabinet.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 16, wherein the ventilation fan sucks in air in an extension direction of the rotation shaft and discharges air in a direction perpendicular to the rotation shaft.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the combustible refrigerant is R-290.
A laundry treatment apparatus comprising:
a cabinet including a first chamber that accommodates laundry therein;

a second chamber located below the first chamber within the cabinet;

a circulation flow path located inside the second chamber and circulating air of the first chamber;

a heat exchanger located inside the circulation flow path and exchanging heat between air passing through the circulation flow path and a combustible refrigerant;

a compressor that compresses and circulates the combustible refrigerant; and

a ventilation fan installed below the heat exchanger and circulating air inside the second chamber or exhausting air inside the second chamber to an outside of the cabinet.
The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 19, further comprising:
a controller configured to control the compressor; and

a controller installation portion provided inside the second chamber and defining a space in which the controller is installed,

wherein air inside the controller installation portion is discharged outside the controller installation portion by the ventilation fan.