KR101148489B1 - Clothes treating apparatus with a liquid cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a laundry treatment apparatus having a liquid storage tank, the body having a drum installed therein; Liquid injection means for injecting a liquid into the drum; A reservoir installation unit disposed above the main body; Coupling means slidably installed in the reservoir mounting portion; And a liquid storage tank detachably fixed in the coupling means and having a discharge port formed on a side thereof, the upper surface of the main body communicating with the storage tank mounting portion, and a cutout portion through which the liquid storage tank can pass. The liquid storage tank is provided with a laundry treatment apparatus having a liquid storage tank connected to the liquid spraying means by a slide movement of the coupling means.

Description

CLOTHES TREATING APPARATUS WITH A LIQUID CARTRIDGE}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a laundry treatment apparatus having a liquid storage tank, and more particularly, to a laundry treatment apparatus having a liquid storage tank for storing liquid for spraying on a garment to be treated in a clothing treatment process.

Clothing processing apparatuses such as a washing machine or a dryer typically include clothes in a drum that is rotatably installed in a main body, and removes contaminants or supplies hot air by friction energy and impact energy with water, It has the function of removing moisture.

In the clothing treatment process, a fragrance liquid may be sprayed into the drum during the drying process for the purpose of applying a specific fragrance to the finished clothing. In addition, water or steam is sprayed on the clothes to prevent the clothes from becoming too stiff or static electricity due to overdrying.

Clothing processing apparatus having this function includes a reservoir for storing the fragrance liquid or water to be sprayed on the clothing. In addition, the injection means for injecting the liquid stored in the reservoir also includes a pump, a nozzle, and the like, and also includes a valve connecting the pump and the reservoir. The storage tank may be disposed at any position of the laundry treatment apparatus, but generally, the storage tank is disposed above the main body in consideration of efficient space arrangement and ease of use in the laundry treatment apparatus.

On the other hand, in order to replenish the liquid inside the reservoir, the user should have easy access to the reservoir, while liquid should not leak or separate from the pump during the operation. In view of this, one of the storage tank mounting methods used is the drawer type.

The drawer type refers to a type having a storage tank mounting portion that can be pulled outwards on the front of the clothes treating apparatus, and a part of the front panel, that is, a drawer coupled to the back of the drawer cover when the user pulls the drawer cover by hand. Is drawn outward along the rail, and in this state, the reservoir can be mounted inside the drawer, or the reservoir can be taken out from the inside of the drawer.

Meanwhile, in the case of the drawer type, the pump and the reservoir are connected to each other simply by pushing the drawer, so that the drawer type has an advantage of being easy to use. However, in order to prevent the connection between the pump and the reservoir from being loosened during use, the drawer must be mounted inside the main body to have a moderate frictional force, which causes the drawer to be difficult to withdraw. In addition, the drawer must be drawn out to the outside longer than the length of the storage tank to take out the storage tank, and in order to facilitate the withdrawal, to prevent friction or eccentric movement that may occur during the withdrawal process, a separate rail, etc. should be installed. There is a problem.

In addition, since part of the front panel functions as a drawer cover, this also serves as a cause of lowering the freedom of design of the front panel of the clothes treating apparatus. In particular, in recent years, a preference for a product having a better design than a function is high, and considering that the shape of the front panel greatly affects the design of the clothes treating apparatus, this restriction is fatal.

The present invention has been made to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art as described above, to provide a laundry treatment apparatus having a coupling structure that can be easily and reliably mounted and removed liquid storage tank without restrictions in the form of the front panel. Is a technical task.

According to an aspect of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, the main body is a drum installed therein; Liquid injection means for injecting a liquid into the drum; A reservoir installation unit disposed above the main body; Coupling means slidably installed in the reservoir mounting portion; And a liquid storage tank detachably fixed in the coupling means and having a discharge port formed on a side thereof, the upper surface of the main body communicating with the storage tank mounting portion, and a cutout portion through which the liquid storage tank can pass. The liquid storage tank is provided with a laundry treatment apparatus having a liquid storage tank connected to the liquid spraying means by a slide movement of the coupling means.

In the above aspect of the present invention, the liquid reservoir is introduced into the reservoir installation portion through a cutout formed in the upper surface of the main body and then slides to be connected to the liquid spraying means. At this time, the coupling means stably supports the reservoir and at the same time guides the slide movement to enable a smooth slide. As a result, since the front panel has no components, the degree of freedom of design of the front panel can be improved, and the position at which the liquid reservoir is initially put in close proximity to the liquid injection means can be used to set the distance at which the liquid reservoir should slide. It can be shortened. This eliminates the need for rail installation.

Here, the coupling means is mounted to the cartridge inside, it can be slidably installed in the reservoir installation portion.

The reservoir installation unit includes two side walls facing each other; And a bottom surface connecting a lower portion of the side wall, and may have a shape extending in the front-rear direction of the main body. Here, the side walls and the bottom surface respectively support the bottom and side surfaces of the liquid reservoir.

In addition, a connection part connected to the outlet of the liquid injection means may be installed in the reservoir installation part.

Here, the connecting portion is a cylindrical guide portion in which the outlet is inserted; And a check valve installed inside the guide part.

On the other hand, it may further include a guide means for guiding the liquid reservoir is installed in place, the guide means is a protrusion formed on the bottom surface of the liquid reservoir; And a concave portion formed on the bottom surface of the coupling means and engaged with the protrusion.

In addition, the cover may further include a cover positioned above the coupling means, in which case, the cover may be arranged to move with the coupling means.

Herein, the display means includes an indicator located above the cover; And a coupling part disposed below the cover and coupled to the coupling means. In addition, the indicator may extend from the coupling means to protrude upward through the cover.

On the other hand, it may be further included to include a door for opening and closing the incision.

In addition, a handle portion may be formed on one side of the liquid reservoir. The handle portion serves to facilitate the separation of the liquid reservoir, and may have any shape.

As an example, the handle portion may be formed to protrude from the side of the liquid reservoir. At this time, the bottom surface of the handle portion may be spaced apart from the surface of the cover. Here, the portion located in the lower portion of the handle portion in the cover may be to form an inclined surface.

According to the aspects of the present invention having the configuration as described above, because the incision portion for injecting the liquid reservoir is located on the upper portion of the main body has no components on the front panel can improve the freedom of design of the front panel. In addition, since the initial position of the liquid reservoir can be close to the liquid spraying means, the distance required to slide the liquid reservoir can be shortened. Therefore, there is no need to install a separate component such as a rail, thereby reducing the product cost. To help.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail an embodiment of a clothes treating apparatus having a liquid storage tank according to the present invention.

1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a dryer having a liquid reservoir. Here, the present invention does not necessarily correspond to a dryer, of course, can be applied to any clothes processing apparatus including a door for opening and closing the clothes after putting the clothes in the inner space, such as a washing machine.

Referring to FIG. 1, the dryer 100 includes a dryer main body 102 constituting an external appearance of a device, and an operation panel 120 for operating the dryer is located on the upper part of the main body 102. And, the door assembly 130 for opening and closing the opening (not shown) formed on the front of the body is coupled to the front of the body 102 via a hinge (not shown).

In addition, a cartridge (not shown) as a liquid storage tank for storing a liquid (for example, water or a fragrance liquid) to be injected into the drum in a drying process through an upper surface of the main body 102 is mounted, and the cartridge passes through An incision (not shown) is formed on the upper surface of the main body 102, and a door 110 covering the incision is installed on the upper surface of the main body 102.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an open state of the door 110, and the door 110 has two hinges on one side of a rectangular cutout 104 formed on an upper surface of the main body 102. It is coupled with the main body 102 by 112. Here, the hinge 112 has a form of a so-called "double hinge" in which a hinge axis is formed on both the door 110 side and the main body 102 side.

The cartridge 150 is mounted inside the cutout 104. The cover 200 is mounted on the inner edge of the cutout 104. The cover 200 covers a part of the cutout 104 to cover parts installed inside the main body, and as shown in FIG. 4, one side has an open shape. The cover 200 will be described later.

3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a state in which the cartridge 150 is separated. Referring to FIG. 3, the cartridge 150 includes a lid part 154 and a container part 160. The liquid is stored in the container part 160, and the lid part 154 is a container part. It serves to open and close the upper surface of (160). On the other hand, the lid portion 154 is configured to be separated from the container portion 160, the fixing projections 162 formed on the side of the container portion 160 and fixed wings formed on both sides of the lid portion 154 158 (see FIG. 5) is coupled to couple the lid portion 154 to the container portion 160.

An indicator 250 is mounted on one side of the side surface of the cover 200. The indicator 250 is to allow the user to recognize the position of the cartridge 150, combined with the moving frame to be described later to inform the mounting state of the cartridge 150. This will be described later.

A check valve 142 connected to a pump as a liquid spraying means (not shown) is located below the cutout 104, and a guide part 140 having a cylindrical shape is positioned around the check valve 142. do. The guide unit 140 allows the outlet 166 (see FIG. 5) of the cartridge 150 to be described later to be inserted and fixed therein.

4 is an enlarged perspective view of the cover 200. Referring to FIG. 4, one side of the cover 200 is open and an inclined surface 202 is positioned on the other side. The indicator mounting portion 210 extends in one direction to the left side of the inclined surface 202 so as to have a concave shape, and the slot 250 for inserting the indicator 250 as described above is inserted into the indicator mounting portion 210. ) Is formed. The coupling part 252 formed below the indicator 250 is inserted through the slot 212. The coupling part 252 has a cylindrical shape extending to one side and is coupled with the moving frame 300 to be described later to move together with the moving frame 300 to display the moving state of the cartridge 150. .

In detail, the indicator 250 is moved from the indicator mounting unit 210 to the right side with reference to FIG. 4, so that the outlet 166 of the cartridge 150 is completely inside the guide unit 140. The inserted state and the moved state to the left correspond to a state in which the cartridge 150 is drawn out from the guide unit 140. Therefore, the user can check whether the separation or the coupling is completed through the indicator in removing or mounting the cartridge 150.

On the other hand, the buffer member 220 is installed on one side of the cover 200 to mitigate the impact and noise that may occur when the door 110 is knocked out during the opening and closing process of the door 110.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the cartridge 150, and three protrusions 164 are formed on the bottom of the container portion 160 to protrude from the bottom of the container portion. The protrusion 164 is engaged with the recess formed on the bottom of the moving frame, which will be described later, and serves to guide the cartridge 150 to be mounted at a proper position. On the other hand, the outlet 166 is formed on one side of the cartridge 150 as described above. The outlet 166 is disposed to be adjacent to the upper side of the container 160, as shown. Therefore, compared to the case where the outlet 166 is located adjacent to the bottom surface of the container 160, to some extent that the liquid flows through the outlet 166 during the connection with the check valve 142 described above. It can be prevented.

However, in order to enable the liquid to be smoothly discharged even when the remaining amount of liquid in the container unit 160 is not enough, the discharge pipe 168 extending to the bottom surface of the container unit 160 is included therein. The discharge pipe 168 has a form extending between the discharge port 166 and the bottom surface of the container portion 160, and in Figure 5 has a bent portion, but is not necessarily limited to this form, the discharge hole ( It is also possible to extend in a straight line between the 166 and the bottom surface of the container 160.

In addition, a portion of the side surface of the discharge port 166 side of the cartridge 150 protrudes outwardly from the lower portion of the container portion, which serves as a handle 156. In detail, the handle part 156 is positioned above the inclined surface 202 of the cover 200, and thus, the inclined surface 202 and the handle part 156 are spaced apart from each other. A hand is placed inside the separation space to smoothly remove the cartridge 150.

Meanwhile, an auxiliary cap 152 is mounted at the center of the lid 154. The auxiliary cap 152 serves to open and close the inlet (not shown) formed in the lid 154, and when the liquid is replenished inside the cartridge 150, the auxiliary cap 152 is opened to open the inlet. When replenishing the liquid and cleaning the inside of the cartridge, the lid 154 may be opened to access the container 160. On the other hand, the inlet is provided with a filter (not shown) to prevent foreign matter present in the liquid to be replenished into the cartridge.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a moving frame 300 and a storage tank mounting unit 400 positioned below the cover 200. Referring to FIG. 6, the moving frame 300 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape in which an upper portion thereof is opened so that the cartridge 150 may be inserted and fixed therein. Here, when the cartridge 150 is inserted into the moving frame 300, the side wall and the bottom surface of the moving frame 300 come into contact with the bottom and side surfaces of the cartridge 150, respectively. It can be stably supported to prevent movement.

Here, since the fixing blade 158 and the fixing protrusion 162 described above are positioned on the side of the cartridge 150, cutouts 302 are formed on both sidewalls of the moving frame 300 to avoid interference. In addition, three recesses 304 are positioned on the bottom surface of the movable frame 300, and the recesses 304 are engaged with the protrusions 164 formed on the bottom surface of the cartridge 150, and thus the cartridge 150 is disposed. Is guided so as to be positioned in the inside of the moving frame (300).

The guide flange 306 is formed at the upper end of the side wall of the movable frame 300 to protrude outward from the side wall. The guide flange 306 serves to guide the slide movement of the moving frame 300. In addition, a groove 310 into which the coupling part 252 of the indicator 250 is fitted is formed at one end of the moving frame 300. The indicator 250 is the coupling portion 252 is inserted into the inside of the groove 310, when the moving frame 300 is moved with it.

The moving frame 300 is slidably mounted in the reservoir installation unit 400 installed in the dryer body. The reservoir installation unit 400 has a channel shape with an open top, and has a side wall 402 and a bottom 404. In addition, a flange supporter 406, on which the guide flange 306 of the movable frame 300 is placed, is formed on the sidewall.

In addition, a partition wall 440 is installed inside the reservoir mounting part 400, and the guide part 140 is formed on the partition wall 440. A pump 442 serving as a liquid spray means is provided on the rear side of the partition wall 440 and connects the pump 442 to a check valve (not shown) located inside the guide part 140 ( Not shown) is additionally installed.

In addition, the front surface of the partition wall 440 is formed with a sensor mounting portion 444 of the rectangular parallelepiped shape is formed, the water level sensor 410 is installed inside the sensor mounting portion 444 to the inside of the cartridge The remaining amount of liquid stored in the sensor to be detected. Here, the water level sensor 410 may use a capacitive sensor for measuring the change in dielectric constant according to the amount of liquid stored in the cartridge.

Referring now to Fig. 3, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

When replacing a cartridge or replenishing liquid, the user first opens the door 110 and then grasps the handle part and slides the cartridge 150 to the front side of the main body. Then, the moving frame 300 coupled with the cartridge 150 slides inside the reservoir installation unit 400, and thus, the discharge port 166 of the cartridge 150 is moved to the guide unit ( 140 is withdrawn and separated. Thereafter, the user can withdraw the cartridge 150 to the outside through the cutout 104.

On the contrary, when the cartridge is mounted, the indicator checks whether the moving frame 300 is retracted. If not, the cartridge is mounted inside the moving frame 300 after the moving frame 300 is retracted. do. At this time, when the recess 304 and the protrusion 164 are mounted to be engaged with each other, the cartridge may be mounted in the correct position. Thereafter, when the cartridge 150 is pushed to the rear side of the main body, the movable frame 300 slides along the reservoir installation part, and the outlet 166 is inserted into the guide part 140 to complete the mounting of the cartridge. You can do it.

In addition, this invention is not limited to an Example at all, It can change and implement in various forms within the protection scope defined by a claim. As an example, the moving frame facilitates the slide movement of the cartridge and at the same time serves to fix the cartridge, but may be omitted.

That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the cartridge may be directly mounted inside the reservoir installing unit 400 without the moving frame 300. In this case, the side wall and the bottom surface of the cartridge 150 are disposed in contact with the side wall and the bottom surface of the reservoir mounting portion, respectively, so that the cartridge is fixed by the reservoir mounting portion. In addition, a recess formed on the bottom of the movable frame 300 is formed on the bottom of the reservoir installation part 400.

Although the cartridge may be fixed to a certain position through the concave portion and the protrusion, a push barrier 430 is installed on the bottom surface of the reservoir installation portion for more stable coupling. As shown in the drawing, the anti-jamming jaw 430 has a triangular cross section, and when the cartridge is in the correct position, one side thereof is in contact with the side surface of the cartridge.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the sliding prevention jaw 430 and is slidably mounted up and down inside the fixing bracket 420 installed below the bottom of the reservoir installation unit 400. In addition, a coil spring 422 is installed between the rolling prevention jaw 430 and the bottom surface of the fixing bracket 420 to apply an upward elastic force to the rolling prevention jaw 430.

Therefore, when the user mounts the cartridge, the sliding prevention jaw 430 is pushed into the fixing bracket 420 by being pressed on the bottom surface of the cartridge, but the coil spring 422 when the cartridge is placed in the correct position by sliding the cartridge. Protruding upward by the elastic force of) will prevent the cartridge from being pushed back.

When the cartridge is separated, the user may press the sliding prevention jaw 430 by hand to push it into the fixing bracket 420 and then slide the cartridge to separate the cartridge.

1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a clothes treating apparatus having a liquid storage tank according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an open state of a door in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1.

Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which the cartridge is separated in the embodiment shown in FIG.

4 is an enlarged perspective view of the cover in the embodiment shown in FIG.

Figure 5 is a side view of the cartridge in the embodiment shown in Figure 1;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a moving frame and a storage tank installation unit located under the cover in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1.

7 is a perspective view showing a reservoir mounting portion in which a cartridge is mounted in another embodiment of a clothes treating apparatus having a liquid storage tank according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the sliding bumps of the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 7.

Claims (14)

A main body having a drum installed therein; Liquid injection means for injecting a liquid into the drum; A reservoir installation unit disposed above the main body; Coupling means slidably installed in the reservoir mounting portion; And And a liquid storage tank detachably fixed in the coupling means and having a discharge port formed at a side thereof. The upper surface of the main body is in communication with the reservoir installation portion, the inlet portion through which the liquid reservoir is passed is formed, And said liquid reservoir has a liquid reservoir connected to said liquid spray means by a slide movement of said coupling means. The method of claim 1, The reservoir installation unit has two side walls facing each other; And A bottom surface connecting lower portions of the sidewalls, Clothing processing apparatus having a liquid storage tank characterized in that it has a form extending in the front and rear direction of the main body. 3. The method of claim 2, Clothing storage device having a liquid storage tank, characterized in that the connecting portion is connected to the outlet of the liquid spray means is installed in the reservoir installation unit. The method of claim 3, The connecting portion is a cylindrical guide portion in which the outlet is inserted; And Clothing processing apparatus having a liquid storage tank, characterized in that it comprises a check valve installed in the guide portion. The method of claim 1, Clothing processing apparatus having a liquid storage tank, characterized in that it further comprises a guide means for guiding the liquid storage tank is installed in place. The method of claim 5, The guide means, A protrusion formed on a bottom of the liquid storage tank; And And a concave portion formed on the bottom surface of the coupling means and engaged with the protrusion part. The method of claim 1, Clothing processing apparatus having a liquid storage tank, characterized in that it further comprises a cover located above the coupling means. The method of claim 7, wherein And the display means is disposed on the cover to move together with the coupling means. The method of claim 8, The display means, An indicator located above the cover; And Located in the lower side of the cover and the coupling portion coupled to the coupling means; Clothing processing apparatus having a liquid storage tank comprising a. The method of claim 8, The display means, And a indicator extending from the coupling means to protrude upwardly through the cover. The method of claim 1, Clothing processing apparatus having a liquid storage tank, characterized in that it further comprises a door for opening and closing the incision. The method of claim 7, wherein Clothing processing apparatus having a liquid storage tank, characterized in that the handle portion is formed on one side of the liquid storage tank. The method of claim 12, The handle portion is formed so as to protrude from the side of the liquid reservoir, the clothes handling apparatus having a liquid reservoir, characterized in that the bottom surface of the handle portion is spaced apart from the surface of the cover. The method of claim 1, The coupling means is a clothing processing apparatus having a liquid storage tank, characterized in that the liquid storage tank is mounted on the inside, slidably installed in the storage tank mounting portion.

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