KR101397033B1 - Cloth treating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a clothes processing apparatus. A clothes processing apparatus according to the present invention includes: a cabinet in which a receiving space for accommodating clothes is formed; A hot air supply device for supplying hot air to the accommodation space; A steam generating device for generating steam injected into the accommodation space; And display means for dividing the accommodation space into two or more regions. According to such a garment processing apparatus, it is possible to effectively remove wrinkles in the garment.

Clothing, processing, wrinkling, removal

Description

[0001] Cloth treating apparatus [

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to a garment processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a garment processing apparatus capable of more effectively removing wrinkles in a garment.

In general, various kinds of clothes processing apparatuses are used together with a washing machine for washing clothes. For example, there have been developed drum type driers for drying clothes that have been washed, cabinet-type dryers for hanging clothes and drying them, and refreshers for refreshing clothes by supplying hot air to clothes.

Among the clothes processing apparatuses, a refresher, a dryer, or the like mainly uses a heater to heat the air to supply hot air to clothes. Such a heater includes a gas heater that heats the gas by burning gas to generate air, and an electric heater that heats the air by electric resistance. In recent years, an electric heater that is easy to install and has a simple structure is widely used.

In recent years, a configuration has been developed in which not only hot air is supplied to the clothes accommodated in the above-described clothes processing apparatus but also water is supplied to remove wrinkles. However, when water is supplied to remove wrinkles in the clothes, the amount of moisture to be supplied to the inside of the clothes processing apparatus is limited, and thus the wrinkles caused in the clothes are not removed more effectively.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a clothes processing apparatus which is designed to solve the above-mentioned problems and is capable of more effectively removing wrinkles in clothes.

The above object of the present invention can be achieved by a cabinet in which a housing space for accommodating clothes is formed; A hot air supply device for supplying hot air to the accommodation space; A steam generating device for generating steam injected into the accommodation space; And display means for dividing the accommodation space into two or more regions.

Here, the display means may be a visual display that divides the accommodation space into two or more spaces.

The display unit may display a wrinkle removal area in which the steam is sprayed more than the other areas in the accommodation space or may display a wrinkle removal area in which a large number of nozzles for spraying steam are provided in the accommodation space, And a wrinkle removal area in which the temperature and humidity in the accommodation space are different from other areas.

In this case, it is preferable that superheated steam is selectively supplied to the wrinkle removing region. At least one of the nozzles disposed along the wrinkle removing region is formed of a superheated steam nozzle for supplying superheated steam. A heater for heating the steam generated in the steam generator is disposed between the steam generator and the superheated steam nozzle. .

Preferably, the superheated steam nozzle injects superheated steam toward the crease removal area on the side of the accommodation space.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the garment disposal apparatus according to the present invention can more effectively remove wrinkles in clothes by intensively spraying steam.

In addition, according to the present invention, not only can the wrinkles be removed by spraying superheated steam toward the clothes, but also the clothes can be sterilized.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a front view showing a clothes processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a clothes processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention includes a cabinet 10 having a housing space 12 for accommodating clothes 1 therein, a hot air supply unit 110 for supplying hot air to the housing space 12, 2) for sensing the temperature inside the cabinet 10 (refer to FIG. 2, see FIG. 2), a steam generator (see FIG. 2) 30 for selectively injecting steam into the accommodation space 12, And a control unit (not shown) for controlling the heat pump 22 and the steam generator 30 according to the sensed temperature of the sensing unit 50.

The cabinet 10 is provided with various components to be described later, and a receiving space 12 in which clothes are received is formed in the cabinet 10. The accommodation space 12 is selectively communicated with the outside by the door 14. [ In addition, the accommodation space 12 is provided with various supports 16 for hanging the clothes 1. The structure for supporting the clothes 1 is widely known in the field of the present invention, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted do.

A hot air supply device 22 for selectively supplying hot air and steam to the accommodation space 12 and a machine room 20 for accommodating the steam generating device 30 are formed in the cabinet 10. The machine room 20 is preferably located at a lower portion of the accommodation space 12 and the hot air supply device 22 and the steam generator 30 described above are located inside. The reason why the machine room 20 is located at the lower part is that the hot air and steam supplied to the housing space 12 have a property of ascending so that the machine room 20 is located at the lower part, Because it is preferable to supply them. 1, reference numeral 15 denotes a back surface inside the accommodation space 12, and reference numeral 18 denotes a supply port into which hot air flows into the accommodation space 12. [

2 is a perspective view schematically showing a structure inside the machine room 20. In FIG. 2, only the components of the hot air supply device 22 and the steam generator 30 are shown for convenience of explanation, and the piping line connecting the components is not shown.

Referring to FIG. 2, a heat pump 22 and a steam generator 30 for supplying steam are disposed inside the machine room 20 as a hot air supply device for supplying hot air to the accommodation space (see FIG. 1) do.

The heat pump 22 applied as a hot air supply device in the present invention is similar to a heat pump used in an air conditioner or the like. That is, the heat pump 22 is provided with an evaporator 24, a compressor 26, a condenser 28 and an expansion valve (not shown) through which the refrigerant circulates, thereby dehumidifying and heating the air. That is, the refrigerant evaporates in the evaporator 24 to absorb the latent heat of the ambient air, and the air is cooled to condense and remove moisture in the air. Further, when the refrigerant is condensed in the condenser 28 through the compressor 26, the ambient air is heated by releasing latent heat toward the surrounding air. Accordingly, the evaporator 24 and the condenser 28 function as a heat exchanger, and the air introduced into the machine room 20 is dehumidified and heated through the evaporator 24 and the condenser 28, .

As described above, the air heated by the heat pump 22 can be slightly lower in temperature than the air heated using the conventional heater, but it is possible to dehumidify the air without using a separate dehumidifying device. Therefore, the air supplied back to the accommodation space 12 by the heat pump 22 corresponds to relatively 'low-temperature dry air' (here, 'low temperature' does not mean that the temperature is absolutely low, Which means that the temperature is relatively low compared to the conventional heated air). Therefore, although the temperature of the air supplied by the heat pump 22 of the present invention is lower than the hot air of the conventional clothes processing apparatus, the dehumidified air is supplied without a separate dehumidifying device, .

An air inlet 21 through which the air in the accommodation space 12 flows into the interior of the machine room 20 is formed in the upper portion of the machine room 20 and the air inlet 21 and the evaporator 24, It is preferable to form a flow path through which the air flows by the duct 29 connecting the fan 28 and the fan 32. The air introduced into the machine room 20 through the air inlet 21 by the duct 29 is dehumidified and heated while passing through the heat pump 22 and is supplied to the accommodation space 12 again by the fan 32 . That is, the heated air discharged from the machine room 20 by the fan 32 flows into the accommodating space 12 (see FIG. 1) through a supply port (see FIG. 1) formed inside the back surface As shown in Fig.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the heat pump 22 is described as an example of a hot air supply device for supplying hot air to the accommodating space 12 of the cabinet. However, the hot air supply device is not limited to this, A gas-type heater, and an electric heater that heats the air by electric resistance may be applied.

Also, although not shown in the drawing, the air inlet 21 may be provided with a filter. By providing the filter in the air inlet 21, it becomes possible to filter various foreign substances or the like that may be contained in the air introduced into the machine room 20 from the accommodation space 12, and to supply only fresh air to the accommodation space 12.

In the meantime, the machine room 20 is provided with a steam generator 30 for selectively supplying steam to the accommodation space 12. It is possible to remove wrinkles and the like which may occur in the clothes or the like due to the supply of the steam to the accommodation space 12 by the steam generating device 30 and further to the effect of sterilization by the high temperature steam, Effect can be expected. As described above, the timing of spraying the steam by the steam generator 30 can be appropriately modified. Preferably, the steam is sprayed before the hot air is supplied by the heat pump 22 described above. This is because it is preferable to dry clothes by supplying hot air after spraying high temperature steam.

The steam generator 30 includes a heater (not shown) for heating water, and generates steam by supplying water to the storage space 12. An external faucet or the like may be used as a water supply source for supplying water to the steam generator 30 or a container type water source (not shown) provided at one side of the machine room 20 may be used. This container type of water source is preferably removably installed so that the user can separate the water source from the machine room 20 to fill and reinstall the water. The steam generated in the steam generator 30 is supplied to the accommodation space 12 through the steam hose 36 and the steam supply nozzle 40. In this case, the shorter the length of the steam hose 36 is, in order to prevent the temperature of the steam from being lowered or the steam to be condensed while the steam moves along the steam hose 36, the shorter the length of the steam hose 36 is. The steam nozzle 40 preferably supplies steam through the upper portion of the machine room 20, that is, the lower portion of the accommodating space 12, when the machine room 20 is located below the accommodating space 12 .

In addition, a circulation fan 34 may be provided on the backside of the machine room 20. [ The circulating fan 34 supplies the air outside the machine room 20 to the inside of the machine room 20 so that the heat pump 22 and the steam generator 30 are driven and the temperature inside the machine room 20 is excessively high So that it is prevented from ascending.

On the other hand, when supplying steam to the inside of the clothes processing apparatus, steam may be supplied more intensively than other clothes depending on the type of clothes, the period of use of the clothes, and the use environment of the clothes. For example, when clothes are used in a rough environment such as when clothes are used for a long time compared to other clothes or when dust is blown, it is necessary to intensively supply steam in order to provide more refreshing effect than other clothes.

However, in the garment processing apparatus having the above-described structure, since steam is uniformly supplied into the accommodation space 12, it is difficult to concentrate steam supply to any specific clothes. Accordingly, in order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention can include an area capable of intensively spraying steam, as will be described below.

3 is a schematic view showing a configuration for supplying steam in a clothes processing apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the garment processing apparatus according to the present embodiment includes display means for dividing the inside of the accommodation space 12 into two or more regions.

3, the display means may include a visual indication 100 painted on the inner wall of the accommodation space 12, but the present invention is not limited thereto, Lt; / RTI > can be used to distinguish between two or more regions.

3, the area A divided by the visual indication 100 is separated from the other area B of the accommodation space 12, and the 'wrinkle removal area', in which steam is supplied more than the other areas B, .

As described above, the wear-removal area A is distinguished from the other area B by the visual indication 100 in the accommodation space 12, so that when there is a garment requiring a large amount of steam supply, To the wrinkle removal area (A).

More specifically, the steam supply nozzles 140 and 142 for spraying steam are installed in the wrinkle removing area A much in comparison with the other areas B. In FIG. 3, although two steam supply nozzles are illustrated, the present invention is not limited thereto.

That is, in the garment processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, a large number of the steam supply nozzles are arranged in the wrinkle removal area A partitioned by the display means in the accommodation space 12 as compared with the other areas B, A), it becomes possible to inject a large amount of steam.

Therefore, in the clothes processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, a large amount of steam is injected into the wrinkle removing area A, so that a region different in temperature and humidity from the other areas B can be formed.

Meanwhile, the steam generated by heating the water in the steam generator as described above generally corresponds to the boiling point of water at 100 ° C. Generally, when the steam is injected into the accommodation space 12, the effect of general sterilization can be expected. However, a sterilization effect can not be expected for bacteria that do not die even at a temperature of 100 ° C. For example, anthracobacteria that can live on human socks, or fungi that live in clothing in humid environments do not die at temperatures of 100 ° C and die at temperatures of 120 ° C or higher. Therefore, there is a problem that sterilization can not be performed completely even when washing is performed by spraying steam at 100 ° C, which is common to athlete's foot or fungus-like clothes, as described above.

Accordingly, in the garment processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a structure capable of selectively supplying superthetherted steam to the unwound area A. Here, the superheated steam refers to steam having a temperature of at least 110 캜 in a steam state, and is preferably defined as steam having a temperature of 120 캜 or higher. In this embodiment, as described above, the superheated steam having a temperature of 120 ° C or higher is sprayed to the wrinkle removal region (A), so that it is possible to completely sterilize athlete's fungus or fungus which may remain on clothes.

Hereinafter, the construction for supplying steam to the unwound area A will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

3, the machine room 20 includes the steam generator 30 as described above. The steam generated by the steam generator 30 is supplied to the steam supply nozzles 140 and 142 along the steam supply line. To the wrinkle removing area (A). Here, the steam supply nozzles 140 and 142 may be provided on the lower side of the accommodation space 12 or on the inner side surfaces of the accommodation space 12.

3, the first steam supply nozzle 140 located at the lower portion of the accommodation space 12 is a nozzle for supplying general steam, and the second steam supply nozzle 142 located at the side of the accommodation space 12 is connected to the over- Which corresponds to a nozzle to be supplied. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and it is also possible that the nozzle for supplying the superheated steam is located at the lower portion and the nozzle for supplying the common steam is located at the side.

On the other hand, the steam supply line 160 extending from the steam generator 30 is branched by the T-shaped pipe 132 and connected to each nozzle. In this case, a first valve 144 for selectively opening and closing the line is positioned between the T-shaped pipe 132 and the first steam supply nozzle 140. A second valve 146 and a heater 150 for reheating steam are provided between the T-shaped pipe 132 and the second steam supply nozzle 141. Here, the heater 150 reheats the steam generated in the steam generator 30 to make superheated steam at a temperature of 110 ° C or higher.

The process of supplying the general steam or the superheated steam to the wear removal region in the above-described clothes processing apparatus will be described below.

First, in the case of supplying only normal steam, the user operates the control unit to drive the steam generator 30 and open the first valve 144. In addition, the controller closes the second valve 146 and maintains the heater 150 in a stopped state. By closing the second valve 146, the steam generated in the steam generator 30 is not supplied to the second steam supply nozzle 142. The steam generated in the steam generator 30 is supplied to the first steam supply nozzle 140 through the first valve 144 and is discharged from the first steam supply nozzle 140 to the unwind- do.

On the other hand, when only superheated steam is supplied, the user operates the control unit to drive the steam generator 30 and the heater 150, and opens the second valve 146. In addition, the control unit closes the first valve 144. Accordingly, the steam generated in the steam generator 30 is supplied to the heater 150 through the second valve 146, and the superheated steam reheated in the heater 150 is wrinkled through the second steam supply nozzle 142 (A).

Finally, when it is necessary to supply both the general steam and the superheated steam to the unwind removing area A, the control unit drives the steam generator 30 and the heater 150, and the first valve 144 and the second valve (Not shown). The steam generated in the steam generator 30 is diverted through the T-shaped tube 132 so that some of the steam is supplied to the accommodation space 12 through the first valve 144 and the first steam supply nozzle 140 And the remaining steam is injected into the accommodation space 12 via the second valve 144 and the heater 150 through the second steam supply nozzle 146 in the superheated steam state.

1 is a front view of a clothes processing apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an internal configuration according to an embodiment of the machine room in FIG. 1, and FIG.

3 is a schematic view showing a configuration for supplying steam in a clothes processing apparatus according to another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (8)

A cabinet in which a receiving space for accommodating clothes is formed; A hot air supply device for supplying hot air to the accommodation space; A steam generating device for generating steam injected into the accommodation space; And And display means for dividing the accommodation space into two or more regions. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the display means comprises a visual indication for partitioning the accommodation space into two or more spaces. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the display means displays a wrinkle removal area in which a large amount of steam is injected in the accommodating space as compared with other areas. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the display means displays a wrinkle removing region in which a large number of nozzles for spraying steam are provided in the accommodating space as compared with other regions. The method according to claim 1, Wherein the display means displays a wrinkle removal region in which the temperature and humidity in the accommodation space are different from other regions. 6. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, Wherein the wrinkle removal region is selectively supplied with superheated steam. The method according to claim 6, At least one of the nozzles disposed along the wrinkle removing region is composed of a superheated steam nozzle for supplying superheated steam. A heater for heating the steam generated in the steam generator is provided between the steam generator and the superheated steam nozzle Wherein the garment disposal apparatus comprises: 8. The method of claim 7, Wherein the superheated steam nozzle injects superheated steam toward the crease removal area on the side of the accommodation space.

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