KR20090050622A - Laundry treating machine - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a clothes treating apparatus for supplying steam and hot air to clothes stored in a storage compartment to remove odors, wrinkles, and moisture remaining in the clothes.

According to the clothes treating apparatus according to the present invention, even if a separate moving device is provided, steam can be uniformly supplied to clothes stored in the storage chamber by the steam spray unit reciprocating the inner wall surface of the storage chamber.

Steam, PTC, Clothes Processing Equipment, Mobile Nozzle, Drying

Description

Clothing processing equipment {LAUNDRY TREATING MACHINE}

The present invention relates to a clothes treating apparatus for supplying steam and hot air to clothes stored in a storage compartment to remove odors, wrinkles, and moisture remaining in the clothes.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a clothes treating apparatus which is capable of uniformly supplying steam to clothes stored by attaching a movable steam spraying unit to an inner wall surface of a storage room in which clothes are stored.

The clothes treating apparatus means a device for supplying steam and hot air to clothes stored in a storage compartment inside a cabinet forming an external shape to remove odors, wrinkles, or moisture remaining in the clothes.

If the same clothing is worn more than once, odors, wrinkles, or moisture remain in the clothing. The smell and the like remaining in the clothing may be unpleasant for the user who tries to wear the same clothes again. In order to eliminate this, the user performs an unnecessary washing process of clothing, causing a problem of shortening the life of the clothing and increasing the cost required for the maintenance of the clothing.

In addition, wrinkles may remain even after the clothes are dried after washing, and there is a problem that such clothing cannot be immediately worn. Therefore, the user must perform a separate ironing operation or the like.

In order to solve such a problem, a clothing treatment apparatus may be used to remove odors, wrinkles, or moisture remaining in clothes.

The clothes treating apparatus may use hot air or wind to inject steam into clothes to remove odors, wrinkles, or moisture of clothes stored therein, and to dry clothes containing moisture by the injected steam.

Exposing clothing to wind or hot air may have the effect of removing odors, wrinkles or moisture, but steam may be used to maximize the effect.

When steam is sprayed on the clothes stored in the clothes treatment apparatus, the fine water particles are combined with the odor particles remaining deep in the fiber tissue, and the water particles combined with the odor particles are separated from the clothes in the drying process and discharged. In this way, the odor remaining in the garment is removed.

When steam is supplied to the clothes stored in the clothes treating apparatus, wrinkles, etc. remaining in the clothes may be alleviated. Clothes supplied by steam are to reduce or eliminate wrinkles during drying.

Through such a process, odors, wrinkles, or moisture remaining in the clothes can be removed, and the user of the clothes can wear the clothes in a more comfortable state.

1 is a perspective view of a typical laundry treatment apparatus 100 ′. The storage compartment 10 ′ in which the clothing of the clothes processing apparatus 100 ′ is accommodated is opened and closed by a door 60 ′, and is generally configured in the form of a cabinet in which the storage compartment 10 ′ for storing clothing is formed. . A storage chamber 10 'is formed in the upper portion of the cabinet for storing clothes, and a steam supply device (not shown) for generating steam supplied to the storage chamber 10' and a hot air flow in the storage chamber. An electrical equipment room 20 'equipped with a hot air supply device (not shown) for supplying is located.

The steam supply device provided in the electrical equipment room 20 'may inject steam through the steam injection unit 50' provided in the storage chamber 10 '.

The steam injection unit 50 'is installed on the bottom surface of the storage compartment 10', and the injected steam moves from the lower portion of the storage chamber 10 to the upper portion and is absorbed by the received clothes. The reason why the steam injection unit 50 'is mounted on the bottom surface of the storage chamber 10' is because the steam supply device is located in the electrical equipment chamber 20 ', even if the length of the steam pipe is short. This is because steam can be supplied inside and heat loss can be minimized.

However, when the steam injection unit 50 'is installed at the bottom of the storage chamber 10', the sprayed steam is supplied to the lower portion of the clothes stored in the storage chamber 10 '. The reason for supplying steam to the stored clothes is to remove wrinkles, odors, etc. remaining in the clothes. Therefore, it is not preferable to supply steam to a specific part of the clothes.

Steam supplied to the clothes is stored is also a problem in the drying process of the clothes after the steam supply process. Since the amount of steam supplied to the clothes varies depending on the top and the bottom of the clothes, the top of the clothes with a small amount of steam supply is dried quickly, and the bottom of the clothes with a large amount of steam supply is dried late. Therefore, it becomes difficult to dry the clothes stored efficiently.

Therefore, there is a need for a method capable of uniformly supplying steam to the clothes stored in the storage chamber 10 '.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the problem to be solved by providing a clothes treating apparatus which can supply steam uniformly to the clothes stored therein, but whose structure is not unnecessarily complicated.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention can be moved by the pressure of the steam supplied from the cabinet in which the storage compartment for clothes is formed, the steam supply device for generating steam supplied to the storage chamber and the inner wall surface of the storage chamber It provides a clothes treatment apparatus comprising a steam spraying unit mounted to.

In addition, the steam injection unit is preferably reciprocating up and down on the inner wall surface of the storage chamber.

In addition, a PTC heater is further mounted between the steam supply device and the steam injection unit, and reheats the steam generated by the steam supply device and is supplied to the steam injection unit.

In addition, the operation state of the PTC heater can be reciprocated up and down on the inner wall surface of the storage chamber by repeating the on-off.

The steam injection unit may include a steam injection nozzle for injecting steam and a moving unit coupled to the nozzle, and the moving unit may be guided by guide means mounted on an inner wall of the storage chamber.

Here, the steam pipe connected to the steam injection unit and supplying steam may be repeatedly folded and unfolded in response to the movement of the steam injection unit.

According to the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention, in order to remove odors, wrinkles and moisture remaining in the clothes stored therein, steam is sprayed on the clothes, hot air and the like to dry the clothes containing moisture by the sprayed steam Supplying and removing the smell, wrinkles and moisture remaining in the clothing by the supplied steam and hot air can improve the satisfaction of the clothing user.

In addition, according to the clothes treating apparatus according to the present invention, even without a separate moving device, steam can be uniformly supplied to clothes stored in the storage chamber by a steam spray nozzle reciprocating the inner wall surface of the storage chamber.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein but may be embodied in other forms. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

2 is a perspective view of a laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention. Clothing processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention is mounted on the inner wall surface of the storage chamber 10, the steam spray unit 50 is movable up and down.

The steam spraying unit 50 discharges the steam generated and supplied by the steam supply device provided in the electrical equipment chamber 20 into the storage chamber 10.

The steam discharged from the steam injection unit 50 is evenly sprayed on the top and bottom of the clothes across the hanger 13 mounted on the horizontal bar 11 in the storage chamber 10.

The steam injection unit 50 is composed of a steam injection nozzle for injecting steam and a moving means coupled with the steam injection nozzle, the moving means is guided by guide means mounted on the inner wall surface of the storage chamber 10. .

In the embodiment shown in Figure 2, the steam injection unit 50 is mounted on the inner wall surface of the storage chamber (10). The inner wall surface of the storage chamber 10 is provided with a guide means for guiding the steam injection unit 50. In the embodiment of the present invention, the guide means is provided in the form of a guide groove (14).

The guide groove 14 guides the vertical movement of the steam injection unit 50. In addition, the steam spraying unit 50 is composed of a steam spraying unit 51 to which steam is injected and the steam spraying unit 51 mounted thereon and a moving means 53 guided by the guide groove 14.

Both sides of the movement means 53 is preferably provided to correspond to the shape of the guide groove 14, so that the guide groove 14 is inserted into the guide groove 14 can be guided when moving up and down.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the guide means and the moving means are just one example, and the steam spray nozzle 51 is mounted to reciprocate on an inner wall of the storage chamber 10 and guide the same. As long as the means can be included in the scope of the present invention.

In addition, the guide means and the moving means may be a guide rod mounted on the inner wall surface of the storage chamber 10 and the annular moving means mounted to the guide rod.

In the embodiment according to the invention, the contact surface of the guide means and the moving means is preferably a smooth material, so as to reduce the friction.

The steam spray nozzle 51 is supplied with steam from a steam supply device provided in the electric chamber 20. The steam supply nozzle 51 which is vertically reciprocated with the steam supply device is connected by a steam pipe 55. The steam pipe 55 is provided between the cabinet 40 constituting the outer appearance of the clothes treating apparatus and the inner wall surface of the storage chamber 10.

The steam pipe 55 is attached to the steam supply device in the electrical equipment room 20 and the inner wall surface of the storage chamber 10, and connects the steam spray nozzle 51 reciprocating up and down, the steam spray nozzle 51 In the case of moving), it is preferable that the flexible material is configured to repeat folding and unfolding.

3 is a block diagram of the interior of the electrical equipment room 20 of the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

The electrical equipment room 20 of the clothing processing apparatus 100 includes a steam supply device 25 for generating steam supplied to a storage compartment in which clothes are stored, and a hot air supply device for supplying hot air to dry the stored clothes. .

The hot air supply device may be classified into a case of using a heat pump and an case of using an electric heater according to a method of heating dehumidified air.

In the case of using a heat pump or an electric heater, a condenser for separating condensed water by condensing moisture of wet air sucked through the suction duct 21 in the storage chamber and a heating part for heating the dehumidified air in the condenser are provided. do.

In this case, there is a difference between whether the heating unit for heating the dehumidified air is part of the heat exchanger of the heat pump for heating the air through the condensation of the refrigerant or the electric heater.

Even when a heat pump is used for dehumidification and heating of the humid air, a separate electric heater may be added to sufficiently heat the dehumidified air.

In the embodiment according to the present invention shown in Figure 3, the hot air supply device for supplying hot air is used a heat pump method. The hot air supply device includes a suction duct 21 for sucking indoor air, a compressor 22 for compressing a refrigerant, a heat exchanger 23 for performing dehumidification and heating, and a blowing duct 24 for blowing dehumidified and heated air to a storage compartment. It is configured to include). The blowing duct 24 is composed of a single duct and a fan.

Of course, in a manner for drying the clothes inside the storage compartment 10, it can be classified into condensation type and exhaust type. In the case illustrated in FIG. 3, a circulation type is used in which the wet air is condensed and then heated after being condensed, and then blown back to the storage chamber.

Therefore, the air sucked in the suction duct 21 is dehumidified in the condensation unit 23a of the heat exchanger 23, heated in the heating unit 23b, and supplied to the storage chamber through the blower duct 24. The clothes stored therein are dried.

The heat exchanger 23 constituting the hot air supply device of the clothes treating apparatus according to the present invention dehumidifies the humid air circulated in the storage chamber 10 by using the refrigerant supplied from the compressor 22 in the evaporation process of the refrigerant. Then, the dehumidified air is heated again through the condensation process of the refrigerant.

The compression of the refrigerant is necessary between the evaporation and condensation of the refrigerant. Compression of the refrigerant is performed by the compressor 22 provided in the electric compartment 20.

The electrical equipment room 20 shown in FIG. 3 is provided with a drainage part 70. The condensed water condensed in the heat exchanger (23) is collected in the sump (29) located below the heat exchanger (23), the sewage collected in the sump (29) is conveyed back to the drain 70 Are kept.

Of course, the drainage portion may be an external sewer pipe or the like that is not detachable. However, since there is a restriction that the clothes treatment apparatus should be installed in a place equipped with a sewerage system, the drainage part 70 will be described in the case of being configured in a removable water bottle.

The user of the clothes treating apparatus may selectively separate the drainage unit 70 from the electrical equipment room 20 in consideration of the capacity of the drainage unit 70, and discharge the sewage stored therein. The movement of sewage from the sump 29 to the drain 70 may be a pump 27 or the like.

If the drain 70 can be disposed below the heat exchanger 23, the sump 29 is not necessary, but to configure the drain 70 to be detachable from the electrical compartment, a pump is used. This is preferred. In order to enable the user to easily attach and detach the drainage portion 70 from the electrical equipment compartment 20, the position of the drainage portion 70 is advantageously located at the upper portion of the electrical equipment compartment 20. It is necessary to compensate the car.

When the drainage part 70 and the water supply source 90 to be described later are detachably mounted, the electric compartment is mounted on a drawer (not shown) provided to move forward and backward mounted in the electric compartment 20. It is preferable that it is comprised so that it may be taken out.

Since the sewage is transported from the sump 29 to the drain 70 using a pump or the like, the size of the sump may be smaller than the size of the drain 70.

Steam supplied to the clothes stored in the storage chamber 10 is the steam supply device 25 provided in the electrical equipment compartment 20 to heat the water supplied from the water supply source 90 provided in the electrical equipment compartment The steam is generated in the manner and supplied to the storage chamber 10.

The water supply source 90 is provided in a water bottle type that can be attached to and detached from the electrical equipment, similar to the drainage portion 70 shown in FIG. The amount of water needed to generate steam is not large, and because it must be installed in a place without running water, a removable water supply source 90 is used.

Of course, when the water supply facility is located at a short distance, the water supply source 90 may also be directly connected to the water supply.

The water supply source 90 supplies water to the steam supply device 25, and the steam supply device 25 injects steam through the steam injection unit 50.

In the present embodiment, the steam supply device 25 generates steam by heating a predetermined amount of water contained in a water tank of a predetermined size with a built-in heater. However, in the present invention, any device capable of generating steam can be used as a steam generator. For example, it is also possible to use a method of directly installing a heater around a water supply hose through which water passes, that is, heating the water without accommodating water in a predetermined space.

Figure 3 is a block diagram of the interior of the electrical equipment room 20 of the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

The electrical equipment room 20 of the clothing processing apparatus 100 includes a steam supply device 25 for generating steam supplied to a storage compartment in which clothes are stored, and a hot air supply device for supplying hot air to dry the stored clothes. .

The hot air supply device may be classified into a case of using a heat pump and an case of using an electric heater according to a method of heating dehumidified air.

In the case of using a heat pump or an electric heater, a condenser for separating condensed water by condensing moisture of wet air sucked through the suction duct 21 in the storage chamber and a heating part for heating the dehumidified air in the condenser are provided. do.

In this case, there is a difference between whether the heating unit for heating the dehumidified air is part of the heat exchanger of the heat pump for heating the air through the condensation of the refrigerant or the electric heater.

Even when a heat pump is used for dehumidification and heating of the humid air, a separate electric heater may be added to sufficiently heat the dehumidified air.

In the embodiment according to the present invention shown in Figure 3, the hot air supply device for supplying hot air is used a heat pump method. The hot air supply device includes a suction duct 21 for sucking indoor air, a compressor 22 for compressing a refrigerant, a heat exchanger 23 for performing dehumidification and heating, and a blowing duct 24 for blowing dehumidified and heated air to a storage compartment. It is configured to include). The blowing duct 24 is composed of a single duct and a fan.

Of course, in a manner for drying the clothes inside the storage compartment 10, it can be classified into condensation type and exhaust type. In the case shown in Figure 3, the circulating type was used after the condensation and heating without venting the wet air and then blowing it back to the storage chamber, but the steam spray unit 50 of the clothes treatment apparatus according to the present invention is applied to the exhaust type clothes treatment apparatus Of course it is possible.

Therefore, the air sucked in the suction duct 21 is dehumidified in the condensation unit 23a of the heat exchanger 23, heated in the heating unit 23b, and supplied to the storage chamber through the blower duct 24. The clothes stored therein are dried.

The heat exchanger 23 constituting the hot air supply device of the clothes treating apparatus according to the present invention dehumidifies the humid air circulated in the storage chamber 10 by using the refrigerant supplied from the compressor 22 in the evaporation process of the refrigerant. Then, the dehumidified air is heated again through the condensation process of the refrigerant.

The compression of the refrigerant is necessary between the evaporation and condensation of the refrigerant. Compression of the refrigerant is performed by the compressor 22 provided in the electric compartment 20.

The electrical equipment room 20 shown in FIG. 3 is provided with a drainage part 70. The condensed water condensed in the heat exchanger (23) is collected in a sump (29) located below the heat exchanger (23), and the sewage stored in the sump (29) is transported and stored in the drain 70 .

Of course, the drainage portion may be an external sewer pipe or the like that is not detachable. However, since there is a restriction that the clothes treatment apparatus should be installed in a place equipped with a sewerage system, the drainage part 70 will be described in the case of being configured in a removable water bottle.

The user of the clothes treating apparatus may selectively separate the drainage unit 70 from the electrical equipment room 20 in consideration of the capacity of the drainage unit 70, and discharge the sewage stored therein. The movement of sewage from the sump 29 to the drain 70 may be a pump 27 or the like.

If the drain 70 can be disposed below the heat exchanger 23, the sump 29 is not necessary, but to configure the drain 70 to be detachable from the electrical compartment, a method of using a pump This is preferred. This is because it is advantageous that the position of the drainage part 70 is located above the electrical part room 20 so that the user can easily detach the drainage part 70 from the electrical equipment compartment 20.

When the drainage part 70 and the water supply source 90 to be described later are detachably mounted, the electric compartment is mounted on a drawer (not shown) provided to move forward and backward mounted in the electric compartment 20. It is preferable that it is comprised so that it may be taken out.

Since the sewage is transported from the sump 29 to the drain 70 using a pump or the like, the size of the sump may be smaller than the size of the drain 70.

Steam supplied to the clothes stored in the storage chamber 10 is the steam supply device 25 provided in the electrical equipment compartment 20 to heat the water supplied from the water supply source 90 provided in the electrical equipment compartment The steam is generated in the manner and supplied to the storage chamber 10.

The water supply source 90 is provided in a water bottle type that can be attached and detached from the electronic parts as in the drainage portion 70 shown in FIG. The amount of water needed to generate steam is not large, and because it must be installed in a place without running water, a removable water supply source 90 is used.

Of course, when the water supply facility is located at a short distance, the water supply source 90 may also be directly connected to the water supply.

The water supply source 90 supplies water to the steam supply device 25, and the steam supply device 25 injects the generated steam through the steam injection unit 50.

In addition, a pump (not shown) may be provided between the steam supply device 25 and the water supply source 90 to drain remaining water in the steam supply device 25. Even when no steam is generated, water remaining in the steam supply device 25 may cause a failure of the built-in electric heater or the like, and the water may be contaminated.

Where the residual water is recovered may be any one of the water supply source 90 or the drain 70.

In addition, the steam injection unit 50 mounted on the inner wall surface of the storage chamber 10 shown in Figures 2 and 3 can be reciprocated up and down by the pressure change of the steam supplied through the steam pipe (55). .

When the pressure inside the steam pipe 55 of the flexible material is increased, the steam injection unit is moved to the upper compartment, and when the pressure inside is reduced, it is lowered to the bottom.

If the pressure of the steam supplied through the steam supply device 25 is not high enough to reciprocate the steam injection unit 50, the steam supplied to the steam injection unit 50 is the electric chamber ( 20) can be heated once more via the PTC heater 26 provided therein.

The PTC heater 26 means a heater that uses a barium titanate-based PTC element instead of a nichrome wire as a heating element. When the PTC element is heated above a certain temperature, the resistance increases, the current flowing through the PTC element with the increased resistance decreases, the amount of heat generated decreases, and eventually the temperature drops.

On the contrary, when the temperature of the PTC element decreases, the resistance decreases, the current flowing through the PTC element increases, and the amount of heat generated by the current increases.

By this principle, the PTC heater can be controlled in a certain temperature range, it is safe.

As such, the PTC heater 26 serves to reheat steam supplied from the steam supply device 25. The reason for reheating the steam is that vertical movement of the steam spray unit 50 mounted on the inner wall surface of the storage chamber 10 does not use a separate power unit, but through the steam pipe 55 the steam spray unit ( This is due to the steam supplied to 50).

Therefore, if the steam is not provided enough to push the steam injection unit 50, it is preferable to provide a PTC heater 26 as an auxiliary heating device.

Since the reheated steam is overheated by the PTC heater 26 to increase temperature and pressure, the steam injection unit 50 may be pushed up.

However, if the PTC heater 26 is heated in a certain temperature range, the steam injection unit 50 will remain stopped at a certain position.

Therefore, in order to cause the steam injection unit 50 to reciprocate on the inner wall surface of the storage chamber 10, the pressure of steam reheated by the PTC heater 26 must be changed.

In the embodiment of the present invention, as a method of reciprocating the steam injection unit 50 without a separate driving device, a method of turning on and off the operation of the PTC heater 26 is used. do.

By turning the operation of the PTC heater 26 on-off, the steam supplied from the steam supply device 25 is regularly reheated in the PTC heater 26.

Therefore, when the PTC heater 26 is on, steam supplied to the steam spray unit 50 is reheated, and the steam spray unit 50 is moved upward from the inner wall surface of the storage chamber 10. Will be moved.

Figure 4 shows the position of the steam injection unit in the on-off state of the PTC heater of the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

4 (a) shows a state in which power is not supplied to the PTC heater 26, so that the steam spray unit 50 is lowered, and FIG. 4 (b) provides power to the PTC heater 26. In this case, the steam spraying unit 50 is shown to rise from the inner wall surface of the storage chamber 10.

In response to the rising or falling of the steam spraying unit 50, steam is uniformly supplied to the upper and lower portions of the clothes stored in the storage chamber 10.

As already mentioned, the steam pipe 55 for supplying steam to the steam injection unit 50 is the steam injection in the space between the inner wall surface of the storage chamber 10 and the cabinet 40 forming the outer appearance of the clothes treatment apparatus. The folding and unfolding are repeated in response to the rising and falling of the unit 50.

The steam pipe 55 may be a tube of a flexible material, in order to repeat folding and unfolding.

Even if the PTC heater 26 is on-off, steam passing through the PTC heater 26 will be slowly cooled and heated again, so that the steam injection unit 50 is connected to the storage chamber 10. ) The inner wall can be reciprocated slowly.

On-off of the operation of the PTC heater 26 is by the control unit of the clothes treating apparatus for controlling the steam supply device and the hot air supply device.

Although the present specification has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the invention, those skilled in the art may variously modify and change the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims set forth below. It could be done. Therefore, it should be seen that all modifications included in the technical scope of the present invention are basically included in the scope of the claims of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view of a general laundry treatment apparatus.

2 is a perspective view of a laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

3 is a block diagram of the interior of the electrical equipment room of the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 4 shows the position of the steam injection unit in the on-off state of the PTC heater of the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention.

 ** Description of symbols for the main parts of the drawing **

10: storage room 20: battlefield

22: compressor 23: heat exchanger

24: Blowing duct 25: Steam supply device

26: PTC heater 50: steam injection unit

51: steam injection nozzle 53: means of transportation

54: steam discharge port 55: steam piping

60: door 70: drain

90: water supply

Claims (6)

A cabinet in which a storage compartment in which clothes are stored is formed; A steam supply device for generating steam supplied to the storage chamber; And, And a steam spraying unit mounted on the inner wall of the storage chamber so as to be movable by the pressure of steam supplied thereto. The method of claim 1, And the steam spray unit reciprocates up and down on an inner wall surface of the storage chamber. The method of claim 2, And a PTC heater is further installed between the steam supply device and the steam injection unit, and reheats the steam generated by the steam supply device and is supplied to the steam injection unit. The method of claim 3, The operation state of the PTC heater is a clothes processing apparatus, characterized in that the reciprocating up and down on the inner wall surface of the storage chamber by repeating the on-off. The method of claim 4, wherein The steam spray unit comprises a steam spray nozzle for injecting steam and moving means coupled to the steam spray nozzle, wherein the moving means is guided by guide means mounted on an inner wall of the storage chamber. . The method according to claim 1 or 5, The steam pipe connected to the steam spray unit and supplying steam repeats folding and unfolding in response to the movement of the steam spray unit.

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