KR20090052460A - Cloth treating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a laundry treatment apparatus. Clothing processing apparatus according to the present invention is a cabinet in which a receiving space for clothes is formed; Hot air supply device for supplying hot air to the receiving space; A steam generator 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 clothes treating apparatus, it becomes possible to effectively remove wrinkles generated in clothes.

Clothing, treatment, wrinkle, removal

Description

Clothing treating apparatus

The present invention relates to a clothes treating apparatus, and more particularly, to a clothes treating apparatus capable of removing wrinkles generated in clothes more effectively.

In general, various types of clothes treating apparatuses are used together with washing machines for washing clothes. For example, drum-type dryers for drying clothes after washing, cabinet-type dryers for hanging clothes and drying, and refreshers for supplying hot air to clothes and refreshing clothes have been developed.

Among the clothes treating apparatuses, a refresher, a dryer, or the like mainly supplies air by heating the air using a heater. Such heaters include a gas heater that burns gas to heat air, and an electric heater that heats air by electric resistance. In recent years, electric heaters that are easy to install and simple in structure have been used.

Recently, not only the hot air is supplied to the clothing contained in the clothes treating apparatus as described above, but also a configuration of supplying moisture to remove wrinkles has been developed. However, when the amount of water supplied from the inside of the clothes treating apparatus is limited when the wrinkles generated in the clothes are supplied by the moisture, the wrinkles generated in the clothes are not effectively removed.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a clothes treatment apparatus that can more effectively remove wrinkles generated in clothes.

An object of the present invention as described above, the cabinet in which the accommodation space is accommodated clothes are formed; Hot air supply device for supplying hot air to the receiving space; A steam generator 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.

Herein, the display means displays a wrinkle removal area in which steam is sprayed more than other areas in the accommodation space, or displays a wrinkle removal area in which many nozzles for spraying steam are installed in the accommodation space, In the accommodation space, a wrinkle removal area having a different temperature and humidity than the other area may be displayed.

In this case, it is preferable that superheated steam is selectively supplied to the wrinkle removal area. Specifically, at least one of the nozzles disposed along the wrinkle removal area is formed of an overheated steam nozzle for supplying an overheated steam, and a heater for heating steam generated by the steam generator between the steam generator and the overheated steam nozzle. It is preferable that is provided.

On the other hand, the superheated steam nozzle is preferably spraying the superheated steam toward the wrinkle removal area from the side of the receiving space.

As described above, the clothes treating apparatus according to the present invention can more effectively remove wrinkles generated in the clothes by intensively spraying steam.

In addition, according to the present invention, by spraying the superheated steam toward the clothes, it is possible not only to remove wrinkles but also to sterilize the clothes.

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

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

Referring to Figure 1, the clothes processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention is supplied with a hot air supplying hot air to the cabinet 10, the receiving space 12 is formed in the receiving space 12 for receiving the clothing 1 therein The apparatus (see FIG. 2, 22), the steam generator (see FIG. 2, 30) for selectively injecting steam into the receiving space 12, the sensing unit for sensing the temperature inside the cabinet 10 (see FIG. 2, 50 And a controller (not shown) for controlling the heat pump 22 and the steam generator 30 according to the sensed temperature of the detector 50.

The cabinet 10 is provided with various components to be described later, and the receiving space 12 is formed therein to receive clothing. The receiving space 12 is selectively communicated with the outside by the door 14. In addition, the accommodating space 12 is provided with a variety of support 16 to hang the clothes (1), etc., the structure for supporting such clothes (1) is widely known in the field of the present invention, so a detailed description thereof is omitted. do.

On the other hand, inside the cabinet 10 is formed a machine room 20 in which the hot air supply device 22 for selectively supplying hot air and steam to the receiving space 12 and the steam generator 30 is accommodated. The machine room 20 is preferably located at the lower portion of the accommodation space 12, the above-described hot air supply device 22 and the steam generator 30 is located therein. As such, the reason why the machine room 20 is located at the bottom is that the hot air and steam supplied to the accommodation space 12 have a property to be raised, and thus, the machine room 20 is located at the bottom to direct hot air and steam toward the top. It is because supplying is preferable. Meanwhile, reference numeral 15, which is not described in FIG. 1, denotes a rear surface of the accommodation space 12, and reference numeral 18 denotes a supply port through which hot air is introduced into the accommodation space 12.

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

Referring to FIG. 2, a heat pump 22 and a steam generator 30 for supplying steam are located in the machine room 20 as a hot air supply device for supplying hot air to an accommodation space (see FIG. 1 and 12). do.

The heat pump 22 applied as the hot air supply device in the present invention is similar to the 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 latent heat of ambient air, thereby cooling the air to condense and remove moisture in the air. In addition, when the refrigerant is condensed in the condenser 28 via the compressor 26, the latent heat is released toward the surrounding air to heat the surrounding air. Therefore, 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 to the receiving space 12. Supplied.

As such, the air heated by the heat pump 22 may be slightly lower than the air heated by using a conventional heater, but the air can be dehumidified without using a separate dehumidifier. Therefore, the air supplied back to the receiving space 12 by the heat pump 22 corresponds to a relatively 'low temperature dry air' (here, 'low temperature' does not mean that the temperature is absolutely low, but heating But it is used in the sense that the temperature is relatively low compared to conventional heating air). Therefore, the air supplied by the heat pump 22 of the present invention has a lower temperature than the hot air of the conventional clothes treatment apparatus, but supplies dehumidified air without a separate dehumidifier, so that the clothes are easily dried and refreshed. It becomes possible.

In detail, an air inlet 21 through which air in the accommodation space 12 flows into the inside of the machine room 20 is formed at an upper end of the machine room 20, and an air inlet 21, an evaporator 24, and a condenser are formed. It is preferable to form a flow path through which air flows by the duct 29 connecting the 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 back to the accommodation space 12 by the fan 32. . That is, the heated air discharged from the machine room 20 by the fan 32 is accommodated in the receiving space 12 through the supply port (see Fig. 1, 18) formed inside the rear surface (see Fig. 1, 15) of the receiving space 12. ) Is supplied to the inside of.

In the present embodiment, the heat pump 22 is described as an example of the hot air supply device for supplying hot air to the accommodation space 12 of the cabinet. However, the hot air supply device is not limited thereto, and the air is heated by burning gas. A gas heater and an electric heater for heating air by electric resistance can also be applied.

In addition, although not shown in the drawings, the air inlet 21 may be preferably provided with a filter. By providing a filter at the air inlet 21, it is possible to filter various foreign matters and the like that may be included in the air flowing into the machine room 20 from the accommodation space 12 to supply only fresh air to the accommodation space 12.

On the other hand, the machine room 20 is provided with a steam generator 30 for selectively supplying steam to the accommodation space (12). By supplying steam to the accommodation space 12 by the steam generating device 30, it is possible to remove wrinkles and the like that may occur in clothing, and furthermore, by the high temperature steam with the effect of sterilization and refreshing due to the swelling of the clothing cloth, etc. You can expect the effect. As such, the timing of spraying steam by the steam generator 30 may be appropriately modified. Preferably, steam is sprayed before the hot air is supplied by the heat pump 22 described above. This is because it is preferable to supply hot air and then to dry the clothes after injecting high temperature steam.

The steam generator 30 is provided with a heater (not shown) for heating the water therein, and generates water by heating the water to supply to the receiving 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 supply source (not shown) provided on one side of the machine room 20 may be used. This container type water supply is preferably detachably installed so that the user can separate the water supply from the machine room 20 to fill the water and reinstall it. In addition, the steam generated by the steam generator 30 is supplied to the receiving 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 condensation of steam while the steam moves along the steam hose 36. Therefore, when the machine room 20 is located below the accommodation space 12, the steam nozzle 40 preferably supplies steam through the top of the machine room 20, that is, the bottom of the accommodation space 12. .

In addition, the back of the machine room 20 may be provided with a circulation fan 34. The circulation fan 34 supplies the air outside the machine room 20 into the machine room 20, so that the above-described heat pump 22 and the steam generator 30 are driven so that the temperature inside the machine room 20 is excessive. To prevent it from rising.

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

However, in the clothes treating apparatus having the above-described configuration, since steam is uniformly supplied into the accommodation space 12, it is difficult to intensively supply steam to any specific garment. Thus, in the present invention to solve the above problems can be provided with a region capable of intensively spraying steam, will be described below.

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

Referring to FIG. 3, the clothes treating apparatus according to the present embodiment first includes display means for dividing an interior of the accommodation space 12 into two or more regions.

As shown in FIG. 3, the display means may be made of a visual display 100 colored on an inner wall of the accommodation space 12. The present embodiment is not limited thereto, and the interior of the accommodation space 12 is provided to the user. Other indications may be used to recognize the partitioning of the into two or more regions.

In FIG. 3, the area A partitioned by the visual display 100 is partitioned from the other area B of the accommodation space 12, and a 'wrinkling area' where steam is supplied more than the other area B. Will form.

As described above in the accommodation space 12, the wrinkle removal area A is distinguished from other areas B by the visual display 100, so that when there is an apparel which requires a lot of steam supply, the user wears the clothes. It is mounted on the wrinkle removal area (A).

Specifically, the wrinkle removal area (A) is provided with a lot of steam supply nozzles (140, 142) for spraying steam compared to the other area (B). Although FIG. 3 illustrates that two steam supply nozzles are installed, the present invention is not limited thereto, and three or more steam supply nozzles may be installed.

That is, in the clothes treating apparatus according to the present embodiment, the steam supply nozzle is disposed in the wrinkle removal area A partitioned by the display means in the receiving space 12, compared to the other area B, thereby eliminating the wrinkle area ( A), it becomes possible to inject a lot of steam intensively.

Therefore, in the clothes treating apparatus according to the present embodiment, since a large amount of steam is injected into the wrinkle removal area A, an area in which the temperature and humidity are different from the other area B can be formed.

On the other hand, the steam generated by heating the water in the steam generator as described above generally corresponds to the boiling point temperature of the water 100 ℃. When spraying into the receiving space 12 using the steam as described above, the general effect of sterilization can be expected, but the effect of complete sterilization can not be expected for the bacteria that do not die even at a temperature of 100 ℃. For example, Athlete's foot, which can inhabit human socks, or a fungus inhabiting a garment in a humid environment, is not known to die at a temperature of 100 ° C., but is known to die at a temperature of 120 ° C. or more. Therefore, even if the laundry by spraying steam at a general 100 ℃ to the athlete's foot, or fungus-containing clothing as described above, there is a problem that can not be completely sterilized.

Therefore, the clothes treating apparatus according to the present embodiment may include a configuration capable of selectively supplying superheated steam to the wrinkle removal area A. FIG. Here, the superheated steam refers to steam having a temperature of at least 110 ° C. or higher in the steam state, and preferably defined as steam having a temperature of 120 ° C. or higher. In this embodiment, since the superheat steam having a temperature of 120 ° C. or higher is sprayed into the wrinkle removal area A, it is possible to completely sterilize athlete's foot, mold, or the like that may remain in the garment.

Hereinafter, a configuration of supplying steam to the wrinkle removal area A will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 3, the machine room 20 includes a steam generator 30 as described above, and the steam generated by the steam generator 30 moves the steam supply nozzles 140 and 142 along the steam supply line. It is supplied to the wrinkle removal area (A) through. Here, the steam supply nozzles 140 and 142 may be provided at a lower portion of the accommodation space 12 or at an inner side surface of the accommodation space 12.

In FIG. 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 has a superheated steam. It corresponds to the nozzle to supply. However, the present embodiment is not limited thereto, and the nozzle for supplying the overheated steam is located at the bottom, and the nozzle for supplying the general steam may be 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 or the like and connected to each nozzle. In this case, a first valve 144 selectively opens and closes the line between the T-shaped pipe 132 and the first steam supply nozzle 140. In addition, a second valve 146 and a heater 150 for reheating steam may be provided between the T-shaped pipe 132 and the second steam supply nozzle 141. Here, the heater 150 serves to reheat the steam generated by the steam generator 30 to make the steam into an overheated steam of 110 ° C. or higher.

Looking at the process of supplying the general steam or superheated steam to the wrinkle removal area in the clothes treatment apparatus as described above are as follows.

First, in case of supplying only general steam, the user operates the control unit to drive the steam generator 30 and opens the first valve 144. In addition, the controller closes the second valve 146 and maintains the driving of the heater 150 stopped. By closing the second valve 146, the steam generated by the steam generator 30 is not supplied to the second steam supply nozzle 142. Therefore, the steam generated by the steam generator 30 is supplied to the first steam supply nozzle 140 through the first valve 144, and sprayed from the first steam supply nozzle 140 to the wrinkle removal area (A) do.

On the other hand, when only the overheat 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 controller closes the first valve 144. Therefore, the steam generated by the steam generator 30 is supplied to the heater 150 through the second valve 146, the superheated steam reheated by the heater 150 is wrinkled through the second steam supply nozzle 142 Sprayed to the removal area (A).

Finally, when it is necessary to supply both the normal steam and the overheated steam to the wrinkle removal area A, the controller drives the steam generator 30 and the heater 150, and the first valve 144 and the second valve. Will open all 146. Therefore, the steam generated by the steam generator 30 is branched through the T-shaped tube 132, some steam is transferred to the receiving space 12 through the first valve 144 and the first steam supply nozzle 140. The remaining steam is injected into the accommodation space 12 through the second steam supply nozzle 146 in a state of overheating steam through the second valve 144 and the heater 150.

1 is a front view of a laundry treatment apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

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

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

Claims (8)

A cabinet in which an accommodation space in which clothes are accommodated is formed; Hot air supply device for supplying hot air to the receiving space; A steam generator for generating steam injected into the accommodation space; And And display means for dividing the accommodation space into two or more regions. The method of claim 1, The display means clothes processing apparatus, characterized in that made of a visual display that divides the receiving space into two or more spaces. The method of claim 1, And the display means displays a wrinkle removal area in which steam is injected more than other areas in the accommodation space. The method of claim 1, And the display means displays a wrinkle removal area in which a nozzle for spraying steam is installed in the accommodation space compared to other areas. The method of claim 1, And the display means displays a wrinkle removal area having a different temperature and humidity than the other area in the accommodation space. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, And the superheated steam is selectively supplied to the wrinkle removing area. The method of claim 6, At least one of the nozzles disposed along the wrinkle removal area may include an overheated steam nozzle for supplying an overheated steam, and a heater for heating steam generated by the steam generator is provided between the steam generator and the overheated steam nozzle. Clothing processing apparatus, characterized in that. The method of claim 7, wherein The overheated steam nozzle is a clothes processing apparatus, characterized in that for spraying the superheated steam toward the wrinkle removal area from the side of the receiving space.

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