US20060059959A1

US20060059959A1 - Washing machine

Info

Publication number: US20060059959A1
Application number: US11/225,184
Authority: US
Inventors: Byoung Je
Original assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Current assignee: LG Electronics Inc
Priority date: 2004-09-20
Filing date: 2005-09-14
Publication date: 2006-03-23
Also published as: KR20060026193A

Abstract

Disclosed is a washing machine with a drying unit, in which a construction of a gasket and a molding method for forming the gasket are simplified since an additional drying unit connection holes is not necessary as hot air passing out the drying unit is supplied into a drum through an interior space of a door, and assembly work of a washing machine is easy and simple since it is not necessary that the drying unit is connected with the gasket.

Description

This application claims benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-576, filed on Sep. 20, 2004, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a washing machine, and more particularly to a washing machine in which hot air passing out a drying unit is supplied into the inside of a drum through an air supply passage formed in an interior space of a door.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a washing machine is an apparatus for washing “clothes or bedclothes” (hereinafter referred as “clothing”) stained with dirt by the interaction between detergent and water, and recently it is a tendency that additional auxiliary devices such as dryer are combined with the washing machine.
FIG. 1 is a side-sectional view showing an inner structure of a washing machine in accordance with a related art.
With reference to FIG. 1, a washing machine in accordance with a related art includes a cabinet 2, a tub 10 provided in the cabinet 2 for containing water therein, a drum 20 rotationally provided in the tub 10 for containing clothing m therein, a motor 30 for supporting and rotating the drum 20, and a drying unit 40 for absorbing air in the drum 20, condensing and heating the absorbed air, and circulating hot air through the drum 20, thereby drying the clothing m.
The cabinet 2 has a loading/unloading hole 3 at any face thereof so as for clothing m to be loaded and unloaded therethrough, and a door is provided to open and close the loading/unloading hole 3.
The door 4 includes a door frame 4 a applied to the cabinet 2 by a hinge and a door glass 4 b which is convex backward is applied to the door frame 4 a.
The tub 10 is hanging on springs 5 coupled to an upper portion of the cabinet 2 and placed on a damper 6 mounted on a lower part of the cabinet 2, thereby being supported shock-absorbingly.
The tub 10 is connected to a water supply unit 12 for supplying washing water to the tub 10 and a drain unit 14 for draining washing water outside the tub 10.
When the door 4 is closed, a gasket 16 is tightly in contact with the tub 10 so as for clothing m, washing water and air not to be leaked through a gap between the door 4 and the cabinet 2 while the door 4 is closed.
The gasket 16 has a drying unit connection hole 18 which is cylindrical and projected from an edge thereof.
The drying unit connection hole 18 is projected from an external surface of the gasket 16 in the radius direction.
The drum 20 has an loading/unloading hole (21) through which clothing m, washing water and air can be loaded into and unloaded from the drum 20, and a penetration hole 22 through which washing water and air flows in and out.
The motor 30 is supported with the tub 10 by a bearing where a rotational shaft penetrates the tub 10, is received in the bearing, and is connected to the drum 20 at its front end.
The drying unit 40 includes a condensation duct 42 connected to a side of the tube 10, a cooling water valve 43 for intermitting cooling water, a cooling water nozzle 44 connected to the cooling water valve 43 for flowing the cooling water into the condensation duct 42, and a drying duct 48 provided with a circulation fan 45 and a heater 42 therein and connected to the condensation duct 42 for circulating hot dry air into the drum 20.
The drying duct 48 is connected and fixed to the drying unit connection hole 18 at its exit end by being inserted into or surrounding external surface of the drying unit connection hole 18.
The operation of the washing machine in accordance with the related art will be described below.
First, the washing machine starts to operate after clothing m is loaded into the drum 20 and the door 4 is closed, so that washing water is supplied to the washing machine by the water supply unit 20.
The supplied washing water is fed into the tub 10 and stored in the tub 10. Then, the washing water flows into the drum 20 through the loading/unloading hole 21 or the penetration hole 22 so as to wet the clothing m.
After the water supply is finished, the drum 20 rotates by the motor 30 and the clothing m in the drum 20 moves freely when the motor 30 is driven. As a result, stains and dirt are separated from the clothing by the action of the washing water.
After the washing process described above is finished, the polluted water in the tub 10 is drained by the drain unit 14.
Meanwhile, a number of rinsing processes are performed to completely eliminate bubbles remaining in the clothing m, where the water supply device 12 and the motor 13 are controlled in the same manner as in the washing process, thereby eliminating bubbles remaining in the clothing m and draining the polluted water.
In the washing machine in accordance with the related art described above, after a number of the rinsing processes, a dehydrating process is performed to eliminate moisture from wet clothing m in the centrifugal drying method.
After the dehydration process, the drying unit 40 starts to operate to dry the wet clothing m.
The washing machine rotates the drum 20 by driving the motor 30 during the drying process, and turns on the cooling water valve 43, the circulation fan 45 and the heater 46.
When the cooling water valve is turned on, cooling water flows down into the condensation duct 43 and low temperature humid air in the drum 20 is absorbed into the condensation duct 43 through the tub 10 as the circulation fan 45 rotates. The absorbed air is condensed while passing through the condensation duct 43.
The air passing out the condensation duct 43 is changed to hot dry air by the heater 46 while passing through the drying duct 48, and the hot dry air is ejected into the inside of the gasket 16 through the drying unit connection hole 18 of the gasket 16, bumped against the door glass 4 b of the door 4, and moves toward the inside of the drum 20 and is turned into low temperature humid air again, drying the clothing m.
However, since the drying unit 40 is connected to the gasket 16 in the washing machine in accordance with the related art, the washing machine has a drawback that a structure of the gasket is complicated. The washing machine is also disadvantageous in that the hot air supply passage is so complicated, that is, the hot air passes through the gasket 14, is bumped against the door glass 4 b and then heads to the clothing m, so that there occurs a large amount of flux and heat loss.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been developed in order to solve and in light of the above drawbacks and other problems associated with the related art. A feature of the present invention is to provide a washing machine with a simple-structured gasket so as for air passing out a drying unit to directly move toward the inside of a drum through an air supply passage formed in an interior space of a door.
Another feature of the present invention is to provide a washing machine in which hot air is directly ejected toward clothing from the front side of the drum, thereby efficiently drying clothing.
In accordance with a feature of the present invention, there is provided a washing machine including a cabinet with a clothing loading/unloading hole; a door for closing and opening the clothing loading/unloading hole; a tub provided in the cabinet; a drum rotationally arranged in the tub for holding clothing therein; a drying unit installed to dry the clothing; and an air supply passage formed in such a way that air passing out the drying unit moves through an interior space of the door and is supplied into the drum.
Preferably, the cabinet may have at least one penetration hole through which either the drying unit or the air supply passage passes.
Preferably, the door may include a front panel, a rear panel which is convex toward the inside of the drum, and an interior space formed between of the front and rear panels.
Preferably, the drying unit may be connected to the tub at one end and to the air supply passage at the other end.
Preferably, the drying unit may include an condensation unit connected to the tub at one end, a drying duct having a heater therein, being connected to the condensation duct at one end and to the air supply passage at the other end when the door is closed, and a circulation fan applied either to the condensation duct or the drying duct.
Preferably, the drying unit may include a condensation duct connected to the tub at one end, a drying duct having a heater therein and being connected to the condensation duct at one end, a drying bellows applied to the drying duct and connected to the air supply passage when the door is closed, and a circulation fan applied either to the condensation duct or the drying duct.
Preferably, the air supply passage may have an entrance end connected to the drying unit and an exit end arranged to face the inside of the drum.
Preferably, the air supply passage is provided with a grill at the exit end.
Preferably, the washing machine may further include a gasket applied to the tub so as to be tightly in contact with the rear surface of the door when the door is closed for preventing the clothing, water and air from being be leaked, wherein the air supply passage has an entrance end at an outer area of the door with respect to a boundary where the door is in contact with the gasket and an exit end at an inner area of the door with respect to the boundary.
Preferably, the air supply passage may have an entrance end at a portion of a circumferential side of the door or an edge portion of the rear surface of the door and an exit end at a center portion of the rear surface of the door.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, there is provided a washing machine including a cabinet with a clothing loading/unloading hole; a door having a door frame with an opened hole formed at a center portion thereof and a door glass formed to correspond to the opened hole, for opening and closing the clothing loading/unloading hole; a tub provided in the cabinet; a drum rotationally arranged in the tub for holding the clothing therein; a drying unit installed to dry the clothing; and an air supply passage formed in the door frame so as for hot air passing out the drying unit is directly supplied to the inside of the drum through an interior space of the door frame.
Preferably, the cabinet may have a penetration hole so as for either the drying unit or the air supply passage to pass through the penetration hole.
Preferably, the door frame may include a front panel, a rear panel, and the air supply passage between of both.
Preferably, the drying unit is connected to the tub at one end and to the air supply passage at the other end.
Preferably, the drying unit may include a condensation duct connected to the tub at one end; a drying duct having a heater therein and being connected to the condensation duct at one end and to the air supply passage at the other end when the door is closed; and a circulation fan applied either to the condensation duct or the drying duct.
Preferably, the drying unit may include a condensation duct connected to the tube at one end; a drying duct having a heater therein and being connected to the condensation duct at one end; a drying bellows applied to the drying duct and arranged to be connected to the air supply passage when the door is closed; and a circulation fan applied either to the condensation duct or the drying duct.
Preferably, the air supply passage may have an entrance end connected to the drying unit and an exit end arranged to face the inside of the drum.
Preferably, the air supply passage has a grill at the exit end.
Preferably, the washing machine may further include a gasket applied to the tub so as to be tightly in contact with the rear surface of the door frame when the door is closed, for preventing clothing, water and air from being leaked, wherein the air supply passage has an entrance end at an outer area of the door frame with respect to a boundary where the door frame is in contact with the gasket and has an exit end at an inner area of the door frame with respect to the boundary.
Preferably, the air supply passage has an entrance end at a portion of a circumferential side of the door frame or an edge portion of the rear surface of the door frame, and an exit end at a portion of the rear surface of the door frame near the door glass.
In accordance with the present invention, a structure of a gasket and a molding method for forming the gasket can be simplified because it is not necessary that an additional drying unit connection holes for connecting the gasket with a drying unit is installed to the gasket so as for hot air passing out the drying unit to be supplied into a drum through an interior space of a door. Further, assembly-work for a washing machine becomes easy and simple because it is not necessary that the gasket is connected to the drying unit. Still further, it is possible to minimize flux and heat loss and improve drying efficiency by ejecting hot air from the front side of the drum toward the inside of the drum.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above aspects and features of the present invention will be more apparent by describing certain embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a partially cut-away perspective side view of a washing machine in accordance with a related art;
FIG. 2 is a partially cut-away perspective side view showing an inner structure of a washing machine in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the washing machine in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a partially cut-away perspective side view showing an inner structure of a washing machine in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a part C shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a washing machine in accordance with the second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a partially cut-away perspective side view showing an inner structure of a washing machine in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a washing machine in accordance with the third embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Certain embodiments of the present invention will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional side view illustrating a washing machine, which is partially cut away, in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the washing machine in accordance with the first embodiment of the present invention.
With reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, a washing machine in accordance with the present embodiment includes a cabinet 52 with a clothing loading/unloading hole 51, a door 70 for opening and closing the clothing loading/unloading hole 52, a tub 80 mounted in the cabinet 52, a drum 100 rotationally arranged in the tub 30 for holding clothing m therein, a drying unit 120 for drying the clothing m, and an air supply passage 130 formed in the door 7 so as for air A passing out the drying unit 70 to pass through the interior space of the door and move toward the inside of the drum 100.
The cabinet 52 forms an outer shell of a washing machine and the clothing loading/unloading hole 51 is formed at the front side of the cabinet 52.
The cabinet 52 includes a base fan 56 constituting a lower part of the washing machine, a cabinet main body 59 provided over the base fan 56 so as to form side parts and a rear part of the washing machine, a cabinet cover 60 provided with the clothing loading/unloading hole 51 at a center portion thereof and arranged in the front side of the cabinet main body 58 so as to constitute a front part of the washing machine, and a top cover 62 arranged on top of the cabinet main body 58 so as to form an upper part of the washing machine.
The cabinet cover 60 has a groove serving as a door receiving part 60 a so that a part or the whole of the door 70 is received in the groove.
The cabinet cover 60 of the cabinet 52 has a penetration hole 61 through which at least a part of either the drying unit 120 or the air supply passage 130 passes.
An edge portion of the door 70 is coupled to the cabinet cover 60 of the cabinet 52 by a hinge 72.
The door 70 has a hook 74 at the opposite edge of the hinged edge so as for the hook 74 to be locked with and released from a door holding-switch mounted to the cabinet cover 60.
The door is comprised of a front panel 75 and a rear panel 76, and the air supply passage 130 is formed between of both.
The rear panel 76 has a center portion which is convex toward the inside of the drum 100.
The tub 80 is to provided to contain “detergent-dissolved water” or “clean water with no detergent” (hereinafter referred as “washing water”) therein, and is shock-absorbingly supported with the cabinet by being connected to a damper 81 connected with the base fan 56 of the cabinet 52 and a spring 82 connected to the cabinet main body 58.
The tub 80 has an opened hole 83 in the rear of the clothing loading/unloading hole 51 and is horizontally or almost horizontally arranged.
The tub 80 is also provided with a gasket 80 which tightly comes into contact with the rear surface of the door 70 so as to prevent the clothing m, washing water and air from being leaked when the door 70 is closed.
The tub 80 is connected to a water supply unit 86 supplying washing water, i.e. detergent-dissolved water or clean water without detergent, into the tub 80.
The water supply unit 86 is comprised of a water supply valve 88 for intermitting supply water introduced through an external hose 87, a water supply hose 89 for guiding the water passed the water supply valve 88, a detergent tank 90 with a detergent-loaded part through which a water passage is formed, and a water supply bellows 91 for guiding the detergent-dissolved water or the clean water with no detergent passing out the detergent-loaded part to the inside of the tub 80.
The tub 80 is connected to a drain unit 92 for draining the water in the tub 80.
The drain unit 90 includes a drain bellows 93 connected to the tub 80 for discharging the water in the tub 80, a drain pump 94 for pumping out the water discharged through the drain bellows 93, and a drain hose 95 for guiding the water pumped by the drain pump 94 to the outside of the washing machine.
The tub 80 is associated with a motor 96 which supports and rotates the drum 50.
The motor 96 has a stator fixed to the rear surface of the tub 80, a rotor surrounding sides and a rear side of the stator, and a shaft fixed to the rotor and to a rear side of the drum 100, penetrating through the rear side the tub 80.
The drum 100 is horizontally or almost horizontally arranged in the same manner as the tub 80 so that its lower portion is dipped into the washing water in the tub 80.
The drum 100 has a loading/unloading hole 102 in the rear of the clothing loading/unloading hole 51 so as for the clothing m, the washing water and air to be loaded and unloaded through the loading/unloading hole 102, and a plurality of perforated holes 104 at sides and a rear portion thereof so as for the washing water and air to flow in and out through the perforated holes 104. A lifter 106 is provided around the inner surface of the drum 100 to lift and drop the clothing m.
The drying unit 120 is arranged to be connected to the tub 80 at its one end and to the air supply passage 130 at the other end thereof.
The drying unit 120 includes a condensation duct 121 with one end connected to the tub 80. The drying unit 120 further includes a drying duct 126 connected to the condensation duct 121 at one end and to the air supply passage at the other end and provided with a heater 125 mounted therein. The drying unit still further includes a circulation fan 128 applied to either the condensation duct 121 or the drying duct 126.
The drying unit 120 further includes a cooling water valve 122 for intermitting cooling water, a cooling water hose 123 for guiding the cooling water passing out the cooling water valve 122 to the condensation duct 121, and a cooling water nozzle 124 for spraying the cooling water into the condensation duct 121.
The air supply passage 130 is configured in such a way that its entrance end 132 is connected to the drying unit 120 and its exit end 134 faces the inside of the drum 100.
The air supply passage 130 has a grill 136 at the exit end thereof.
The entrance end 132 of the air supply passage 130 is provided at an outer area of the door 70 with respect to a boundary B where the door 70 and the gasket 84 are tightly in contact with each other and the exit end 134 is provided at an inner area of the door 70 with respect to the boundary B.
The entrance end 132 of the air supply passage 130 is formed at a portion of a circumferential side or an edge portion of the rear surface of the door 70, and the exit end 134 is formed at a center portion of the rear surface of the door 70.
Reference numeral 64 denotes a control panel which is used to input commands regarding a plurality of processes such as washing, rinsing, dehydrating and drying and a time and arranged on an upper portion of the cabinet cover 60.
The operation of the washing machine in accordance with the present invention will be described below.
First, when the clothing m is loaded into the drum 100 and the door 70 is closed, the clothing loading/unloading hole 51 of the cabinet 2 is closed by the door 70, so that the entrance end 132 of the air supply passage 130 is coupled to the drying duct 126 of the drying unit 120 and the exit end 134 comes to face the inside of the drum 100.
At this time, if the user inputs commands laundry processes such as washing, rinsing, dehydrating and drying and a time using the control panel 64, the washing machine operates according to the input command.
In accordance with the present invention, since the operations regarding the washing, rinsing, and dehydrating processes are the same as that of the related washing machines, detailed description thereof will be omitted, and only the operation of the drying process will be described below.
When the drum 100 rotates as the motor 96 is driven for the drying process, the clothing m in the drum 100 comes to be mounted on the lifter 106 and then it is raised, dropped and moves in a cycle in the drum 100.
Next, the cooling water valve 122, the circulation fan 128, and the heater 125 are turned on.
Next, the cooling water flows down into the condensation duct 121 as the cooling water valve 122 is turned on, and low temperature humid air in the drum 100 is absorbed into the condensation duct 121 through the tub 80 due to the negative pressure generated as the circulation fan 128 rotates.
The low temperature humid air absorbed into the condensation duct 121 is condensed by the cooling water flowing down into the condensation duct 121 as the cooling water valve 122 is turned on, and is turned into hot dry air while passing through the drying duct 126 by being heated with the heater 126.
The hot dry air A moves into the door 70 via the entrance end 132 of the air supply passage 130 coupled to the drying duct 126, passes through the air supply passage 130 and is backwardly ejected from the rear surface of the door 70.
The hot dry air ejected backwardly from the door 70 advances straight toward the inside of the drum 100, takes the moisture from the wet clothing m by directly contacting with the clothing, and dries the clothing m by circulating through the condensation duct 121, the dry duct 127, and the air supply passage 130 formed in the interior space of the door 70.
FIG. 4, FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 illustrates a washing machine in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view showing an inner structure of the washing machine which is partially cut away, FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a part C shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the washing machine in which some parts are exploded. Like reference numerals in FIG. 2 to 3 denote lime elements in FIG. 4 to FIG. 6.
In accordance with the second embodiment, with respect to FIG. 4 to FIG. 6, a drying unit 120′ includes a condensation duct 121 connected to a tub 80 at its end, a drying duct 126 connected to the condensation duct 121 at its one end and provided with a heater 125 therein, a drying bellows 127 installed in the drying duct 126 and arranged to be coupled to an air supply passage 130 while a door 70 is closed, and a circulation fan 128 applied to either the condensation duct 121 or the drying duct 126.
The drying bellows 127 is provided to prevent the drying duct 126 and the cabinet cover 60 from being collided as well as to buffer vibrations of the drying duct 126. Further the drying bellows 127 is connected to an exit end of the drying duct 126 at its one end, extends to pass through the penetration hole 61 of the cabinet cover 60, is arranged to be tightly in contact with to the door 70 at the other end thereof, and has an elastic wrinkled portion 127 a between both ends.
Still further, the bellows 127 has a sealing part 127 to be tightly in contact with the rear surface of the door 70 at the other end so as for the air not to be leaked through the gap which would be formed between the bellows 127 and the door 70 without the sealing part 127.
The drying unit 120′ further includes a cooling water valve 122 for intermitting cooling water in the same manner as the first embodiment, a cooling water hose 123 for guiding the cooling water passing out the cooling water valve 122, and a cooling water nozzle 124 for spraying the guided cooling water into the condensation duct 121.
Since the operations and constructions of the washing machine in this embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except for the drying unit 120′, like reference numerals are used to denote like elements in the first and second embodiments, and detailed description on the like elements will be omitted.
In accordance with this embodiment, the hot dry air changed from cold humid air while it passes through the condensation duct 121 and the drying duct 126 advances to and passes through the drying bellows 127, still moves into the interior space of the door 70 via the entrance end 132 of the air supply passage 130, and then is ejected from the exit end 134 of the air supply passage 130 in the backward direction of the door 70 toward the inside of the drum 100.
FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 illustrate a washing machine in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention, where FIG. 7 is a partially cut-away cross-sectional side view showing an inner structure of the washing machine, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the washing machine in which some parts are exploded.
With reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, in accordance with this embodiment, the washing machine has a door 70′ including a door frame 75, 76 with an air supply passage 130′ therein and an opened hole at a center portion thereof, and a door glass 77 applied to the door frame 75, 76 at a portion corresponding to the opened hole.
The door frame 75, 76 is comprised of a front panel 75 and a rear panel 76, between of which the air supply passage 130′ is provided.
The air supply passage 130′ has an entrance end formed at an outer area of the door frame 70 with respect to a boundary B where the rear panel 76 of the door frame 70 is in tightly contact with the gasket 84, and an air exit end 134 at an inner area of the door frame 70.
The entrance end 132′ of the air supply passage 130′ is formed at a portion of a circumferential side of either the front panel 75 or the rear panel 76, or at an edge portion of the rear surface of the rear panel 76.
The exit end 134′ of the air supply passage 130′ is formed at a portion of the rear panel 76 near the edge of the door glass 77.
Preferably, the exit end 134′ of the air supply passage 130′ may include a plurality of perforated holes formed at portions along the circumferential edge of the door glass.
The edge of the door glass 77 is placed in the inside of an inner circumferential edge of the door frame 75, 76 and is convex toward the inside of the drum 100.
Since other constructions and operations of the door in this embodiment is the same as in the first or the second embodiment of the present invention, like elements are denoted by like reference numerals and detailed description on the like elements will be omitted.
Meanwhile, the present invention will not be limited to the embodiments described above, but other modifications may be available, for example, in such a way that an interior space is formed between the front panel and the rear panel, and an additional air supply duct can be installed in the interior space.
As described above in detail, the washing machine in accordance with the present invention is advantageous in that construction of a gasket and a molding method for forming the gasket can be simplified because it is not necessary that an additional drying unit connection holes for connecting the gasket with a drying unit is installed to the gasket as hot air passing out a drying unit moves through a door and is directly supplied into a drum.
The washing machine in accordance with the present invention is further advantageous in that the washing machine can be easily and simply assembled because it is not necessary that the gasket is connected to the drying unit.
The washing machine in accordance with the present invention is still further advantageous in that it is possible to minimize flux and heat loss and improve drying efficiency because the hot air passing out the door is ejected from the entrance side of the drum toward the inside of the drum.
The foregoing embodiment and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present invention. The present teaching can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. Also, the description of the embodiments of the present invention is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims, and many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A washing machine, comprising:

a cabinet with a clothing loading/unloading hole;

a door for closing and opening the clothing loading/unloading hole;

a tub provided in the cabinet;

a drum rotationally arranged in the tub for holding clothing therein;

a drying unit installed to dry the clothing; and

an air supply passage formed in the door in such a way that air passing from the drying unit moves through an interior space of the door and is supplied into the drum.

2. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cabinet has at least one penetration hole through which either the drying unit or the air supply passes.

3. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the door comprises a front panel, a rear panel which is convex toward the inside of the drum, and the air supply passage formed between of both. 0.3.

4. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the drying unit is connected to the tub at one end and to the air supply passage at the other end.

5. The washing machine as claimed in claim 4, wherein the drying unit comprises:

an condensation unit connected to the tub at one end;

a drying duct having a heater therein, being connected to the condensation duct at one end, and being connected to the air supply passage at the other end when the door is closed; and

a circulation fan applied either to the condensation duct or the drying duct.

6. The washing machine as claimed in claim 4, wherein the drying unit comprises:

a condensation duct connected to the tub at one end;

a drying duce having a heater therein and being connected to the condensation duct at one end;

a drying bellows applied to the drying duct and connected to the air supply passage when the door is closed; and

and a circulation fan applied either to the condensation duct or the drying duct.

7. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air supply passage is connected to the drying unit at its entrance end and arranged to face the inside of the drum at its exit end.

8. The washing machine as claimed in claim 7, wherein the air supply passage is provided with a grill at the exit end.

9. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a gasket applied to the tub so as to be tightly in contact with the rear surface of the door when the door is closed for preventing the clothing, water and air from being leaked, wherein the air supply passage has an entrance end at an outer area of the door with respect to a boundary where the door is in contact with the gasket and an exit end at an inner area of the door with respect to the boundary.

10. The washing machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the air supply passage has an entrance end at a portion of a circumferential side of the door or an edge portion of the rear surface of the door and an exit end at a center portion of the rear surface of the door.

11. A washing machine, comprising:

a cabinet with a clothing loading/unloading hole;

a door including a door frame with an opened hole formed at a center portion thereof and a door glass formed to correspond to the opened hole, for opening and closing the clothing loading/unloading hole;

a tub provided in the cabinet;

a drum rotationally arranged in the tub for holding the clothing therein;

a drying unit installed to dry the clothing; and

an air supply passage formed in the door frame so as for hot air passing out the drying unit is supplied into the inside of the drum through an interior space of the door frame.

12. The washing machine as claimed in claim 11, wherein the cabinet has a penetration hole so as for either the drying unit or the air supply passage to pass through the penetration hole.

13. The washing machine as claimed in claim 11, wherein the door frame includes a front panel, a rear panel and the air supply passage between of both.

14. The washing machine as claimed in claim 11, wherein the drying unit is connected to at one end and to the air supply passage at the other end.

15. The washing machine as claimed in claim 14, wherein the drying unit comprises:

a condensation duct connected to the tub at one end;

a drying duct having a heater therein and being connected to the condensation duct at one end and to the air supply passage at the other end when the door is closed; and

a circulation fan applied either to the condensation duct or the drying duct.

16. The washing machine as claimed in claim 14, wherein the drying unit comprises:

a condensation duct connected to the tube at one end;

a drying duct having a heater therein and being connected to the condensation duct at one end;

a drying bellows applied to the drying duct and arranged to be connected to the air supply passage when the door is closed; and

a circulation fan applied either to the condensation duct and the drying duct.

17. The washing machine as claimed in claim 11, wherein the air supply passage is formed to be connected to the drying unit at its entrance end and is arranged so as for its exit end to face the inside of the drum.

18. The washing machine as claimed in claim 17, wherein the air supply passage has a grill at the exit end.

19. The washing machine as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a gasket applied to the tub so as to be tightly in contact with the rear surface of the door frame when the door is closed, for preventing clothing, water and air from being leaked, wherein the air supply passage has an entrance end at an outer area of the door frame with respect to a boundary where the door frame is in contact with the gasket and has an exit end at an inner area of the door frame with respect to the boundary.

20. The washing machine as claimed in claim 11, wherein the air supply passage has an entrance end at a portion of a circumferential side of the door frame or an edge portion of a rear surface of the door frame, and an exit end at a portion of the rear surface of the door frame near the door glass.