Clothes Treatment Apparatus Door and Clothes Treatment Apparatus

This application is a continuation application, claiming priority under 35 U.S.C. § 365 (c), of an International application No. PCT/KR2023/015448, filed on Oct. 6, 2023, which is based on and claims the benefit of a Korean patent application number 10-2022-0180890, filed on Dec. 21, 2022, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

The disclosure relates to a door of a clothing treatment apparatus and the clothing treatment apparatus.

A clothing treatment apparatus is an apparatus for treating laundry for a certain purpose and may provide rotation of laundry.

A door of a clothing treatment apparatus may provide a door so that clothing may be put into or withdrawn from the clothing treatment apparatus. The door of the clothing treatment apparatus may provide a view so that a user may identify inside of the clothing treatment apparatus. The door of the clothing treatment apparatus may provide neat and fancy exterior for the user.

The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the disclosure.

Aspects of the disclosure are to address at least the above-mentioned problems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantages described below. Accordingly, an aspect of the disclosure is to provide a door of a clothing treatment apparatus and the clothing treatment apparatus.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a door of a clothing treatment apparatus is provided. The door includes a door frame of a loop shape and a front glass arranged on a front surface of the door frame, wherein the door frame includes a base frame of a loop shape, an inner frame that is arranged between the base frame and the front glass, and provides an adhesive surface adhered to a rear surface of the front glass, an adhesive layer arranged between the adhesive surface of the inner frame and the front glass, and an outer frame that is arranged on an edge of an outer end portion of the inner frame and provides a non-adhesive surface facing the rear surface of the front glass, and wherein the adhesive surface of the inner frame and the non-adhesive surface of the outer frame have different adhesive characteristics with respect to the adhesive layer.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a clothing treatment apparatus is provided. The door includes a cabinet, a drum rotatably arranged in the cabinet, a motor arranged to provide a rotating force for rotating the drum and a door that is rotatably installed on the cabinet so that laundry is put in or withdrawn therethrough, wherein the door comprises a door frame of a loop shape, and a front glass arranged on a front surface of the door frame, wherein the door frame includes a base frame of a loop shape, an inner frame that is arranged between the base frame and the front glass, and provides an adhesive surface adhered to a rear surface of the front glass, an adhesive layer arranged between the adhesive surface of the inner frame and the front glass, and an outer frame which is arranged on an edge of an outer end portion of the inner frame and provides a non-adhesive surface facing the rear surface of the front glass, and wherein the adhesive surface of the inner frame and the non-adhesive surface of the outer frame have different adhesive characteristics with respect to the adhesive layer.

Other aspects, advantages, and salient features of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description, which, taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses various embodiments of the disclosure.

The same reference numerals are used to represent the same elements throughout the drawings.

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.

It will be further understood that when a portion is referred to as “comprising” another component, the portion may not exclude another component but may further comprise another component unless the context states otherwise. In addition, in the drawings, a size or thickness of each component may be exaggerated for clarity of description.

The use of the terms of “the above-described” and similar indicative terms may correspond to both the singular forms and the plural forms.

The terms “front surface” and “front direction” used in the specification may denote a surface or a direction forming a physical exterior when a door of a clothing treatment apparatus is closed.

The terms “rear surface” and “rear direction” used in the specification may denote a surface or a direction facing clothing accommodated in the clothing treatment apparatus when the door of the clothing treatment apparatus is closed.

In addition, the steps of all methods described herein may be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. In addition, the use of all terms (for example, or the like) is only to describe a technical spirit, and the scope of rights is not limited by these terms unless the context is limited by the claims.

The terms “portion, module, member, and block” used in the specification may be implemented in software or hardware, and according to embodiments of the disclosure, a plurality of “portions, modules, members, and blocks” may be implemented as one component, or one “portion, module, member, and block” may include a plurality of components.

It should be appreciated that the blocks in each flowchart and combinations of the flowcharts may be performed by one or more computer programs which include computer-executable instructions. The entirety of the one or more computer programs may be stored in a single memory device or the one or more computer programs may be divided with different portions stored in different multiple memory devices.

Any of the functions or operations described herein can be processed by one processor or a combination of processors. The one processor or the combination of processors is circuitry performing processing and includes circuitry like an application processor (AP, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)), a communication processor (CP, e.g., a modem), a graphical processing unit (GPU), a neural processing unit (NPU) (e.g., an artificial intelligence (AI) chip), a wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) chip, a Bluetooth™ chip, a global positioning system (GPS) chip, a near field communication (NFC) chip, connectivity chips, a sensor controller, a touch controller, a finger-print sensor controller, a display drive integrated circuit (IC), an audio CODEC chip, a universal serial bus (USB) controller, a camera controller, an image processing IC, a microprocessor unit (MPU), a system on chip (SoC), an IC, or the like.

Hereinafter, a door of a clothing treatment apparatus and the clothing treatment apparatus according to embodiments are described below.

is a perspective view of a clothing treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to, a clothing treatment apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a drumand a doorof a clothing treatment apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as door). The drummay accommodate clothing and provide the clothing with rotating force. The doormay provide a passage through which the clothing may be put into the clothing treatment apparatus. The doormay be rotated about an axis (not shown) arranged on a side of the doorto be opened/closed.

In an example, the clothing treatment apparatusmay include a washer. In another embodiment of the disclosure, the clothing treatment apparatusmay include a dryer. However, a specific kind of the clothing treatment apparatusis not limited thereto.

is a perspective view of a door of a clothing treatment apparatus, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

is a perspective view of a door of a clothing treatment apparatus, seen from a different direction, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

is an exploded perspective view of a door of a clothing treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

is a cross-sectional view of a door of a clothing treatment apparatus, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to, the doorof the clothing treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a door frameand a front glass.

The door framemay support the front glass. The door framemay include a hinge. The hingemay connect the clothing treatment apparatus(see) to the door. The doormay rotate relative to the clothing treatment apparatusvia the hinge. The door framemay have a loop shape. However, the shape of the door frameis not limited thereto.

The front glassmay provide a user with a vision of the inside of the clothing treatment apparatus. The user may identify the inside of the clothing treatment apparatusvia the front glass. The front glassmay be arranged on a front surface of the door frame. The front glassmay have a disc shape. The front glassmay include a glass material. However, the shape and material of the front glassare not limited thereto.

The front glassmay be attached to a boundary of the door frame. The front glassmay be attached to the boundary of the door framevia an adhesive(see).

The door framemay include a base frame, an inner frame, and an outer frame.

The base framemay support and fix the inner frameand the outer frame. The base framemay include the hinge. The base framemay fix a door glassthat is described later.

The base framemay include a latch. The latchmay fix the doorto the clothing treatment apparatus. The latchmay control opening/closing of the door.

The base framemay include a handle. The handlemay be a part held by the user when opening/closing the door. The base framemay have a loop shape. However, the shape of the base frameis not limited thereto.

The inner framemay fix the front glass. The inner framemay provide the front glasswith an adhesive surface. A rear surface of the front glassmay be adhered to the inner frame. The front glassmay be adhered to a boundary of the inner frame. The adhesive surfacemay include a non-metal material. The adhesive surfacemay include a non-plated surface.

The outer framemay provide a side exterior of the door. The outer framemay be connected to the inner frame. The outer framemay be arranged on an edge of the outer end of the inner frame. The outer framemay be fixed to the inner frame. The outer framemay face the rear surface of the front glass. The outer framemay provide the front glasswith a non-adhesive surface. The non-adhesive surfacemay include a metal material. The non-adhesive surfacemay include chromium. The non-adhesive surfacemay have a chromium-plated surface. However, a surface material of the non-adhesive surfaceis not limited to the chromium.

The dooraccording to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a door glass. The door glassmay provide the user with a vision of the inside of the clothing treatment apparatus. The door glassmay include a transparent material. The door glassmay be fixed to the door frame. The door glassmay be connected to an inner end portion of the inner frame. The door glassmay include a door glass stopper. The door glass stoppermay be fixed to the door frame. The door glassmay include a convex shape toward the inside of the clothing treatment apparatus. However, the shape of the door glassis not limited thereto.

is an exploded perspective view of an inner frame and a base frame according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring to, the inner frameaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a boundary regionand a door glass connection region. The boundary regionmay provide the adhesive surfaceto which the rear surface of the front glassis adhered. The boundary regionmay be a region to which the adhesive(see) is applied. The door glass connection regionmay be a region where the inner frameis connected to the door glass.

The adhesive surfaceaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a first surface, a second surface, and a third surface. The first surfacemay be a surface to which the adhesiveis applied. The first surfacemay be a surface coming into contact with the rear surface of the front glasswith the adhesivetherebetween. The second surfacemay be a surface where the adhesiveis collected. The third surfacemay prevent the adhesivecollected on the second surfacefrom crossing to the door glass connection region.

The inner frameaccording to an embodiment of the disclosure may include a first screw fixing recess, a second screw fixing recess, a door glass fixing portion, and a base fixing hook.

Referring to, the first screw fixing recessmay fix the inner frameto the base frame. A first screw F1 may be fixed into the first screw fixing recess. The first screw F1 may fix the latchto the door frame. The second screw fixing recessmay fix the inner frameto the base frame. A second screw F2 may be fixed into the second screw fixing recess. There may be a plurality of first screws F1 and a plurality of second screws F2.

The base fixing hookmay fix the inner frameto the base frame. A plurality of base fixing hooksmay be provided.

The inner framemay be fixed to the base framein at least one of a hook coupling manner or a screw coupling manner.

The door glass fixing portionmay fix the position of the door glass. The door glass fixing portionmay support an end portion of the door glass stopper. A plurality of door glass fixing portionsmay be provided.

is an exploded perspective view of an outer frame and a base frame according to an embodiment of the disclosure.