Clothing Treatment Device

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/624,693, filed on Apr. 2, 2024, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/041,260, filed on Sep. 24, 2020, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,976,408, which is a National Stage application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/KR2019/003925, filed on Apr. 3, 2019, which claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 10-2019-0038733, filed on Apr. 2, 2019, Korean Application No. 10-2018-0074728, filed on Jun. 28, 2018, U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/679,035, filed on Jun. 1, 2018, and Korean Application No. 10-2018-0038422, filed on Apr. 3, 2018. The disclosures of the prior applications are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

The present disclosure relates to a laundry treating apparatus, and more particularly, to a laundry treating apparatus that may remove wrinkles by using steam and hot wire while separately using a laundry treating chamber inside a door assembly.

Generally, a laundry treating apparatus refers to an apparatus that carries out a series of processes (e.g., washing, drying, deodorization, wrinkle removal, etc.) in relation to laundry. The term “laundry treating apparatus” may comprise a washing machine for washing laundry, a dryer for drying wet laundry, a washing machine with a drying function together with a washing function, a refresher for removing odors or wrinkles out of laundry, and a steamer for removing unnecessary wrinkles of laundry.

The refresher is an apparatus for refreshing a state of laundry, and serves to dry laundry, supply fragrance to laundry, prevent static electricity from occurring in laundry, or remove wrinkles of laundry.

Meanwhile, the development trend of laundry treating apparatuses is toward a single apparatus designed to carry out all of washing, drying, deodorization, and wrinkle removal for laundry. However, the existing laundry treating apparatuses are limited in deodorizing laundry or removing wrinkles from laundry because of the use of a drum for accommodating laundry and a driver for rotating the drum.

To address the problem, a “laundry treating apparatus” comprising a steamer and a refresher is disclosed in the Korean Laid-Open Patent No. 10-2014-0184457. The laundry treating apparatus comprises a treating chamber for treating laundry through air circulation or steam, and a separate crease removal module for removing a crease by pressurizing laundry inside the treating chamber.

In the above laundry treating apparatus, the crease removal module is formed at one side of a door headed for the treating chamber formed in a cabinet. Therefore, since laundry may be hung on the crease removal module in a state that the cabinet is opened, a problem occurs in that the crease removal module cannot be used while laundry is being treated in the treating chamber inside the cabinet. That is, a problem occurs in that the treating chamber inside the cabinet and the crease removal module cannot be operated individually.

The crease removal module includes a base plate provided in a door and formed of one plate having an elastic force, supporting laundry, and a press plate rotated with the base plate by being coupled to the base plate and tightly attached to the base plate to pressurize the laundry.

If the crease removal module is used, in a state that laundry is hung, a cycle chamber located below the cabinet may supply the hot air and at the same time pressurize the laundry to perform deodorization and wrinkle removal.

In a state that laundry is unfolded inside the cabinet by self-load, the laundry treating apparatus may dry and deodorize the laundry or remove wrinkles of the laundry by supplying the hot air or moisture to the laundry. As the press plate presses the surface of the laundry, wrinkles may effectively be removed from the laundry or a crease (crease preset in laundry) may be formed on the laundry, whereby the need for ironing the laundry after washing or drying may be obviated.

In the laundry treating apparatus of the related art, however, since there is no separate member between the press plate and the base plate, only one laundry item may be pressurized, whereby a problem occurs in that efficiency is reduced.

Meanwhile, in the laundry treating apparatus of the related art, since the press plate presses a laundry item P while rotating from a side surface of the laundry item P, the laundry item P is pressed sequentially from one side surface to the other side surface thereof.

For this reason, a relatively high pressure is applied to a part of the laundry item P close to the press plate, whereas a relatively low pressure is applied to another part of the laundry item P far from the press plate. As a result, a problem occurs in that the laundry item P is not pressed uniformly.

Moreover, while the laundry item P is being pressed by the press plate, a problem occurs in that the laundry item P is deformed or displaced by the press plate.

Also, even though the laundry item P is held in the laundry treating apparatus of the related art, the laundry item P does not remain stationary, which may not be prevented from being displaced during pressing. Therefore, the laundry treating apparatus of the related art generates more creases than needed or an unintended crease on the laundry item P due to the press plate.

In addition, when a laundry item has partitioned areas like pants, the laundry treating apparatus of the related art has a problem that it cannot press the partitioned areas respectively. For example, if the laundry item is provided with bottoms like pants in the laundry treating apparatus of the related art, a first part worn on a left leg of a user and a second part worn on a right leg of the user may be pressed by being overlapped with each other.

Therefore, a problem occurs in that the first part and the second part may alternately be overlapped with each other or displaced when pressed, whereby a crease may occur in an unintended area of the laundry item.

Also, since the hot air or moisture (including steam) is not supplied to an area where the first part and the second part face each other, a problem occurs in that refresh such as drying and deodorization is not performed actively.

A first object of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treating apparatus that may remove a crease by pressing laundry regardless of an operation in a laundry treating space inside a cabinet.

A second object of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treating apparatus that may effectively remove a crease of laundry in a laundry treating space formed inside a door assembly provided separately from a cabinet.

A third object of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treating apparatus that treats a plurality of laundry items for a short time to remove a crease by pressurization.

A fourth object of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treating apparatus that may uniformly pressurize each partitioned area even though a laundry item has partitioned areas like pants.

A fifth object of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treating apparatus that may uniformly supply at least one of steam and hot air to each partitioned area of a laundry item.

A sixth object of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treating apparatus that may prevent a laundry item from being displaced when the laundry item is pressurized.

A seventh object of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treating apparatus that may exactly form a crease in a user's intended area.

In addition to the objects of the present disclosure as mentioned above, additional objects and features of the present disclosure will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description of the present disclosure.

To achieve the above objects, a laundry treating apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure comprises a cabinet having an opening in a front direction, a door assembly opening or closing the opening, a first laundry treating chamber provided inside the cabinet to provide a space for accommodating laundry and communicated with the outside of the cabinet through the opening, and a machine chamber communicated with the first laundry treating chamber to arrange at least one of a steam supply unit supplying steam to the first laundry treating chamber and an air supply unit circulating the air, wherein the door assembly includes an assembly housing opening or closing the opened front surface of the cabinet, opening or closing the opening, and forming a second laundry treating chamber removing a crease of the laundry by applying a pressure to inside, and an assembly door opening or closing the second laundry treating chamber in a front direction of the cabinet, and thus the second laundry treating chamber is formed inside the door assembly separately the inside of the cabinet and may be opened toward the outside of the cabinet through the assembly door. That is, the second laundry treating chamber may have a door in door type.

Also, a base plate supporting the laundry arranged in the second laundry treating chamber is arranged at an inner side of any one of the assembly housing and the assembly door of the laundry treating apparatus according to the present disclosure, and a press plate tightly attached to the base plate to pressurize the laundry is arranged at an inner side of the other one of the assembly housing and the assembly door, whereby the laundry arranged in the second laundry treating chamber formed at the inner side of the door assembly may be treated.

The laundry treating apparatus may further comprise a heating unit heating the press plate to apply heat to the laundry and remove a crease. In detail, the heating unit includes a press plate electric heater supplied with electricity from an external power source to generate heat, and the press plate electric heater may be arranged at an inner side of the press plate to apply heat to the laundry and remove a crease.

The laundry treating apparatus according to the present disclosure may further comprise a cabinet hinge unit rotatably connecting the door assembly with the cabinet, an assembly hinge unit rotatably connecting the door assembly to the assembly housing, and a steam moving unit supplying steam generated from a steam generator to the second laundry treating chamber through the cabinet hinge unit and the assembly hinge unit or discharging the air of the second laundry treating chamber, whereby steam may be supplied to the second laundry treating chamber and thus the laundry may be treated.

The laundry treating apparatus of the present disclosure may further comprise a connection pipe arranged inside the door assembly to connect the cabinet hinge unit with the assembly hinge unit, whereby steam may be moved to the second laundry treating chamber.

In the laundry treating apparatus of the present disclosure, the connection pipe is inserted into an inner side of the assembly hinge unit, and is provided with a connection pipe hole opened to move steam at one side of a circumferential surface which is in contact with the assembly hinge unit, and the assembly hinge unit is provided with an assembly hinge unit hole opened to move steam at one side of a circumferential surface which is in contact with the connection pipe. The assembly hinge unit is rotated together with the assembly door to control steam supplied to the second laundry treating chamber by rotation of the assembly door.

In the laundry treating apparatus of the present disclosure, the connection pipe hole and the assembly hinge unit hole are arranged in the same direction when the assembly door closes the second laundry treating chamber, whereby steam supplied to the second laundry treating chamber may be controlled by rotation of the assembly door.

In the laundry treating apparatus of the present disclosure, the connection pipe hole and the assembly hinge unit hole are arranged in their respective directions different from each other when the assembly door opens the second laundry treating chamber, whereby steam supplied to the second laundry treating chamber may be controlled by rotation of the assembly door.

The laundry treating apparatus of the present disclosure, the cabinet hinge unit includes a first cabinet hinge unit arranged at an upper end of the door assembly, and a second cabinet hinge unit arranged at a lower end of the door assembly, and the assembly hinge unit includes a first assembly hinge unit arranged at an upper portion of the assembly door and a second assembly hinge unit arranged at a lower portion of the assembly door. The steam moving unit includes a steam supply unit supplying steam generated from the steam generator to the second laundry treating chamber through the first cabinet hinge unit and the first assembly hinge unit, and a steam discharge unit discharging the air inside the second laundry treating chamber to the first laundry treating chamber through the second cabinet hinge unit and the second assembly hinge unit, whereby steam may be supplied and discharged into the second laundry treating chamber to treat the laundry.

The laundry treating apparatus of the present disclosure may further comprise a partition plate arranged between the assembly housing and the assembly door, pressurizing a pressure to each of a laundry item hung on the assembly housing and a laundry item hung on the assembly door, whereby a plurality of laundry items may be treated in the second laundry treating chamber.

The partition plate includes a fixing protrusion fixing the partition plate to one side of the assembly housing or the assembly door or releasing such fixture, whereby a plurality of laundry items may be treated in the second laundry treating chamber.

Also, a spaced distance from the assembly housing to the partition plate and a spaced distance from the partition plate to the assembly door are maintained at a certain interval when the assembly housing is fixed to the assembly door, a plurality of laundry items arranged in the second laundry treating chamber may be treated.

In detail, a first fixing member fixing laundry and a first base plate tightly attached to the partition plate to pressurize the laundry fixed to the first fixing member are arranged at an inner side of the assembly housing, and a second fixing member fixing laundry and a second base plate tightly attached to the partition plate to pressurize the laundry fixed to the second fixing member are arranged at an inner side of the assembly door, whereby a plurality of laundry items may be hung in the door assembly.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the door assembly further includes a support body supporting the laundry, a pressurizing body rotatably provided toward the support body to pressurize the laundry, and an ironing partition unit rotatably provided between the support body and the pressurizing body toward the support body or the pressurizing body to pressurize the laundry at both sides.

The ironing partition unit includes an ironing partition body rotatably provided between the support body and the pressurizing body, and a heating unit provided in any one of both surfaces of the partition body to supply heat to the laundry.

Also, the heating unit includes a heating body provided to be exposed to the outside in at least any one of both surfaces of the ironing partition body, and a hot wire provided in any one of the ironing partition body and the heating body to heat the heating body.

Unlike this example, the heating unit includes a heating body provided to be exposed to the outside in at least any one of both surfaces of the ironing partition body, a supply path provided in any one of the ironing partition body and the heating body and thus supplied with steam, and a plurality of discharge holes provided to discharge the steam to the laundry by passing through the heating body.

Meanwhile, the supply path further includes at least one spray path along a height direction of the ironing partition body, and the discharge holes may be provided along a length direction of the spray path.

Particularly, the laundry treating apparatus may further comprise an auxiliary steam supply unit communicated with the steam generator of the machine chamber to discharge steam through the supply path and provided in any one of the cabinet, the machine chamber and the door assembly to generate steam. In this case, the supply path may be provided to communicate the auxiliary steam supply unit with the discharge holes.

The auxiliary steam supply unit includes an auxiliary water tank detachably provided in at least any one of the cabinet, the machine chamber and the door assembly to accommodate water, an auxiliary heater heating water of the water tank to generate steam, and a discharge outlet discharging the steam by communicating the water tank with the supply path.

Meanwhile, the ironing partition unit includes a heating body provided to be exposed to the outside in at least any one of both surfaces of the ironing partition body, a hot wire provided in any one of the ironing partition body and the heating body to heat the heating body, and a supply path provided in any one of the ironing partition body and the heating body to supply steam, and the hot wire may be provided along the outside of the supply path and thus prevented from interfering with the supply path.

Also, the door assembly may further include a connection hinge rotatably coupling the ironing partition unit with the support body, and a passage unit provided in the connection hinge to allow the hot wire or the supply path to pass therethrough.

The ironing partition unit may be provided to be communicated with the machine chamber to discharge the hot air or moisture supplied from the machine chamber.

Meanwhile, the door assembly may further include a coupling hook provided in the support body to fix the pressurizing body, and a hook coupling unit provided in the pressurizing body and fixed to the coupling hook, and may prevent the support body and the pressurizing body from being spaced part from the ironing partition unit.