Apparatus for Treating Laundry

The present disclosure relates to a laundry treating apparatus.

A laundry treating apparatus is an apparatus that receives laundry, such as clothes and bedding, in a drum to perform treatment necessary for the laundry, such as removal of contaminants from the laundry or drying of the laundry.

When a laundry treating apparatus is designed to remove contaminants from laundry, the laundry treating apparatus may perform processes such as washing, rinsing, dehydration, and drying. The laundry treating apparatus may include a cabinet defining the external appearance thereof, a tub accommodated in the cabinet, a drum rotatably mounted in the tub and configured to receive laundry, and a detergent supply device configured to supply detergent to the interior of the drum. If the drum is rotated by a motor in the state in which wash water is supplied to the laundry received in the drum, dirt on the laundry may be removed by friction with the drum and the wash water.

When a laundry treating apparatus is designed to dry laundry, the laundry treating apparatus may supply dry air to the laundry to remove moisture from the laundry. The laundry treating apparatus may include a cabinet, a drum rotatably disposed in the cabinet, and a heating device configured to heat or dry air supplied to the laundry. As the dry air is supplied to the laundry received in the drum, moisture in the laundry may be evaporated and removed by the dry air, and thus water may be removed from the laundry.

A laundry treating apparatus provided with multiple treating apparatuses is disclosed in related art document KR 10-2008-0021921 A1. The laundry treating apparatus is configured such that a washing machine is disposed at an upper position and a drying machine is disposed at a lower position. In addition, each of the washing machine and the drying machine is structured to have an operation unit and a display unit.

That is, the laundry treating apparatus disclosed in the above related art document is configured such that each of the multiple treating apparatuses, which are provided separately from each other, has an operation unit and a display unit. In this case, however, a user needs to individually check the states of the multiple treating apparatuses and to individually operate the multiple treating apparatuses. In addition, it may be inconvenient for the user to operate the multiple treating apparatuses in association with each other.

Therefore, in a laundry treating apparatus provided with multiple treating apparatuses, it is an important task to improve user convenience in checking the operational states of the multiple treating apparatuses or operating the multiple treating apparatuses and to secure an efficient arrangement relationship between components of the multiple treating apparatuses and a stable and effective coupling relationship between the multiple treating apparatuses.

In the case in which a control panel capable of controlling all of multiple treating apparatuses constituting a laundry treating apparatus is provided, a first button for activating a user interface for control of a washing machine, a first light-emitting element (e.g., LED) for indicating the activation state of the first button, a second button for activating a user interface for control of a drying machine, and a second light-emitting element for indicating the activation state of the second button are provided. However, because two buttons are provided in order to indicate the activation states of the treating apparatuses, many physical display spaces are required, and because two light-emitting elements are also required, manufacturing costs are increased. An aspect of the present disclosure is directed to providing a laundry treating apparatus capable of reducing the number of physical display devices for indicating the activation states of the treating apparatuses, thereby providing a simple and clear design, and capable of reducing the number of light-emitting elements, thereby reducing manufacturing costs.

In the case in which a user interface is provided at a control panel capable of controlling all of multiple treating apparatuses constituting a laundry treating apparatus, an aspect of the present disclosure is directed to providing a laundry treating apparatus capable of implementing a simple user interface and providing an interior effect when placed in an installation environment.

In the case in which a user interface is provided at a control panel capable of controlling all of multiple treating apparatuses constituting a laundry treating apparatus, an aspect of the present disclosure is directed to providing a highly intuitive laundry treating apparatus capable of displaying an activated user interface on a touch display and enabling a user to visually recognize the treating apparatus corresponding to the activated user interface.

In the case in which a user interface is provided at a control panel capable of controlling all of multiple treating apparatuses constituting a laundry treating apparatus, the present disclosure provides a layout structure capable of reducing erroneous recognition of a touch input due to moisture.

The aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to those mentioned above, and other aspects not mentioned herein will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

The present disclosure provides a laundry treating apparatus. In an embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus includes a washing machine including a washing machine front panel provided on a front side thereof and a first drum provided therein to receive laundry, a drying machine disposed on the washing machine, the drying machine including a drying machine front panel provided on a front side thereof and a second drum provided therein to receive laundry, and a control panel provided between the washing machine front panel and the drying machine front panel, the control panel being configured to provide a user interface (UI) of at least one of the washing machine or the drying machine, wherein the control panel includes a flat panel display configured to display one of a washing machine operation UI for operation of the washing machine and a drying machine operation UI for operation of the drying machine and a switching button. If input is received from the switching button in the state in which the washing machine operation UI is displayed on the flat panel display, the flat panel display displays the drying machine operation UI, and if input is received from the switching button in the state in which the drying machine operation UI is displayed on the flat panel display, the flat panel display displays the washing machine operation UI.

In an embodiment, when both the washing machine and the drying machine are in the on state, the switching button may be activated.

In an embodiment, when at least one of the washing machine or the drying machine is in the off state, the switching button may be deactivated.

In an embodiment, in the state in which one of the washing machine and the drying machine is in operation, when the remaining one of the washing machine and the drying machine is turned on, the switching button may be activated.

A laundry treating apparatus in accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure includes a washing machine including a washing machine front panel provided on a front side thereof and a first drum provided therein to receive laundry, a drying machine disposed on the washing machine, the drying machine including a drying machine front panel provided on a front side thereof and a second drum provided therein to receive laundry, and a control panel provided between the washing machine front panel and the drying machine front panel, the control panel being configured to provide a user interface (UI) of at least one of the washing machine or the drying machine, wherein the control panel includes a flat panel display configured to display one of a washing machine operation UI for operation of the washing machine and a drying machine operation UI for operation of the drying machine, and when both the washing machine and the drying machine are in the on state, the control panel is activated.

In an embodiment, the control panel may include a touch film located on a front surface of the flat panel display.

In an embodiment, the laundry treating apparatus is configured such that the flat panel display forms one of display units of the user interface (UI) and the touch film forms one of input units of the user interface (UI).

In an embodiment, the switching button may be disposed to occupy a different area from the touch film.

In an embodiment, the switching button may be provided as a touch sensor separated from the touch film.

In an embodiment, the control panel may include a power button configured to receive a user input to turn the washing machine or the drying machine on and off and an execution button configured to receive a user input to execute or pause operation of the washing machine or the drying machine, and the power button and the execution button may be provided as touch sensors separated from the touch film.

In an embodiment, a light-emitting element disposed at the rear of the switching button to indicate the activated state of the switching button may be further included.

In an embodiment, the light-emitting element may emit light in the activated state of the switching button.

In an embodiment, the light-emitting element may not emit light in the deactivated state of the switching button.

In an embodiment, when the flat panel display displays the remaining one of the washing machine operation UI and the drying machine operation UI in response to input of the switching button, if input is not received from a user for a preset time period or longer, the flat panel display may again display one of the washing machine operation UI and the drying machine operation UI.

In an embodiment, if a user input is not received for a preset time period or longer in the activated state of the switching button, the switching button may be deactivated.

In an embodiment, the flat panel display may output an indicator indicating the currently operated object among the washing machine and the drying machine.

In an embodiment, the indicator may be displayed in a first form in the washing machine operation UI, and may be displayed in a second form different from the first form in the drying machine operation UI.

In an embodiment, the washing machine operation UI may display one or more letters in a first text color distinguished from a basic text color, and the drying machine operation UI may display one or more letters in a second text color distinguished from the basic text color and the first text color.

In an embodiment, the flat panel display may further display a composite UI in which operation information of the washing machine and operation information of the drying machine are displayed on a single screen.

In an embodiment, according to claim, the composite UI may be displayed when both the washing machine and the drying machine are in operation.

In an embodiment, the switching button may be deactivated in the state in which the composite UI is displayed.

In an embodiment, the composite UI may include a first area and a second area, which is a different area from the first area. The operation information of the washing machine may be displayed in the first area, and

the operation information of the drying machine may be displayed in the second area.

In an embodiment, when a user touch input is received from the first area, the laundry treating apparatus may display the washing machine operation UI on the flat panel display, and when a user touch input is received from the second area, the laundry treating apparatus may display the drying machine operation UI on the flat panel display.

In an embodiment, the first area may be an upper area of the composite UI, and the second area may be a lower area of the composite UI.

In an embodiment, the control panel may further include an execution button configured to receive a user input to execute or pause operation of the washing machine or the drying machine.

In an embodiment, the execution button may include a first execution button configured to receive a user input to execute or pause operation of the washing machine and a second execution button configured to receive a user input to execute or pause operation of the drying machine.

In an embodiment, the control panel may further include a power button configured to receive a user input to turn the washing machine or the drying machine on and off, and the flat panel display may be disposed to occupy a different area from the power button.

In an embodiment, the power button may be provided at a position spaced apart from the flat panel display in one direction, and the switching button may be located between the power button and the flat panel display.

In an embodiment, an execution button configured to receive a user input to execute or pause operation of the washing machine or the drying machine may be further included, and the execution button may be provided at a position spaced apart from the flat panel display in the opposite direction.

In an embodiment, the power button may include a first power button configured to receive a user input to turn the washing machine on and off and a second power button configured to receive a user input to turn the drying machine on and off.

In an embodiment, when a user input for turn-on of the washing machine is received from the first power button, the washing machine operation UI may be displayed on the flat panel display to enable control of the washing machine, and when a user input for turn-on of the drying machine is received from the second power button, the drying machine operation UI may be displayed on the flat panel display to enable control of the drying machine.

A laundry treating apparatus in accordance with a further aspect of the present disclosure includes a washing machine including a washing machine front panel provided on a front side thereof and a first drum provided therein to receive laundry, a drying machine disposed on the washing machine, the drying machine including a drying machine front panel provided on a front side thereof and a second drum provided therein to receive laundry, and a control panel provided between the washing machine front panel and the drying machine front panel, the control panel being configured to provide a user interface (UI) of at least one of the washing machine or the drying machine, wherein the control panel includes a power button configured to receive a user input to turn the washing machine or the drying machine on and off, a flat panel display configured to display one of a washing machine operation UI for operation of the washing machine and a drying machine operation UI for operation of the drying machine, and an execution button configured to receive a user input to execute or pause operation of the washing machine or the drying machine, the power button is provided at a position spaced apart from the flat panel display in one direction, and the execution button is provided at a position spaced apart from the flat panel display in the opposite direction.

In an embodiment, a switching button configured to receive a switching instruction from a user to display the remaining one of the washing machine operation UI and the drying machine operation UI in the state in which one of the washing machine operation UI and the drying machine operation UI is displayed on the flat panel display may be included, and the switching button may be located between the power button and the flat panel display.

In an embodiment, the control panel may include a touch film located on a front surface of the flat panel display, and the switching button may be provided as a touch sensor separated from the touch film.

In an embodiment, the control panel may include a touch film located on a front surface of the flat panel display, and the power button and the execution button may be provided as touch sensors separated from the touch film.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, in the case in which a control panel capable of controlling all of multiple treating apparatuses constituting a laundry treating apparatus is provided, because the number of physical display devices for indicating the activation states of the treating apparatuses is reduced, a simple and clear design may be provided, and because the number of light-emitting elements indicating the activation states is reduced, manufacturing costs may be reduced.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, in the case in which a user interface is provided at a control panel capable of controlling all of multiple treating apparatuses constituting a laundry treating apparatus, a simple user interface may be implemented, and an interior effect may be provided when the laundry treating apparatus is placed in an installation environment.