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EP-4502264-B1 - CLOTHES TREATMENT APPARATUS

EP4502264B1EP 4502264 B1EP4502264 B1EP 4502264B1EP-4502264-B1

Inventors

  • KIM, DONGCHEOL
  • KIM, YOUNGJONG

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20230328

Claims (18)

  1. A laundry treatment apparatus (1) comprising: a cabinet (10); a tub (20) arranged inside the cabinet to accommodate water; a drum (30) rotatably disposed inside the tub to accommodate clothing, the drum having a drum opening (32) formed in one surface thereof to allow the clothing to be introduced therethrough; a column part (200) protruding from a surface of the drum (30) opposite to the one surface toward the drum opening (32), the column part (200) having a space formed therein; and a filter (400) disposed inside the column part (200) to filter out foreign matter from water flowing into the column part, wherein the column part (200) comprises: a column body (210) having a space formed therein, the column body (210) comprising an opening surface facing the drum opening (32); a column cap (220) coupled to the column body (210) to shield the open surface; and a filter coupling portion (204) provided on an inner circumferential surface (202) of the column part (200) and spaced apart from the column cap (220) along a longitudinal direction of the column body (210), and wherein the filter (400) comprises: a filter body (410) extending in parallel with the column part (200), the filter body (410) comprising a filter surface (412) facing the inner circumferential surface (202) of the column part (200); and a filter fixing part (450) disposed at an upper end of the filter body (410) and coupled to the filter coupling portion (204) to fix the filter body (410) inside the column part (200).
  2. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the upper end of the filter body (410) faces the column cap (220), so that the filter fixing part (450) faces the column cap (220).
  3. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the column part (200) comprises: a blade (230) protruding from an outer circumferential surface (201) of the column part to form a water current inside the drum (30); and a water flow hole (205) extending from the outer circumferential surface (201) of the column part to the inner circumferential surface (202) of the column part in a penetrating manner to allow water to flow therethrough.
  4. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 3, wherein the blade (230) extends from one end (208) of the column part (200) toward an opposite end (209) of the column part, wherein the water flow hole comprises a plurality of water flow holes (205) arranged along a direction of extension of the blade (230).
  5. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 4, wherein the plurality of water flow holes (205) are disposed on opposite sides of the blade (230) with respect to a circumferential direction of the column part (200), respectively.
  6. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 4, wherein the filter body (410) comprises: a plurality of water inflow portions (415) arranged inside the column part (200) to face the water flow holes (205), wherein the filter surface (412) is disposed between the water inflow portions (415).
  7. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 6, wherein the blade (230) extends at an inclination with respect to a longitudinal direction of the column part (200), wherein at least some of the water flow holes (205) are arranged in parallel with the direction of extension of the blade (230), wherein the water inflow portions (415) extend in parallel with a direction of arrangement of the water flow holes (205) inside the column part to face the water flow holes (205).
  8. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 7, wherein each of the water inflow portions (415) comprises: an outer open portion (416) which is a part of the water inflow portion and is open toward an outside of the filter body (410), the outer open portion (416) having a first diameter (D1); and an inner open portion (417) formed integrally with and connected to the outer open portion (416) and is open toward an inside of the filter body (410), the inner open portion (417) having a second diameter (D2) smaller than the first diameter (D1).
  9. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 8, wherein one end (238) of the blade (230) disposed at the one end (208) of the column part (200) is spaced apart from an opposite end (239) of the blade (230) disposed at the opposite (209) end of the column part (200) in a first direction along a circumference of the column part (200), wherein the outer open portion (416) is spaced apart from the inner open portion (417) in the first direction.
  10. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 1, wherein the filter body (410) comprises: a filter case (420) comprising the filter surface (412) and having a space formed therein, the filter case (420) defining an appearance of the filter body (410); and an inner filter (430) disposed inside the filter case (420) to filter out foreign matter from water flowing into the filter case (420).
  11. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 10, wherein the inner filter (430) comprises: a plurality of inner filter surfaces (435) spaced apart from each other along a longitudinal direction of the filter body (410) to filter out foreign matter when water passes therethrough.
  12. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 11, wherein the one surface of the drum (30) corresponds to a top surface of the drum (30), and the opposite surface of the drum (30) corresponds to a bottom surface of the drum (30), wherein the inner filter surfaces (435) have a conical shape having a diameter decreasing as the inner filter surfaces (435) extend toward the opposite surface of the drum (30).
  13. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 11, wherein the filter surface (412) is provided with holes allowing water to pass therethrough, the holes being larger than holes formed in the inner filter surfaces (435) to allow water to pass therethrough.
  14. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 11, wherein the inner filter (430) further comprises: an inner frame (437) extending along a longitudinal direction of the filter case (420), wherein the inner filter surfaces (435) are spaced apart from each other and fixed to inner frame (437).
  15. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 14, wherein the inner filter (437) is arranged to be detachable from the filter case (420).
  16. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 14, wherein the filter case (420) has one open surface facing the drum opening (32), wherein the inner filter (430) is removably inserted into the filter case (420) through the one open surface of the filter case (420).
  17. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 16, wherein the filter fixing part (450) is coupled to the filter case (420) and disposed on the one open surface of the filter case (4020).
  18. The laundry treatment apparatus of claim 17, wherein the inner frame (437) is provided with an inner support (439) at one end facing the filter fixing part (450), the inner support (439) contacting the filter fixing part (450), wherein the filter fixing part (450) is coupled to the filter case (420) to contact the inner support (439) to fix the inner frame (437) inside the filter case (420).

Description

[Technical Field] The present invention relates to a laundry treatment apparatus for processing clothing accommodated in a rotatable drum. [Background Art] A laundry treatment apparatus is an apparatus that removes contaminants from clothes, bedding, etc. (hereinafter referred to as laundry) put into a drum. The laundry treatment apparatus may perform operations such as washing, rinsing, dehydration, and drying. Laundry treatment apparatuses may be divided into top loading type apparatuses and front loading type apparatuses based on the method of loading the laundry into the drum. A laundry treatment apparatus may include a housing defining an exterior, a tub accommodated in the housing, and a drum rotatably mounted inside the tub and configured to receive laundry introduced thereinto. By rotating the drum with a motor or the like with washing water supplied to the laundry accommodated in the drum, dirt may be removed from the laundry by friction against the drum and the washing water. In addition, a rotating part may be provided inside the drum to improve the washing effect of the laundry. The rotating part may be rotated inside the drum to form a water current, and the washing effect of the laundry may be improved by the rotating part. On the other hand, foreign matter such as dust, lint, and contaminants from laundry may be present in the washing water during the laundry washing process. If these foreign matter are not properly removed, the cleanliness of the washing water may be excessively lowered and the washing efficiency may be lowered. Among the related documents, US 11,008,695 B2 discloses a laundry washing machine including a filter configured to removing foreign matter from washing water. According to the document, in the laundry washing machine, the filter is included in the rotating part, and foreign matter in the washing water are captured and removed through the filter. However, the filter in the related document filters the foreign matter by using the flow of washing water through a simple opening formed in the rotating part, and the filter surface on which the foreign matter are filtered has the same shape through the surface. Furthermore, the filter does not reflect the characteristics of the flow of washing water generated during the washing process, which is disadvantageous in terms of filtering efficiency. Further, the filter is permanently coupled to at least a portion of the rotating part, by being integrated with the rotating part or a cap portion provided on the rotating part through fabrication, and thus the coupling structure is unfavorable for maintenance and replacement of either the rotating part or the filter. Also the respective documents US 3 381 505 A, US 2 942 444 A, US 3 330 135 A and KR 2005 0050290 A disclose laundry treatment apparatuses including a filter disposed inside a column part protruding from a surface of a rotatable drum, whereby the filter comprises a filter body extending in parallel with the column part and comprises a filter surface facing an inner circumferential surface of the column part. Therefore, it is an important task in the field of this technology to provide a filter in the rotating part, to improve the efficiency of removing foreign matter by the filter in consideration of the structural features of the rotating part and the characteristics of the flow of washing water, and to improve the maintainability of the filter through an efficient design of the filter. [Disclosure] [Technical Problem] Embodiments of the present invention are directed to providing a laundry treatment apparatus capable of effectively filtering foreign matter from washing water using a rotating part. Embodiments of the present invention are directed to providing a laundry treatment apparatus including a filter that is effectively fixed to a rotating part and is easily replaceable. Embodiments of the present invention are directed to providing a laundry treatment apparatus including a filter provided in a rotating part and having a structure capable of effectively improving the performance of filtering foreign matter. Embodiments of the present invention are directed to providing a laundry treatment apparatus including a filter provided in the rotating part and having a structure capable of effectively improving maintenance performance. [Technical Solution] The present invention is defined by the appended claims. In particular, the invention relates to a laundry treatment apparatus, which includes a rotating part including a column part, and the rotating part has a filter mounted therein. The filter includes a filter body and a filter fixing part, the filter body including a filter surface through which foreign matter is filtered out from washing water. The filter fixing part is coupled to an inner circumferential surface of the column part, whereby the filter may be effectively fixed inside the column part. Furthermore, the filter fixing part may be coupled to the inner c