EP-4737632-A1 - CLOTHING TREATMENT APPARATUS

EP4737632A1EP 4737632 A1EP4737632 A1EP 4737632A1EP-4737632-A1

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a clothing treatment apparatus for performing various courses for treating clothing. In an embodiment, the clothing treatment apparatus comprises a moving hanger for shaking hung clothes, wherein the moving hanger shakes hung clothes at a sensing speed for a sensing time, and then shakes same at a processing speed, and even if the weights of the hung clothes are the same but the lengths thereof are different or even the lengths of the hung clothes are the same but the weights thereof are different, the clothes are shaken at different processing speeds even if the same course is performed.

Inventors

KIM, SEONGHO
Kim, Minji
KIM, JAEHYUNG
KIM, Seoyoun

Assignees

LG Electronics Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260506
Application Date: 20240830

Claims (20)

A laundry treating apparatus configured to perform an arbitrary course of treating laundry, the laundry treating apparatus comprising: a cabinet; an inner casing providing a receiving space where the laundry is hung inside the cabinet; a machine room disposed under the inner casing and configured to generate one or more of hot air and steam supplied into the receiving space; and a moving hanger configured to shake the hung laundry, wherein the moving hanger is configured to shake the hung laundry at a sensing speed for a sensing duration and then shake the laundry at a treatment speed, wherein the moving hanger is configured to shake the laundry at different treatment speeds, even when the same course is performed, when the hung laundry has the same weight but different lengths or when the hung laundry has the same length but different weights.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a controller configured to operate the moving hanger at the sensing speed for the sensing duration to sense one of a weight, a material, and a length of each laundry item, wherein the controller is configured to optimally set at least one of the treatment speed for shaking the laundry, a spraying duration of supplied hot air and steam, and a spraying amount of supplied hot air and steam, or to treat the hung laundry by matching the hung laundry to one of n predetermined operation schemes.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 2, wherein the moving hanger is configured to shake the hung laundry in correspondence with one of a plurality of predetermined operation schemes.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 3, wherein the moving hanger is configured to shake the laundry at a higher treatment speed when the laundry is light than when the laundry is heavy.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 3, wherein the moving hanger is configured to shake the laundry at a lower treatment speed when the laundry is long than when the laundry is short.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 2, wherein the machine room is configured to set at least one of a supply amount and a supply duration of at least one of hot air and steam differently, even when the same course is performed, when the hung laundry has the same weight but the different lengths or when the hung laundry has the same length but the different weights.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 6, wherein the machine room is configured to set the at least one of the supply amount and the supply duration of the at least one of hot air and steam greater when the laundry is heavy than when the laundry is light.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 6, wherein the machine room is configured to set the at least one of the supply amount and the supply duration of the at least one of hot air and steam greater when the laundry is long than when the laundry is short.
The laundry treating apparatus of any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the machine room includes: a heat exchanger configured to generate hot air by heating air through heat exchange with a refrigerant; a compressor connected to the heat exchanger and configured to compress the refrigerant; and a blowing fan configured to circulate air and hot air in the receiving space, wherein the machine room is configured to set an operation duration and an operation RPM of at least one of the compressor and the blowing fan differently, even when the same course is performed, when the hung laundry has the same weight but the different lengths or when the hung laundry has the same length but the different weights.
The laundry treating apparatus of any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the machine room further includes a steam supply configured to generate steam by heating water, wherein the machine room is configured to set an operation duration of the steam supply differently, even when the same course is performed, when the hung laundry has the same weight but the different lengths or when the hung laundry has the same length but the different weights.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 10, wherein the steam supply includes: a first heater configured to heat water; and a second heater having power consumption the same as or different from power consumption of the first heater and configured to be operated independently of the first heater, wherein the steam supply is configured to set operation durations of one or more of the first heater and the second heater differently, even when the same course is performed, when the hung laundry has the same weight but the different lengths or when the hung laundry has the same length but the different weights.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the treatment speed is higher than the sensing speed.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensing speed includes a first sensing speed and a second sensing speed higher than the first sensing speed, wherein the hung laundry is shaken at the first sensing speed for a first sensing duration, then shaken at the second sensing speed for a second sensing duration, and then shaken at the treatment speed.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 13, wherein the second sensing speed gradually increases over time.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 13, wherein the treatment speed is higher than the first sensing speed.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1, wherein while or after steam is supplied into the receiving space, the moving hanger is configured to shake the laundry at a treatment speed equal to or higher than a standard speed or equal to or lower than the standard speed, wherein the standard speed is different depending on a weight and a length of the laundry.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 16, wherein in a period where a moisture content of the laundry increases by steam supplied into the receiving space, the moving hanger is configured to shake the laundry at the treatment speed equal to or lower than the standard speed.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 17, wherein in the period where the moisture content of the laundry increases by steam supplied into the receiving space, the moving hanger is configured to shake the laundry at a treatment speed variable and equal to or lower than the standard speed.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 17, wherein in a period where the moisture content of the laundry decreases by hot air supplied into the receiving space, the moving hanger is configured to shake the laundry at the treatment speed equal to or higher than the standard speed.
The laundry treating apparatus of claim 19, wherein in the period where the moisture content of the laundry decreases by hot air supplied into the receiving space, the moving hanger is configured to shake the laundry at a treatment speed variable and equal to or higher than the standard speed.

Description

[Technical Field] The present disclosure relates to a laundry treating apparatus and a method for controlling the same. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a laundry treating apparatus and a method for controlling the same capable of supplyi ng steam and hot air to laundry to perform a refreshing cycle such as sterilization, wrinkle removal, deodorization, and drying of the laundry. [Background] A laundry treating apparatus refers to an apparatus developed to wash and dry laundry and to remove wrinkles from the laundry at home and in a laundry. Apparatuses classified as the laundry treating apparatus include a washing machine that washes the laundry, a dryer that dries the laundry, a washer/dryer that has both a washing function and a drying function, a laundry management apparatus that refreshes the laundry, a steamer that removes the wrinkles from the laundry, and the like. In recent years, a laundry treating apparatus corresponding to the laundry management apparatus has emerged that allows the laundry to be kept pleasant and clean without being immersed in water and washed with detergent. Such an existing laundry treating apparatus performs a refreshing cycle of supplying one of high-temperature air (hot air) and steam to the laundry to deodorize the laundry, dry the laundry, and remove the wrinkles from the laundry. In general, such a laundry treating apparatus receives the laundry therein by hanging the laundry from an upper end thereof. Accordingly, the laundry treating apparatus may place each laundry item in a height direction, so that a plurality of laundry items may also be hung along a width direction. The laundry treating apparatus may be configured such that a component (hereinafter, referred to as a moving hanger) for hanging the laundry therein is moveable. Thus, the existing laundry treating apparatus may shake the laundry with the moving hanger when hot air and steam are supplied to the laundry, thereby removing dust and foreign substances from the laundry. Because the moving hanger is configured to hang the laundry thereon in an upper end of a receiving space of the laundry treating apparatus, a degree of shaking and a form of shaking of the laundry may vary depending on an operation frequency and an operation speed of the moving hanger. Accordingly, in order to maximize a refreshing effect by shaking the laundry in an optimal form depending on each time point, the existing laundry treating apparatuses have devised various operation schemes of the moving hanger. FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of shaking laundry in an existing laundry treating apparatus (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2021-016611A). When the laundry is shaken more, foreign substances attached to the laundry or moisture contained in the laundry may be removed more quickly, so that it may be considered to be preferable that the moving hanger is always operated at the highest output. However, referring to a left diagram in (a) in FIG. 1, when the moving hanger moves excessively fast, an excitation force generated from the moving hanger may be transmitted only to the upper end of the laundry, and a lower portion of the laundry may not follow the movement of the moving hanger, and thus may not vibrate with sufficient amplitude. Accordingly, an effect of shaking the lower portion of the laundry may be slight, and a difference in displacement between the upper portion and the lower portion of the laundry may be great, so that there is a risk that fabric may be stretched or damaged. Therefore, referring to a right diagram in (a) in FIG. 1, it is preferable that the moving hanger is operated at an optimal speed at which vibrations generated from the moving hanger may be evenly transmitted from the upper portion to the lower portion of the laundry. The laundry received in the laundry treating apparatus may be in the heaviest state at an initial stage because of supply of water or steam thereto. Heavy laundry has a great inertial force, and thus, may not be easily shaken by the moving hanger. In addition, as moisture evaporates from the laundry as hot air is supplied, a weight of the laundry may be gradually reduced. As the laundry becomes lighter, its inertial force is correspondingly reduced, so that the lighter laundry may be shaken relatively easily by the moving hanger. Therefore, it may be preferable to shake the moving hanger based on the change in the inertial force of the laundry. Referring to (b) in FIG. 1, the existing laundry treating apparatus may operate the moving hanger at a maximum speed PV1-1 at the initial stage in which the laundry is estimated to be in the heaviest state, and may operate the moving hanger by gradually decreasing the operation speed of the moving hanger in consideration of the fact that the laundry is lightened as moisture is dried by hot air or moisture is removed by the vibrations of the moving hanger (PV1-2, 3 and PV2). Accordingly, a shaking force may be eve