KR-20260067734-A - A laundry treating apparatus

KR20260067734AKR 20260067734 AKR20260067734 AKR 20260067734AKR-20260067734-A

Abstract

The present invention provides a garment processing device. In one embodiment, the garment processing device comprises: a cabinet; a door rotatably coupled to the cabinet; an inner case forming a receiving space for holding garments; a refresh module disposed at the bottom of the inner case and including a circulation duct providing a flow path for air inside the inner case to circulate, a heat supply unit for heating the air flowing along the circulation duct, and a steam supply unit provided to supply steam inside the inner case; and a storage housing disposed at the bottom of the inner case, having an entry/exit opening formed at the top, and having an iron storage space for accommodating a steam iron that supplies steam to the surface of the garment. The inner case is formed on the bottom surface and includes an input opening through which the steam iron enters and exits, communicating with the entry/exit opening of the storage housing; the upper surface of the storage housing is formed to be inclined downward toward the front or rear, and a contact portion extending downward along the perimeter of the input opening on the inner case is formed to be inclined in a direction that is in contact with the upper surface of the storage housing, thereby being provided to be in close contact with the storage housing.

Inventors

박보경
송성호
예성민
박슬기

Assignees

엘지전자 주식회사

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20241106

Claims (14)

Cabinet; A door rotatably coupled to the above cabinet; An inner case forming a storage space for holding clothing; A refresh module comprising: a circulation duct disposed at the lower part of the inner case and providing a flow path for air inside the inner case to circulate; a heat supply unit for heating the air flowing along the circulation duct; and a steam supply unit configured to supply steam inside the inner case; A storage housing positioned at the bottom of the inner case, having an entry/exit opening formed at the top, and having an iron storage space for accommodating a steam iron that supplies steam to the surface of clothing; and The inner case is formed on the bottom surface and includes an input opening through which the steam iron enters and exits, communicating with the entry/exit opening of the storage housing. The upper surface of the above storage housing is formed to slope downward toward the front or rear, and A clothing processing device characterized by a contact portion extending downward along the circumference of the input opening in the inner case being formed at an angle in a direction that contacts the upper surface of the storage housing, and being provided to be in close contact with the storage housing.
In paragraph 1, A clothing processing device characterized by having a sealing portion provided on at least one of the upper surface of the storage housing or the lower surface of the contact portion of the inner case.
In paragraph 2, A clothing processing device characterized in that the storage housing and the inner case are provided to approach each other in the front and rear directions and be in close contact.
In paragraph 1, It further includes a base part that supports the above refresh module and the above storage housing, and A clothing processing device characterized in that the lower end of the storage housing is fixed to the base part.
In paragraph 4, A flange is provided at the bottom of the above storage housing, and A clothing processing device characterized by the above flange being fixed to the above base part.
In paragraph 1, It includes a housing door provided on the bottom surface of the inner case to open and close the input port, and The above steam iron is withdrawn from the storage housing through the above input port, and A clothing processing device characterized in that the housing door is provided at a position outside the rotation range of the door.
In paragraph 6, The bottom surface of the inner case includes a portion that slopes downward toward the front, and A clothing processing device characterized in that the above-mentioned input port is provided on the front side of the above-mentioned downward inclined portion.
In Paragraph 7, A through hole communicating with the circulation duct is formed in the bottom surface of the inner case, and A clothing processing device characterized in that the above-mentioned input port and the above-mentioned through hole are provided side by side from left to right.
In paragraph 1, A clothing processing device characterized in that the storage housing is provided on the right or left side of the refresh module.
In Paragraph 9, A clothing processing device characterized by having a control module of the steam iron provided at the rear of the storage housing.
In Paragraph 10, A steam supply pipe connecting the steam iron and the steam supply unit to supply steam to the steam iron; and It further includes a power cable connected to the above control module to supply power to the steam iron, and The above storage housing is It further includes a piping passage through which the steam supply pipe and the power cable pass; A clothing processing device characterized by the above-mentioned piping passage being sealed to prevent moisture from passing through.
In Paragraph 11, A clothing processing device characterized in that the power cable is detachably provided to the control module.
In Paragraph 12, The above storage housing is It further includes a connection terminal where the end of the steam supply pipe and the end of the power cable are connected, The above steam iron is A clothing processing device characterized by further including a detachable cable that is detachably provided with the above-mentioned connection terminal and connected to the steam supply pipe and the power cable.
In Paragraph 13, A clothing processing device characterized by the above-mentioned connecting terminal being configured to seal the above-mentioned pipe passage.

Description

A laundry treating apparatus The present invention relates to a garment processing device and a control method thereof. More specifically, it relates to a garment processing device capable of performing refresh operations, such as sterilization, wrinkle removal, deodorization, and drying of garments, by supplying steam and hot air to the garments. Recently, clothing processing devices have emerged that can perform clothing care (refresh), such as sterilization, deodorization, and drying, through the supply of hot air and steam without washing clothes with water and detergent. Examples of such conventional clothing processing devices include Korean Published Patent Applications No. 10-2020-0057545 and No. 10-2011-0067832. The above-mentioned clothing processing device had the advantage of being able to manage clothing without water and detergent, thus preventing damage to the clothing, and allowing the time to manage and wear the clothing again to be faster than that of a washing machine and dryer. In addition, since the above-mentioned garment processing device manages the garment while it is mounted without folding, it has the advantage of preventing wrinkles from forming on the garment and removing creases during the management process. However, while the above-mentioned garment processing device has the advantage of allowing garments to be managed without being wet, wrinkles could not be completely removed. Furthermore, when removing wrinkles from garments without refreshing them, operating the garment processing device presented disadvantages in terms of time and cost. Therefore, even if the aforementioned garment processing device was provided, it was common practice to additionally place an iron in each household to remove wrinkles by supplying heat and steam to the surface of the garment. When the above iron is equipped as a steam iron capable of spraying steam, wrinkles in the clothing can be removed by supplying heat and steam to the clothing while the clothing is placed on a hanger, etc. Although the iron and the garment processing device have in common that they can manage dry clothes, purchasing the steam iron and the garment processing device together is inefficient, and there was a problem of reduced space utilization because the steam iron and the garment processing device had to be placed separately. Recently, to solve this problem, a garment processing device equipped with a steam iron capable of managing clothing has emerged. See Korean Registered Patent Publication No. 10-1265602 and Korean Published Patent Publication No. 10-2022-0056090. The above garment processing device is configured to perform a refresh process by supplying hot air and steam as needed after placing the garment in an inner case (inside) without folding it, and to remove wrinkles by supplying heat and steam to the surface of the garment using the above steam iron. This conventional clothing processing device had the effect that the user did not need to purchase a separate steam iron and did not need a separate place to store the steam iron. This garment processing device could be equipped to connect a steam iron to the inner case. Therefore, after placing the garment in the inner case, the user could pull the steam iron out toward the inner case to supply heat and steam to the surface of the garment. In this case, there was an advantage in that no separate space other than the inner case was required to process the garment with the steam iron. However, when the inner case is refreshed, it is sealed from the outside and hot air and steam are supplied. Therefore, if the steam iron is configured to be connected to or exposed to the inner case, there was a problem in that the steam iron would corrode or be damaged by the hot air and steam supplied to the inner case. In particular, when foreign substances separated from clothing remained inside the inner case, there was a problem where the said foreign substances were exposed to the steam iron, causing the steam iron to become contaminated. To solve this problem, a garment processing device has been introduced in which a steam iron is pulled out to the side of the cabinet so as not to communicate with the inner case. See Chinese Patent Publication No. 112826234. This garment processing device had the advantage that the steam iron was not exposed to air, steam, or foreign substances inside the inner case, so there were no issues with corrosion or contamination. However, the above-mentioned garment processing device had a problem in that it required a separate configuration for holding the garment in order to use the steam iron. In addition, there were limitations in that a separate appliance could not be placed on the side of the garment processing device or the garment processing device could not be placed near a wall in order to pull out a steam iron or place a support member for the garment. FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional method for storing a steam iron to solve