US-12618186-B2 - Laundry treatment apparatus

Abstract

Disclosed is a laundry treatment apparatus, including a cabinet, a drum rotatably provided in the cabinet and configured to accommodate laundry, having a cylindrical shape, having one side open so as to define an input opening, and having another side defining a drum rear plate, a driving portion having a drum rotating shaft coupled to the drum rear plate so as to provide power to rotate the drum, and a filter layer, provided at a portion where the drum rotating shaft is connected to the drum and made of a material that blocks leakage current.

Inventors

• Juhan Yoon
• Yongjun An
• Namyeong HEO

Assignees

• LG ELECTRONICS INC.

Dates

Publication Date

20260505

Application Date

20230116

Priority Date

20220117

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A laundry treatment apparatus comprising: a cabinet; a drum rotatably provided in the cabinet and configured to accommodate laundry, having a cylindrical shape, having one side open so as to define an input opening, and having another side defining a drum rear plate; and a driving portion having a drum rotating shaft coupled to the drum rear plate so as to provide power to rotate the drum, wherein the laundry treatment apparatus further comprises a filter layer provided at a portion where the drum rotating shaft is brought into contact with the drum, and having a resistivity greater than 10 6 ohm and less than 10 9 ohm.
2. 2 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein: the drum rotating shaft has formed thereon first teeth, the drum rear plate has formed thereon second teeth meshing with the first teeth, and the filter layer is provided on at least one of the first teeth and the second teeth.
3. 3 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein: the drum rear plate is fastened to the drum rotating shaft using a fastening member, and the filter layer is provided on at least a portion where the fastening member is brought into contact with the drum rear plate.
4. 4 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein: the drum rear plate further comprises a mounting plate coupled to the drum rotating shaft, and the filter layer is provided on the mounting plate.
5. 5 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the drum rear plate further comprises: a circumferential plate coupled to the mounting plate and defining a circumference of the drum rear plate, and wherein the filter layer is provided at least at a portion where the mounting plate and the circumferential plate come into contact with each other.
6. 6 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the drum rear plate and the drum rotating shaft are conductors.
7. 7 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the filter layer is provided on at least one surface of the drum rear plate facing an inner surface of the drum.
8. 8 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the filter layer is further provided on at least another surface of the drum rear plate facing the driving portion.
9. 9 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the filter layer contains a conductive polymer.
10. 10 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the filter layer contains urethane and a conductive polymer.
11. 11 . A laundry treatment apparatus comprising: a cabinet; a drum rotatably provided in the cabinet and configured to accommodate laundry, having a cylindrical shape, having one side open so as to define an input opening, and having another side defining a drum rear plate; a driving portion having a drum rotating shaft coupled to the drum rear plate so as to provide power to rotate the drum; an electrical insulating layer provided on a portion where the driving portion is connected to the drum; and a grounding member having one end brought into contact with the drum and another end brought into contact with the cabinet, and comprising a filter member having at least a portion forming an electric passage having a resistivity of 10 6 ohm or greater and 10 9 ohm or less.
12. 12 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the one end of the grounding member is implemented as a metal brush extending from the filter member.
13. 13 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the one end of the grounding member is implemented as a wire composed of a plurality of strands extending from the filter member.
14. 14 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein: the other end of the grounding member is provided with a washer portion, and the washer portion is coupled to the cabinet.
15. 15 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the drum rear plate comprises: a mounting plate coupled to the drum rotating shaft; and a circumferential plate coupled to the mounting plate and defining a circumference of the drum rear plate, and wherein the electrical insulating layer is provided at least at a portion where the mounting plate and the circumferential plate come into contact with each other.
16. 16 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the mounting plate and the circumferential plate are conductors.
17. 17 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein the electrical insulating layer is coated on a surface of the circumferential plate.
18. 18 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 16 , wherein: the mounting plate is fastened to the circumferential plate using a fastening member, and the fastening member is provided with an electrical insulator.
19. 19 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 15 , wherein: the mounting plate has a circumference having formed thereon a flange portion, the flange portion is brought into contact with the circumferential plate, and the electrical insulating layer is provided at a portion where the flange portion is brought into contact with the circumferential plate.
20. 20 . The laundry treatment apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the cabinet comprises: a front panel defining a front surface of an exterior of the cabinet; an upper panel defining an upper surface of the exterior of the cabinet; a side panel defining a side surface of the exterior of the cabinet; and a rear plate defining a rear surface of the cabinet, and wherein the other end of the grounding member is brought into contact with the rear plate.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a National Stage application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/KR2023/000751, filed on Jan. 16, 2023, which claims the benefit of Korean Application Nos. 10-2022-0006790, filed on Jan. 17, 2022, and 10-2022-0006791, filed on Jan. 17, 2022. The disclosures of the prior applications are incorporated by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a laundry treatment apparatus. BACKGROUND ART A laundry treatment apparatus includes a washing machine, a drying machine, and the like. The drying machine is an apparatus configured to expose laundry to hot air and remove moisture contained in the laundry. There is also an all-in-one apparatus capable of performing both washing and drying. The drying machine described herein may be a concept including the all-in-one apparatus. The drying machine may include a drum configured to accommodate laundry, a hot air supply portion configured to supply hot air to the drum, and a driving portion configured to rotate the drum. The drying machine supplies hot air to the inside of the drum to dry the laundry accommodated in the drum, and rotates the drum to evenly expose the surface of the laundry to the hot air. As a result, the entire surface of the laundry is evenly brought into contact with the hot air, and drying may be completed. FIG. 1 illustrates the structure of a related art drying machine recognized by an applicant and inventors of this application. FIG. 1 illustrates the structure in which a driving portion is coupled to the rear surface of a cabinet. The drying machine may include a cabinet 1 defining an exterior, a drum 2 rotatably provided in the cabinet 1 and configured to accommodate laundry, and a driving portion 3 configured to rotate the drum 2. The driving portion 3 has a rotating shaft coupled to the drum 2. The driving portion 3 may be coupled to and fixed to a rear panel 11 defining the rear surface of the cabinet 1. The driving portion 3 may include a stator 31, a rotor 32 rotated by the stator 31, and a rotating shaft 33 coupled to the rotor 32 so as to rotate the drum 2. That is, the driving portion 3 is located at the rear surface of the drum 2. The rotating shaft 33 of the driving portion 3 is coupled to the drum 2. The drum 2 may rotate by rotation of the rotating shaft 33. According to the illustrated structure, the driving portion 3 is fixed to the cabinet 1 so as to rotate the drum 2. Further, the drying machine may further may include a fixing unit 4 configured to fix the driving unit 3 to the rear panel 11. The fixing unit 4 may include at least one of a first fixing member 41 configured to fix the stator 31 to the rear panel 111, and a second fixing member 42 configured to fix the rotating shaft 33 to the rear panel 11. In the drying machine described with reference to FIG. 1, the drum 2 is rotated by the driving portion 3 directly connected thereto. However, a problem that leakage current generated in the driving portion 3 is transmitted to the drum 2 through the rotating shaft may not be recognized. Leakage current transmitted from the driving portion 3 to the drum 2 is accumulated in the laundry, leading to a problem in that static electricity is felt when a user touches the laundry. DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Technical Problem One technical task of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treatment apparatus capable of solving the related art problems. Another technical task of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treatment apparatus capable of solving the problem of current accumulation in a drum. Another technical task of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treatment apparatus capable of solving the problem that current accumulated in a drum causes discomfort to a user. Another technical task of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treatment apparatus in which leakage current from a driving portion and/or a cabinet is prevented from being transmitted to a drum. Another technical task of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treatment apparatus in which static electricity generated by rotation of a drum may be transmitted to the outside of the drum. Another technical task of the present disclosure is to provide a laundry treatment apparatus in which leakage current from a driving portion and/or a cabinet is not introduced into a drum, and static electricity generated by rotation of the drum may be discharged to the outside of the drum. The tasks to be solved in the present disclosure may not be limited to the aforementioned, and other problems to be solved by the present disclosure will be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art based on the following description. Solution to Problem The present disclosure provides a laundry treatment apparatus capable of solving the above mentioned problems. In one technical aspect of the present disclosure, provided is a laundry treatm