US-12624493-B2 - Laundry treating apparatus

US12624493B2US 12624493 B2US12624493 B2US 12624493B2US-12624493-B2

Abstract

A laundry treating apparatus includes: a first treating apparatus including a first front panel disposed at a front side of the first treating apparatus, a plurality of first side panels disposed at both lateral sides of the first treating apparatus, and a first drum configured to receive laundry, and a second treating apparatus that is disposed below the first treating apparatus to support the first treating apparatus and that includes a second front panel disposed at a front side of the second treating apparatus, a plurality of second side panels disposed at both lateral sides of the second treating apparatus, and a second drum configured to receive the laundry. The second treating apparatus includes an upper frame that is disposed at a rear side of the second front panel and that is coupled to the first treating apparatus through an insulating connection member made of an electrically insulating material.

Inventors

Sangho Cho
Youngho Jung
Daehan KWON

Assignees

LG ELECTRONICS INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240708
Priority Date: 20200219

Claims (20)

1 . A stacked laundry treating apparatus comprising: a first treating apparatus including: a first cabinet comprising first side panels disposed at each lateral sides and a first rear panel disposed at a rear side, a first front panel disposed on a front face of the first cabinet and including a first laundry inlet, and a first drum disposed inside the first cabinet and communicating with the first laundry inlet to receive laundry; a second treating apparatus disposed below the first treating apparatus to support the first treating apparatus, the second treating apparatus including: a second cabinet comprising second side panels disposed at each lateral sides and a second rear panel disposed at a rear side, a second front panel disposed on a front face of the second cabinet and including a second laundry inlet, a tub disposed inside the second cabinet, and a second drum disposed inside the tub and communicating with the second laundry inlet to receive laundry; an insulating connection member made of an electrically insulating material and coupled to the first treating apparatus, wherein at least a portion of the insulating connection member is positioned at the front face of the first cabinet; and an upper frame that couples the first treating apparatus and the second treating apparatus based on a state that the first treating apparatus is stacked on the second treating apparatus, the upper frame including: a lower portion coupled to the front face of the second cabinet; and an upper portion coupled to the insulating connection member at the front face of the first cabinet, wherein the upper frame couples and electrically insulates the first treating apparatus and the second treating apparatus from each other.
2 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a control panel including an input unit for the first and second treating apparatuses, and wherein the control panel is in a separated state from the first and second treating apparatuses when the first and second treating apparatuses are coupled to each other by the upper frame.
3 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the control panel is inserted and coupled between the first front panel and the second front panel after the upper frame couples the front face of the first cabinet and the front face of the second cabinet.
4 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the first treating apparatus, the control panel, and the second treating apparatus constitute a continuous front surface.
5 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first treating apparatus is stacked on the second treating apparatus based on a state that the lower portion of the upper frame is coupled to the second treating apparatus, and wherein, after stacking the first treating apparatus on the second treating apparatus, the upper portion of the upper frame is coupled to the first treating apparatus.
6 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the second front panel extends upward beyond an upper surface of the second treating apparatus so that when the first treating apparatus is stacked on the second treating apparatus, the second front panel is positioned at a front side of the first treating apparatus, and wherein the upper frame is disposed behind the second front panel, extends parallel to a front surface of the second front panel, and is coupled to the insulating connection member coupled to the first treating apparatus.
7 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the upper frame extends in a left-right direction, and wherein both side ends of the lower portion of the upper frame are coupled to the second side panels, wherein both side ends of the upper portion of the upper frame are coupled to the first side panels after stacking the first treating apparatus, wherein the coupling the upper frame and the first side panels is performed via the insulating connection member such that the both side ends of the upper portion of the upper frame are spaced apart from the first side panels.
8 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the insulating connection member is disposed at a rear side of the upper portion of the upper frame, and wherein the upper frame is coupled to the insulating connection member such that the upper frame is spaced apart from the first side panel.
9 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the insulating connection member is disposed at a lower portion of the first treating apparatus, and wherein the insulating connection member includes a first fastening portion coupled to the first side panel and a second fastening portion coupled to the upper frame.
10 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the insulating connection member electrically insulates between the first side panel and the upper frame.
11 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the upper frame comprises a second fastening member inserted into and coupled with the second fastening portion, and wherein the second fastening member is electrically insulated from the first side panel.
12 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the second fastening portion surrounds the second fastening member.
13 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the second fastening member penetrates the upper frame and inserted into the second fastening portion.
14 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 11 , wherein a portion of the second fastening portion is inserted into the inner side of the first side panel.
15 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the upper frame is disposed in front of the first side panel, wherein the insulating connection member is disposed between the upper frame and the first side panel to space apart the upper frame from the first side panel.
16 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the second front panel includes an upper fastening portion extending beyond an upper surface of the first treating apparatus, and wherein the upper fastening portion is coupled to the insulating connection member along with the upper frame.
17 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 15 , wherein both lateral ends of the upper frame extend from the second side panel over the upper surface of the second treating apparatus and further extend to the front of the first side panel, and wherein the upper frame is coupled to the insulating connection member to electrically insulate from the first side panel.
18 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the insulating connection member extends downward along the first side panel.
19 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an insulating support made of an insulating material and disposed between the first side panel and the second side panel, and wherein the insulating support spaced apart the first side panel and the second side panel in a vertical direction based on a state that the first treating apparatus is stacked on the second treating apparatus.
20 . The stacked laundry treating apparatus of claim 19 , wherein the insulating support electrically insulates the first side panel and the second side panel in lateral sides, and the insulating connection member electrically insulates the upper frame and the first treating apparatus in a front side.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/179,909, filed on Feb. 19, 2021, which claims the benefit of the earlier filing date and the right of priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0020457, filed on Feb. 19, 2020, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0132545, filed on Oct. 14, 2020, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a laundry treating apparatus, and relates to a laundry treating apparatus including a first treating apparatus on an upper side and a second treating apparatus on a lower side. BACKGROUND A laundry treating apparatus is an apparatus that puts laundry such as clothes, bedding, and the like into a drum to perform treatment necessary for the laundry, such as to remove contamination from the laundry or to dry the laundry. When the laundry treating apparatus is designed to remove the contamination from the laundry, the laundry treating apparatus may perform processes such as washing, rinsing, dehydration, drying, and the like. The laundry treating apparatuses can be classified into a top loading type laundry treating apparatus and a front loading type laundry treating apparatus based on a scheme of putting the laundry into the drum. The laundry treating apparatus can include a cabinet defining an appearance of the laundry treating apparatus, a tub accommodated in the cabinet, a drum that is rotatably mounted inside the tub and into which the laundry is put, and a detergent feeder that feeds detergent into the drum. When the drum is rotated by a motor while wash water is supplied to the laundry accommodated in the drum, dirt on the laundry can be removed by friction with the drum and the wash water. The detergent feeder can perform a detergent feeding function to improve a washing effect. Herein, the detergent may refer to a substance, such as fabric detergent, fabric softener, fabric bleach, and the like, that enhances the washing effect. Detergent in a powder form and detergent in a liquid form may be used as the detergent. For example, when the laundry treating apparatus is designed to dry the laundry, the laundry treating apparatus can remove moisture from the laundry by supplying dry air to the laundry. The laundry treating apparatus can include a cabinet, a drum rotatably disposed inside the cabinet, heating means for heating or drying the air supplied to the laundry, and the like. As the dry air is supplied to the laundry accommodated in the drum, the moisture present in the laundry can be evaporated and removed by the dry air, and water can be removed from the laundry. For example, a conventional laundry treating apparatus can be equipped with a plurality of treating apparatuses. The conventional laundry treating apparatus can include a first treating apparatus on an upper side and a second treating apparatus on a lower side. In addition, the conventional laundry treating apparatus can have a structure in which each of the first treating apparatus and the second treating apparatus has a manipulation unit and a display. However, the conventional laundry treating apparatus has the structure in which the plurality of treating apparatuses distinguished from each other have respective manipulation units and respective displays. In this case, a user must respectively identify states of the respective plurality of treating apparatuses, and must respectively manipulate the plurality of treating apparatuses. In addition, it may be disadvantageous for the user to operate the plurality of treating apparatuses in conjunction with each other. In addition, the plurality of treating apparatuses may respectively include different electricity consuming devices. A short circuit can occur from the electric consuming device, an electric wire, or the like by other substances such as water, moisture, refrigerant, and the like inside the treating apparatus. The occurrence of the short circuit in the situation where the plurality of treating apparatuses are arranged may affect not only a corresponding treating apparatus but also the electricity consuming device disposed inside the treating apparatus. Therefore, in the laundry treating apparatus equipped with the plurality of treating apparatuses, it is an important task to improve convenience of a user in identifying or manipulating operating states of the plurality of treating apparatuses, and limit an occurrence of malfunction or damage resulted from unintentional electrical connection between the plurality of treating apparatuses. SUMMARY The present disclosure is directed to a laundry treating apparatus in which a plurality of treating apparatuses are effectively electrically insulated from each other and provide a stable coupling relationship with each other. In addition, the present disclosure is directed to a laundry treating apparatus with efficient arrangement and coupling structures of a control pan