US-12624495-B2 - Laundry treating apparatus

US12624495B2US 12624495 B2US12624495 B2US 12624495B2US-12624495-B2

Abstract

A laundry treating apparatus includes a cabinet, a drum configured to accommodate laundry, a base disposed below the drum, a motor located behind the drum, and a heat exchange unit including a first heat exchanger, a second heat exchanger, and a compressor. The base includes a circulation flow path part configured to circulate air in the drum, a water collection part configured to accommodate condensed water, a collection guide part configured to guide the condensed water to the water collection part, and a water cover located between the first heat exchanger and the collection guide part and configured to support the first heat exchanger and to prevent the condensed water transferred along the collection guide part from coming into contact with the first heat exchanger. The water cover is spaced apart from the second heat exchanger.

Inventors

Juhan Yoon
Jinhyouk Shin
Manseok LEE
Jeongwoong KIM

Assignees

LG ELECTRONICS INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220208
Priority Date: 20210208

Claims (20)

1 . A laundry treating apparatus comprising: a cabinet; a drum rotatably disposed in the cabinet and configured to accommodate laundry; a base disposed below the drum, the base defining a space configured to guide air to circulate through the drum and to receive moisture condensed from the air; a motor located at a rear side of the drum and spaced apart from the base, the motor being configured to supply power to rotate the drum; and a heat exchange unit comprising: a first heat exchanger disposed at the base and configured to condense the moisture in the air, a second heat exchanger disposed at the base and configured to heat the air, and a compressor configured to supply a refrigerant to at least one of the first heat exchanger or the second heat exchanger to thereby enable heat exchange between the air and the refrigerant, wherein the base comprises: a circulation flow path part that receives the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger therein and is configured to guide the air toward the drum, the circulation flow path part having a bottom surface that faces the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger, a water collection part that is disposed outside the circulation flow path part and in fluid communication with the circulation flow path part, the water collection part being configured to receive condensed water from the circulation flow path part, a collection guide part recessed from a first portion of the bottom surface of the circulation flow path part and configured to guide the condensed water toward the water collection part, the first portion of the bottom surface facing the first heat exchanger, wherein the collection guide part extends to a region located forward in an airflow direction relative to a front end of the second heat exchanger, and a water cover disposed between the first heat exchanger and the collection guide part and seated on an upper surface of the collection guide part, the water cover supporting the first heat exchanger and being spaced apart from the second heat exchanger in a direction opposite to the airflow direction to thereby prevent the condensed water guided along the collection guide part from coming into contact with the second heat exchanger.
2 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the collection guide part comprises: a guide bottom surface recessed from the first portion of the bottom surface of the circulation flow path part and configured to guide the condensed water; and an open upper surface coupled to the water cover.
3 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the collection guide part further comprises an extending stepped portion that defines one or more steps that are located between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger and connect a second portion of the bottom surface of the circulation flow path part to the guide bottom surface, the second portion of the bottom surface facing the second heat exchanger.
4 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the water cover comprises: a water transmission body coupled to the open upper surface of the collection guide part; and a barrier rib that extends from the water transmission body toward the guide bottom surface, the barrier rib being configured to block the air in the circulation flow path part from entering the collection guide part.
5 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the water cover further comprises a plurality of barrier ribs that are arranged in a front-rear direction of the cabinet and spaced apart from one another in the front-rear direction, the barrier rib being one of the plurality of barrier ribs.
6 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the collection guide part defines a water collection communication hole that passes through a surface of the circulation flow path part and fluidly communicates the collection guide part with the water collection part, the water collection communication hole being located forward relative to the second heat exchanger.
7 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein lengths of the plurality of barrier ribs extended from the water transmission body increase as the plurality of barrier ribs are located closer to the water collection communication hole.
8 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein each of plurality of barrier ribs has a bottom side that is inclined with respect to the water transmission body.
9 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the circulation flow path part comprises: an inflow duct disposed at a first side of the circulation flow path part and configured to receive the air discharged from the drum; a discharge duct disposed at a second side of the circulation flow path part and configured to discharge the air toward the drum; and a transfer duct that connects the inflow duct to the discharge duct, and wherein the collection guide part is located in the transfer duct.
10 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the transfer duct defines the first portion of the bottom surface of the circulation flow path part, and wherein the collection guide part comprises a guide bottom surface recessed from the first portion of the bottom surface and configured to guide the condensed water.
11 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the transfer duct further defines a second portion of the bottom surface of the circulation flow path part, the second portion of the bottom surface facing the second heat exchanger, and wherein the collection guide part further comprises an extending stepped portion that defines one or more steps that are located between the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger and connect the second portion of the bottom surface to the guide bottom surface.
12 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the collection guide part further comprises a recessed stepped portion that defines one or more steps that connect a bottom surface of the inflow duct to the guide bottom surface.
13 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the collection guide part further comprises an open upper surface that is located between the recessed stepped portion and the extending stepped portion, the water cover being coupled to the open upper surface of the collection guide part.
14 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein the water cover comprises a water transmission body that is located between the first heat exchanger and the collection guide part and supports the first heat exchanger, the water transmission body being configured to guide the condensed water to the collection guide part.
15 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 14 , wherein the water cover further comprises a shield body that extends from the water transmission body toward the extending stepped portion and covers the open upper surface of the collection guide part.
16 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a rear plate disposed on the base and disposed between the drum and the motor, the rear plate being configured to guide the air discharged from the circulation flow path part to the drum.
17 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 16 , further comprising a reducer fixed to a rear surface of the rear plate and disposed between the drum and the motor, the reducer being configured to reduce rotational power supplied by the motor to rotate the drum.
18 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the motor is fixed to the reducer and spaced apart from the rear plate.
19 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the reducer comprises one or more gears.
20 . The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first heat exchanger comprises an evaporator, and the second heat exchanger comprises a condenser, and wherein the second heat exchanger is located rearward relative to the first heat exchanger.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0017581, filed on Feb. 8, 2021, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a laundry treating apparatus, and more particularly, to a laundry treating apparatus including a driving unit directly connected to a drum configured to accommodate laundry so as to rotate the drum. BACKGROUND Laundry treating apparatuses are apparatuses configured to remove dust and foreign substances from laundry, for example, by applying physical force thereto. The laundry treating apparatuses may include washers, dryers, clothes refreshers (i.e., clothes stylers), etc. The washers may be configured to perform a washing cycle to separate and remove foreign substances from laundry by supplying water and detergent. The dryers may be classified into an exhaust-type dryer and a circulation-type dryer, and both dryers may be configured to perform a drying cycle to remove moisture from laundry by producing hot air having a high temperature through a heater and exposing the laundry to the hot air. In some cases, a dryer may omit components configured to supply water to laundry or to drain water and omit a tub provided in a cabinet to receive water. The inner structure of the dryer may be simplified, and drying efficiency may be improved by directly supplying hot air to the drum configured to accommodate the laundry. In some cases, a dryer may include a drum configured to accommodate laundry, a hot air supplier configured to supply hot air to the drum, and a driving unit configured to rotate the drum. The dryer may dry the laundry accommodated in the drum by supplying hot air to the inside of the drum, and may uniformly expose the surface of the laundry to hot air by rotating the drum. Consequently, drying of the laundry may be completed through uniform contact of the overall surface of the laundry with hot air. In order to rotate the drum, the driving unit may be fixed to the inside of the cabinet. The driving unit may rotate a rotating shaft coupled to the drum and provided parallel to the rotating shaft. However, the dryer may not include a tub fixed to the inside of the cabinet, which may lead to a difficulty in fixing the driving unit to the tub in the same manner as the washer. FIG. 1 shows the structure of an example of a dryer and a driving unit in related art. For example, the dryer may include a cabinet 1 configured to form the external appearance of the dryer, a drum 2 rotatably provided within the cabinet 1 so as to accommodate laundry, and a driving unit 3 provided so as to rotate the drum 2. The driving unit 2 may be disposed on the rear surface of the drum 2 so as to rotate the drum 2, and may be fixedly coupled to a rear panel 11 forming the rear surface of the cabinet 1. Therefore, the driving unit 3 may be fixed to the cabinet 1, and may thus rotate the drum 2. The driving units 3 of the above-described conventional dryers may include in common a stator 31 fixed to the rear panel 11, 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, and may further include a reducer 37 provided to increase torque while reducing the revolutions per minute (RPM) of the rotating shaft 33 so as to rotate the drum 2. Further, the conventional dryers may further include in common 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. Therefore, in the conventional dryers, the driving unit 3 is disposed parallel to the rotating shaft 33 coupled to the drum 2, and may thus stably rotate the drum 2. The rear panel 11 of the cabinet 1 may be provided as a thin steel plate, and thus easily deformed or vibrated even by a considerably small external force. Further, the rear panel 11 may receive not only the load of the driving unit 3 but also the load of the drum 2 through the rotating shaft 33, and thus maintaining the shape of the rear panel 11 may thus be difficult. In some cases, when laundry is eccentrically disposed in the drum 2 or repeatedly falls in the drum 2 during the rotating process of the drum 2, external force may be repeatedly transmitted to the rear panel 11, and thus, the rear panel 11 may be vibrated. When the rear panel 11 is even temporarily bent or deformed due to vibration or external force transmitted thereto, the rotating shaft 33 configured to connect the driving unit 3 to the drum 2 may be distorted. Accordingly, the driving unit 3 may generate vibration or noise and, in severe cases, the rotating shaft 33 may be damaged. Further, bending or deformation of the rear panel 11 may generate noise. Further, during a process of vibrating the