APPARATUS FOR TREATING CLOTHING

• US 20100139334A1
• Filed: 07/02/2008
• Published: 06/10/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: Kim, Woo Young, Oh, Soo Young, Im, Myong Hun, Woo, Kyung Chul, Kim, Kyeong Hwan, Park, Han Gil
• Granted Patent: US 8,499,588 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 68/5.C
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 39/40 Steam generating arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 58/203 Laundry conditioning arrangements

Abstract

The present invention relates to a clothing treating apparatus. The clothing treating apparatus includes a cabinet, a clothing holding unit in the cabinet for holding clothing, and a steam generator for generating steam or superheated steam to supply to the clothing holding space, thereby permitting to remove rumples from the clothing and microbes from the clothing possible to remain thereon.

Claims

1. A cloth treating apparatus comprising:

a cabinet;

a cloth accommodating part provided in the cabinet for accommodating cloth; and

steam generator selectively generating steam or superheated steam to supply to the cloth accommodating part.

2. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the steam generator includes;

a steam chamber which forms a space for heating water to generate the steam, and

a superheated steam chamber which forms a space for reheating the steam to generate the superheated steam.

3. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein both the steam chamber and the superheated steam chamber have heaters respectively for heating.

4. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the steam chamber and the superheated steam chamber have single heater for both.

5. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the single heater is configured that a portion of the single heater provided at the steam chamber and a portion of the single heater provided at the superheated steam chamber are controlled independently from each other.

6. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a pipe between the cloth accommodating part and the steam generator to form a flow passage of the steam or the superheated steam.

7. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein the steam generator and the flow passage are opened in a direction the steam or the superheated steam is supplied to the cloth accommodating part.

8. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the steam generator includes;

a housing having an inlet for introduction of water thereto for generating the steam,

a steam chamber which forms a space in the housing for heating the water introduced thereto through the inlet to generate the steam, and

a superheated steam chamber which forms a space in the housing for heating the steam introduced thereto through the steam chamber to generate the superheated steam.

9. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein both the steam chamber and the superheated steam chamber have heaters respectively for heating.

10. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the superheated steam chamber is provided on an upper side of the inner space of the steam chamber.

11. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the heaters are provided in inside spaces of the chambers, respectively.

12. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the superheated steam chamber has an outer wall which separates the superheated steam chamber from the steam chamber.

13. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the outer wall of the superheated steam chamber has a long side arranged with a gap from an inner wall of the housing.

14. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the outer wall of the superheated steam chamber have a portion adjacent to the heater with a plurality of communication holes formed therein for introduction of the steam.

15. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the housing has at least one fastening hole for placing in and fastening the superheated steam chamber thereto.

16. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the steam chamber and the superheated steam chamber are arranged side by side in a horizontal direction.

17. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 16, wherein the heater is provided on a lower side of the steam chamber and the superheated steam chamber for heating, respectively.

18. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 17, wherein the heater is a single plate heater.

19. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein the heater includes three electric contact points for heating the steam chamber and the superheated steam chamber independent from each other.

20. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 16, further comprising a heat exchanger in the superheated steam chamber.

21. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 20, wherein the heat exchanger guides the steam introduced to a upper side of the superheated steam chamber to a lower side of the superheated steam chamber, and guides the steam to an upper side of the superheated steam chamber again.

22. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a pipe for supplying the steam or the superheated steam generated at the steam generator to the cloth accommodating part.

23. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 22, wherein the steam chamber and the superheated steam chamber are spaced from each other, and connected with the pipe.

24. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 23, wherein the superheated steam chamber is formed at one section of the pipe.

25. The cloth treating apparatus as claimed in claim 24, further comprising a fan mounted to the superheated steam chamber or the pipe for flow of the steam or the superheated steam.