CLOTHING PROCESSING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD OF CLOTHING PROCESSING APPARATUS

• US 20180112343A1
• Filed: 03/23/2016
• Published: 04/26/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Original Assignee: LG Electronics, Inc. (LG Corporation)
• Inventors: KIM, Keunjoo
• Granted Patent: US 10,697,107 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2103/26 Imbalance; Noise level
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2105/00 Systems or parameters controlled or affected by the control systems of washing machines, washer-dryers or laundry dryers
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 2105/48 Drum speed
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 33/48 Preventing or reducing imbalance or noise
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 37/20 Mountings, e.g. resilient mountings, for the rotary receptacle, motor, tub or casing; Preventing or damping vibrations
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 37/225 Damping vibrations by displacing, supplying or ejecting a material, e.g. liquid, into or from counterbalancing pockets
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 37/266 Gaskets mounted between tub and casing around the loading opening

Abstract

The present invention relates to a clothing processing apparatus comprising: a drum which provides a space for storing clothing therein; a driving part which rotates the drum; a storage part, which is fixed on at least one surface of the front surface of the drum and the rear surface of the drum and provides a space for storing liquid therein; a plurality of balancers which are fixed on the circumferential surface of the drum and provide a space for storing liquid therein; a plurality of flow paths which connect the storage part and each of the balancers; and a plurality of valves which open and close each of the flow paths.

Claims

1. A laundry treating apparatus comprising:

a drum comprising a rear surface, a front surface and a circumferential surface connecting the front surface with the rear surface, and providing a space in which clothes are held;

a driving unit rotating the drum;

a fluid storage fixed to one or more of the front surface and front surface and defining an internal space in which the fluid is stored;

a plurality of balancers fixed to the circumferential surface and defining a space in which the fluid is stored;

a plurality of flow paths connecting the fluid storage with the balancers, respectively; and

a plurality of valves opening and closing the plurality of the flow paths, respectively.

2. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of the balancers comprise four or more balancers, and the balancers are distant a preset angle with respect to a center of the drum from each other.

3. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of the balancers comprise a first balancer, a second balancer and a third balancer which are distant a preset angle from each other, and

the plurality of the flow paths comprise a first flow path connecting the first balancer with the fluid storage, a second flow path connecting the second balancer with the fluid storage and a third flow path connecting the third balancer with the fluid storage, and

the plurality of the valves comprise a first valve opening/closing the first flow path, a second valve opening/closing the second flow path and a third valve opening/closing the third flow path.

4. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1, wherein each of the balancers further comprises an inclined surface for moving the fluid stored therein along a direction in which each corresponding flow path is arranged.

5. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first balancer further comprises a first inclined surface for moving the fluid stored in the first balancer toward the first flow path, and

the second balancer further comprises a second inclined surface for moving the fluid stored in the second balancer toward the second flow path, and

the third balancer further comprises a third inclined surface for moving the fluid stored in the third balancer toward the third flow path.

6. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 3, further comprising:

a first return-flow path moving the fluid inside the first balancer to the fluid storage and shutting off the fluid inside the fluid storage to the first balancer;

a second return-flow path moving the fluid inside the second balancer to the fluid storage and shutting off the fluid inside the fluid storage to the second balancer; and

a third return-flow path moving the fluid inside the third balancer to the fluid storage and shutting off the fluid inside the fluid storage to the third balancer.

7. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first return-flow path moves the fluid inside the first balancer to the fluid storage, when the drum is rotated at a lower rotation number than a preset reference rotation number, and

the second return-flow path moves the fluid inside the second balancer to the fluid storage, when the drum is rotated at a lower rotation number than a preset reference rotation number, and

the third return-flow path moves the fluid inside the third balancer to the fluid storage, when the drum is rotated at a lower rotation number than a preset reference rotation number.

8. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a power generation unit converting a kinetic energy of the drum into an electrical energy;

a charging unit storing the electrical energy generated in the power generation unit or supplying the electrical energy to each of the valves; and

a controller controlling the valves and the driving unit.

9. The laundry treating apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a sensing unit determining a location of clothes inducing an unbalance of the drum;

a controller controlling the valves to allow the fluid supplied to the balancer located in an area of an overall drum area formed by the circumferential surface of the drum so as to increase the weight of the area symmetrically corresponding to the location of the unbalance inducing clothes.

10. A control method for a laundry treating apparatus comprising a drum in which clothes are held;

a driving unit rotating the drum;

a fluid storage fixed to one or more of front surface and a rear surface of the drum and defining an internal space in which the fluid is stored;

a plurality of balancers fixed to the drum, in a state of being located between the front surface and the rear surface, and defining a space in which the fluid is stored;

a plurality of flow paths connecting the fluid storage to the balancers, respectively;

a plurality of valves opening/closing the flow paths, respectively; and

a sensing unit determining a location of clothes inducing a unbalance of the drum, the control method comprising;

a sensing step of determining an area in which the unbalance inducing clothes are located out of a circumferential surface of the drum by controlling the sensing unit;

a rotating step of rotating the drum at a higher rotation speed that a preset reference rotation number;

a controlling step of supplying the fluid to one or more of the balancers so as to increase a weight of an area symmetrically corresponding to the location of the unbalance inducing clothes.

11. The control method of claim 10, wherein the reference rotation number is set as a rotation number at which a centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the drum moves the fluid inside the fluid storage to each of the balancers.

12. The control method of claim 10, further comprising:

a returning step of returning the fluid stored in each of the balancers to the fluid storage by means of the weight of the fluid by controlling each of the valves.

13. The control method of claim 12, wherein the returning step comprises,

rotating the drum at a lower rotation number than the reference rotation number;

and

controlling the valves to open all of the flow paths.

14. The control method of claim 12, wherein the returning step comprises,

rotating the drum at a lower rotation number than the reference rotation number;

and

sequentially controlling the valves to return the fluid inside one of the balancers, located over a horizontal line passing the center of the drum, to the fluid storage by means of the weight of the balancer.