Patent ID: 11939716
Assignee: LG ELECTRONICS INC.
Field: Other consumer goods (Other fields)
Classification: CPC D  F | IPC D

Claim 0:
1. A clothes treating apparatus comprising:
a drum configured to receive laundry;
a tub that accommodates the drum;
a main body that accommodates the tub;
a detergent drawer configured to be withdrawn from and inserted into the main body;
a spray nozzle configured to spray washing water to the detergent drawer;
a water-collecting container formed in a bottom portion of the tub and configured to receive the washing water;
a washing line configured to supply the washing water from the water-collecting container to the spray nozzle;
a circulation line configured to supply the washing water from the water-collecting container to the drum; and
a flow-path conversion pump configured to receive the washing water from the water-collecting container and to supply the washing water selectively to the washing line or the circulation line,
wherein the flow-path conversion pump comprises:
an impeller,
a motor connected to the impeller and configured to transmit power to the impeller,
an impeller housing that accommodates the impeller and is configured to receive the washing water from the water-collecting container, the impeller housing defining a first housing outlet and a second housing outlet that extend parallel to a tangential direction of rotation of the impeller,
a flow-path switch that defines an internal space, the flow-path switch comprising (i) a first inlet configured to communicate with the first housing outlet, (ii) a second inlet configured to communicate with the second housing outlet, (iii) a first outlet configured to communicate with the first inlet and connected to the washing line, and (iv) a second outlet configured to communicate with the second inlet and connected to the circulation line, and
a diaphragm that is disposed in the internal space of the flow-path switch, that separates the first inlet and the second inlet from each other, and that separates the first outlet and the second outlet from each other,

wherein the diaphragm is made of an elastic material, has a shape in which a central portion of a circular plate protrudes to have a curvature, and is pre-formed to maintain the protruding shape of the central portion,
wherein a protruding direction of the central portion of the diaphragm is configured to be changed by 180 degrees (°) based on an external force, and the changed protruding direction of the central portion of the diaphragm is configured to be maintained based on the external force being eliminated, and
wherein the diaphragm is configured to respectively open and close flow paths of the washing water in the flow-path switch based on the protruding direction of the diaphragm being changed.