Patent Publication Number: US-8539694-B2

Title: Clothes treatment apparatus

Description:
This application is a continuation in part application of application Ser. No. 12/219,947, filed Jul. 30, 2008 which claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application Nos. 10-2007-0078173, filed on Aug. 3, 2007 and 10-2007-0078122, filed on Aug. 3, 2007, which are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a clothes treatment apparatus. 
     2. Discussion of the Related Art 
     In general, clothes treatment apparatuses include washing machines for washing clothes, dryers for drying washed clothes, washing machines combined with a dryer having both washing and drying functions, and the like. There have been developed refreshers for refreshing clothes according to a recent high standard of living. A refresher functions to refresh clothes by supplying dry air to the clothes stored therein. 
     Therefore, a clothes treatment apparatus such as a refresher may have an airtight structure in order to refresh clothes stored therein and further to remove moisture. Such an airtight structure can enhance performance of refreshing and drying clothes. 
     However, this airtight structure might have a disadvantage of failure in re-opening a door of the clothes treating apparatus smoothly after closed. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a clothes treatment apparatus that substantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art. 
     Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and in part will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned from practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings. 
     To achieve the objects and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a clothes treatment apparatus comprising a cabinet comprising an accommodating space formed therein to accommodate clothes, an air supply device configured to supply air or heated air to the accommodating space, a duct configured to guide the air or the heated air supplied by the air supply device toward the accommodating space, the duct comprising a communication part configured to draw external air into the accommodating space and a circulation fan configured to flow air along the duct, wherein the communication part is located in a rear portion of the circulation fan. 
     It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principle of the invention. 
       In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a front view illustrating a clothes treatment apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a front view illustrating a clothes treatment apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating a moving hanger shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
         FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a diagram schematically illustrating an inner configuration of a mechanism chamber; 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view illustrating a configuration of a communication part according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  is a sectional view illustrating a configuration of a communication part according to another embodiment; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view illustrating a communication part according to a third embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  is a partially enlarged view of the communication part shown in  FIG. 8 ; 
         FIG. 10  is a sectional view illustrating a configuration of a communication part according to a fourth embodiment; 
         FIG. 11  is a sectional view illustrating a configuration of a communication part according to a fifth embodiment; and 
         FIG. 12  is a sectional view of  FIG. 11  along XII-XII line. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the present invention associated with a clothes treatment apparatus, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the specific embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. 
     As follows, a clothes treatment apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described in reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a front view illustrating that a door  14  provided in the clothes treatment apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention is open. 
     This specification embodies a refresher configured to supply heated air to clothes to refresh, as clothes treatment apparatus, and the present invention is not limited thereto. A subject matter of the present invention may be applicable to other types of clothes treatment apparatuses including a heat pump, which will be described later. Here, the terminology ‘refresh’ means a process configured to supply air, heated air, water, mist and steam to clothes to performing wrinkles removal, deodorizing, sanitizing, static electricity prevention or warming. ‘clothes’ mentioned in the present specification includes not only clothes and apparel but also wearable items including shoes, socks, gloves, hats and mufflers people can wear, and usable items including dolls, towels and beddings people can use. That is, the clothes may include all kinds of clothes items of which washing may be performed. 
     In reference to  FIG. 1 , a clothes treatment apparatus  100  according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a cabinet  10  having an accommodating space formed therein to accommodate clothes, an air supply device ( 22 , see  FIG. 5 ) configured to supply air or heated air to the accommodating space  12 , a moisture generating device ( 30 , see  FIG. 2 ) configured to spray water, moist or steam to the accommodating space  12  selectively, and a control part (not shown) configured to control the air supply device  22  and the moisture generating device  30 . 
     A variety of components, which will be described later, are provided in the cabinet  10  and the accommodating space  12  to accommodate clothes therein is provided in the cabinet  10 . The accommodating space  12  may be in communication with an outside by a door  14  selectively and a variety of supporters  16  configured to hang the clothes thereon are provided in the accommodating space  12 . The supporters  16  may be provided to keep the clothes motionlessly still or fixed. Such the supporter may be configured to apply a predetermined movement to the clothes, when supplying air, heated air, water, mist or steam to the clothes, which will be described later. As follows, this configuration will be described in reference to  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
       FIG. 2  is a front view illustrating a clothes treatment apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. Compared with the embodiment described above in reference to  FIG. 1 , the clothes treatment apparatus according to this embodiment includes a moving hanger configured to apply a predetermined movement to clothes, with clothes hung thereon. This difference will be described. 
     In reference to  FIG. 2 , the clothes are hung on a moving hanger  50  provided in the accommodating space  12 . The moving hanger  50  may apply a predetermined movement to the clothes. When supplying air, heated air, water, mist or steam to the clothes, the predetermined movement is applied to the clothes and then a clothes refreshing effect may be improved. 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of the moving hanger  50  and  FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view illustrating the moving hanger  50 . 
     In reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the moving hanger  50  includes a hanger bar  250  configured to support clothes hung on a hanger  200  and a supporting part  280  configured to support both ends of the hanger bar  250 . A plurality of hanger recesses  251  may be provided in the hanger bar  250  to fix the location of the hanger  200  hung on the hanger bar  250 . The supporting part  280  is connected to a moving hanger frame  213  and the moving hanger frame  213  is provided beyond a ceiling of the cabinet  10 , not to be seen outside. Both ends of the hanger bar  250  include supporting part ribs  254 , respectively, and the supporting rib  254  is covering the end of the supporting part  280 . 
     As a result, the clothes received in the clothes treatment apparatus according to the present invention are hung on at least one hanger. Because of that, not only an improved refreshing effect but also improved drying efficiency for the clothes may be expected, compared with the conventional clothes treatment apparatus. 
     In the meanwhile, the moving hanger  50  includes a motor  230 , a power converting part  260  configured to convert a rotational force provided by the motor  230  into a horizontally linear motion of the hanger bar  250 , and a power transmitting part  240  configured to transmit the power generated from the motor  230  to the power transmitting part  260 . 
     The power transmitting part  240  includes a driving pulley  241  provided in the motor  230 , a driven pulley  242  connected to the driving pulley  241  by a belt  243 , and a shaft  244  coupled to a center of the driving pulley  242 . The shaft  244  may be rotatably provided in a bearing housing  270  provided in the moving hanger frame  213 . 
     The hanger bar  250  may further include a slot  252  which lies at right angles to its longitudinal direction. Specifically, a slot housing  253  is provided on the hanger bar  250  and the slot  252  is located approximately in a center of the slot housing  252 . The power converting part  260  may include a slot inserting portion  263  inserted in the slot  252 , a shaft connecting portion  261  connected to the shaft  244  and a rotation arm  262  connecting the slot inserting portion  263  and the shaft connecting portion  261  with each other. The power converting part  260  is covered by a cover  214  not to be seen outside and the cover  214  is provided between the moving hanger frame  213  and the slot housing  253 . 
     Under this configuration, when the motor  230  is rotated, the driving pulley  242  is rotated and the shaft  244  coupled to the driving pulley  242  is rotated. At this time, the slot inserting portion  263  will perform a circular motion, with a predetermined diameter. 
     Here, the slot  252  provided in the hanger bar  250  may be orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the hanger bar  250 . By extension, the length of the slot  252  is larger than a rotational locus of the slot connecting portion  263 . Because of that, the slot  252  may perform a linear motion along a horizontal direction even when the slot inserting portion  263  performs a circular motion. 
     In the meanwhile, a mechanism chamber  20  configured to accommodate the air supplying device  22  and the moisture generating device  30  may be provided in the cabinet  10 . The mechanism chamber  20  may be located below the accommodating space  12  and it includes the air supplying device  22  and the moisture generating device  30  received therein. The reason why the mechanism chamber  20  is located below the accommodating space  12  is that the heated air or steam supplied to the accommodating space  12  has a property of ascending and that the mechanism chamber  20  is located below the accommodating space  12  to supply the heated air or steam upwardly. 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view schematically illustrating an inner configuration of the mechanism chamber  20 . To illustrate the inner configuration of the mechanism chamber  20 , only a frame  11  of the cabinet  10  is shown in FIG.  5  for convenience sake. In addition, only main components including the air supplying device  22  and the moisture generating device  30  are illustrated in  FIG. 5  for convenience sake and a drainage line connecting those components with each other is not illustrated. 
     In reference to  FIG. 5 , the air supplying device  22  configured to supply air or heated air to the accommodating space  12  may be located within the mechanism chamber  20 . 
     A heat pump  22  embodied as the air supplying device according to the present invention may include an evaporator  24 , a compressor  26 , a condenser  28  and an expansion valve (not shown) which allow refrigerant to flow there through. Because of that, air is dehumidified and heated. 
     In other words, latent heat of ambient air is absorbed, while refrigerant is evaporated in the evaporator  24 . After that, air is cooled and moisture contained in the air is condensed and eliminated. When refrigerant is condensed in the condenser  28  after passing the compressor  26 , latent heat is exhausted toward ambient air. After that, the ambient air may be heated. As a result, the evaporator and the condenser  28  are functioned as heat exchanger. The air sucked into the mechanism chamber  20  may be dehumidified and heated while passing the evaporator  24  and the condenser  28 , to be supplied to the accommodating space  12 . 
     The air heated by the heat pump  22  has a relatively lower temperature than the air heated by a conventional electric heater. However, the air heated by the heat pump  22  may be dehumidified without using any auxiliary dehumidifying device. As a result, the air re-supplied to the accommodating space  12  by the heat pump  22  may be corresponding to ‘relatively low dry air’ (here, the term of ‘low temperature’ means not an absolutely low temperature but a relatively lower temperature than the temperature of conventional heated air). The clothes treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may supply low temperature dry air to the clothes. Because of that, the clothes treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may prevent deformity or damage which might be generated by the high temperature of heated air used in performing refreshing or drying for the clothes. That is, the air supplied by the heat pump  22  in the clothes treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention may have the lower temperature than the hot air supplied in the conventional clothes treatment apparatus but it may be dehumidified without any auxiliary dehumidifying device, to dry and refresh the clothes efficiently and smoothly. 
     Specifically, an air inlet ( 21 A, see  FIG. 5 ) is formed in a front portion of a top of the mechanism chamber  20  suck air of the accommodating space  12  into the mechanism chamber  20 . An air path of the air may be formed by an inlet duct  29  configured to connect the air inlet  21 A, the evaporator  24 , the condenser  28  and the fan  32  with each other. The air drawn into the mechanism chamber  20  via the air inlet  21 A by the inlet duct  29  may be dehumidified and heated while passing the heat pump  22 . The dehumidified and heated air may be re-supplied to the accommodating space  12  via an outlet duct  33  and an air outlet  21 B by a fan  32 . 
     Here, although not shown in the drawings, a filter may be provided in the air inlet  21 A. The filter provided in the air inlet  21 A may filter various foreign substances contained in the air drawn into the mechanism chamber  20  from the accommodating space  12  and only fresh air can be re-supplied to the accommodating space  12 . 
     Furthermore, the moisture generating device  30  may be provided in the mechanism chamber  20  to supply water, mist or steam (hereinafter, referenced to as ‘steam’) to the accommodating space  12  selectively. 
     The moisture generating device  30  includes a heater (not shown) configured to heat water and the water is heated to generate steam. The moisture generating device  30  supplies the generated steam to the accommodating space  12 . An external water tap may be used as water supply source supplying water to the moisture generating device  30  or a water supplying tank (not shown) may be provided in a predetermined portion of the mechanism chamber  20  as water supply source. 
     The water supplying tank may be provided in a door module  60  detachably installed in a predetermined portion of the mechanism chamber  20 . Because of that, a user may separate the water supplying tank from the mechanism chamber  20  for water refill and he or she may re-install the tank. 
     Also, the steam generated in the moisture generating device  30  is supplied to the accommodating space  12  via a steam hose  36  and a steam nozzle ( 40 , see  FIGS. 1 and 2 ). In this case, it is more preferable, as the shorter the steam hose  36  is, to prevent the temperature of the steam from being lowered or condensed while the steam moving through the steam hose  36 . When the mechanism chamber  20  is located below the accommodating space  12 , the steam nozzle  40  may supply steam via a top of the mechanism chamber  20  which is a bottom of the accommodating space  12 . 
     A circulating fan (not shown) may be provided in a rear portion of the mechanism chamber  20  and the circulating fan supplies external air to the mechanism chamber  20 . Because of that, the internal air of the mechanism chamber  20  may be prevented from increasing too much when the heat pump  22  and the moisture generating device  30  are put into operation. In the meanwhile, the clothes treatment apparatus keeps clothes therein and a user can have such the clothes treatment apparatus installed in a living room or a bed or power room accordingly. However, an internal room of the clothes treatment apparatus forms a kind of an airtight structure. Because of that, when trying to re-open the door which is closed, there might be a disadvantage of failure in re-opening the door. When the heated air or the steam is supplied, it is important to make the supplied heated air or steam not leaked outside and to make the internal room of the clothes treatment apparatus not kept airtight simultaneously. For that, the clothes treatment apparatus  100  described above may include a communication part configured to make the accommodating space  12  communicate with an outside of the cabinet  10  or to make external air sucked into the circulation duct. In other words, the circulation duct is connected with the accommodating space  12  and it may form a kind of an airtight structure. When the structure capable of enabling external air to be sucked is provided in the circulation duct, the internal room may be prevented from being airtight. However, heated air could be circulated in the circulation duct and the heated air might be leaked outside via the airtight structure. If then, refreshing efficiency could deteriorate in case of refreshing clothes. When the heated air is supplied, it is preferable that the above airtight structure is configured to prevent the heated air from leaking outside. As follows, the airtight structure will be described in reference to corresponding drawings. 
       FIG. 6  is a sectional view schematically illustrating a constitution of a communication part according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , a communication part according to this embodiment includes a ventilation door  40  which is coupled to the circulation duct  29  so as to be pivoted at a predetermined angle. When hot air is supplied, the ventilation door  40  is closed by the hot air. When hot air is not supplied, the ventilation door  40  is pivoted by its own weight to be opened. 
     In particular, the ventilation door  40  is rotatably mounted to a predetermined portion of the circulation duct  29 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , it is preferred that the ventilation door is kept in a horizontal state when closing an opening portion  13 . Accordingly, the opening portion  13 , as shown in  FIG. 6 , is preferably formed at an upper portion of the circulation duct  29 . 
     Because the hot air flowing through the circulation duct  29  moves by the operation of the fan  32 , the hot air has a pressure higher than a predetermined value. Therefore, when the hot air flows through the circulation duct  29  by the operation of the fan  32 , the ventilation door  40  is not pivoted down, and is kept to close the opening portion  13  by the pressure of the hot air, as shown by a solid line of  FIG. 6 . 
     On the other hand, when the operation of the hot air supplying device is terminated and the hot air supply by the fan  32  is not performed, the ventilation door  40  is pivoted down by its own weight, as shown by an arrow direction of  FIG. 6 , and opens the opening portion  13 . Accordingly, external air is introduced into the circulation duct  29  through the opened opening portion  13 , and is supplied to the accommodating space  12 , to thereby achieve the ventilation and prevent the accommodating space  12  from being airtight. 
       FIG. 7  is a sectional view schematically illustrating a constitution of a communication part according to a second embodiment of the present invention. A communication part of this embodiment has difference from the communication part of the previous embodiment shown in  FIG. 6 , in that the communication part is controlled to selectively open an opening portion by a control unit. 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , a communication part of a second embodiment may include an opening portion  19  for communicating the accommodating space  12  of the cabinet  10  with the outside, an opening/closing part  140  for selectively opening the opening portion  19 , and a control unit (not shown) for controlling the opening/closing part  140 . In this embodiment, the opening/closing part  140  is controlled to selectively open the opening portion by the control unit, to thereby achieve the ventilation. 
     In particular, the opening portion  19  serves to communicate the accommodating space  12  with the outside. Preferably, the opening portion  19  is formed at a predetermined portion of the circulation duct  29  to communicate the accommodating space  12  with the outside. 
     The opening/closing part  140  includes a door  142  rotatably mounted to a predetermined portion of the opening portion  19 , and a driving part  144  which is controlled to rotate the door  142  by the control unit. Accordingly, the driving part  144  is operated by the control unit, and the door  142  is pivoted by the operation of the driving part  144 , to open or close the opening portion  19 . 
     In particular, when the operation of the hot air supplying device is terminated and the hot air supply is not performed, the control unit controls the driving part  144  to operate to open the door  142 , so that external air is introduced into the circulation duct  29 . In such a case, it is preferred that after the operation of the hot air supplying device is terminated, the control unit controls the door  142  to be opened in a predetermined time, e.g., 5 to 10 minutes. This is because if the door  142  is opened immediately after the operation of the hot air supplying device is terminated, the hot air remaining in the accommodating space  12  is exhausted outside through the opening portion  19 , and thus the drying of clothes is not smoothly achieved. 
     Also, it is preferred that the control unit controls the door  142  to be opened at a predetermined period, e.g., for 5 minutes with an interval of 30 minutes. If the door  142  is kept in an opened state while hot air is not supplied, there is possibility that external foreign substances such as dust enter the cabinet  10  and damage clothes. Accordingly, it is preferred that the control unit controls the door  142  to be periodically opened so as to minimize introduction of foreign substances into the cabinet  10  while realizing the ventilation. 
     Although it is illustrated in  FIG. 7  that the door  142  communicates the accommodating space  12  with the outside, the present invention is not limited to such a structure and can be diversely modified. For example, the present invention may employ a valve for communicating the accommodating space  12  with the outside. 
     In the meanwhile, when the communication part is provided along the duct as described above, the air inlet and the air outlet may be differentiated according to the location of the communication part. Especially, the opening and closing of the door may be differentiated according to the location of the door in the configuration of the door which is closed by the pressure of the air moving along the duct as shown in  FIG. 3 . For example, if the door is located distant from the fan for blowing air, the distance between the door and the fan is quite far and it is then difficult for the air passing the door to have the predetermined pressure or more required to close the door even, even in the driving of the fan. In this case, if the fan is driven for the air to have the pressure enough to close the door, the fan could be overdriven. Because of that, when the communication part is provided to have the structure enabling the air pressure to close the door, it is preferable that the communication part and the door are provided adjacent to the fan, which will be described in reference to  FIGS. 8 and 9 . 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view illustrating a communication part  110  according to a third embodiment and  FIG. 9  is a partially enlarged view of  FIG. 8 . 
     In reference to  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the communication part  110  may be provided along the circulation duct. By extension, the communication part  110  can be selectively opened and closed to prevent leakage of the heated air when the heated air is supplied as described above. 
     For example, when the air or the heated air is supplied, the communication part  110  may be configured to be closed. Only when the air or the heated air is not supplied, the communication part  110  may be configured to be open. As a result, the communication part  110  may includes at least one opening  112  provided in the circulation duct and a door  114  rotatably provided to open and close the opening  112  selectively. In other words, the door  114  is rotated to open the opening  112  selectively such that airtightness may be prevented. 
     Specifically, it is preferable that the door  114  opens the opening  112  when the air or the heated air is not supplied, in other words, when the circulation fan is not driven. Especially, when the circulation fan  32  is not put into operation, the door  114  may open the opening  112  by its self-weight. For that, the door  114  may be rotatably provided adjacent to the opening  112 . When the circulation fan  32  is not driven, the door  114  is rotated downward by its weight and it opens the opening  112 . Also, when the air or the heated air is supplied, in other words, when the circulation fan  32  is driven, the air or the heated air having the predetermined pressure may be supplied by the circulation fan. Because of that, the pressure of the air or the heated air rotates the door  114  only to open the opening  112 . 
     As a result, the door  114  of the communication part  110  is closed when the air or the heated air having the predetermined pressure is supplied by the driving of the circulation fan  32 . Because of that, it is preferable that the door  114  of the communication part is provided adjacent to the circulation fan  32 . For example, the communication part  110  may be located in a rear portion of the circulation fan  32 . When the air or the heated air having the predetermined pressure is supplied by the driving of the circulation fan  32 , the pressure of the air or the heated air may close the door  114  smoothly. In the meanwhile, an end of the circulation duct may be connected with the air outlet  21 B configured to supply the air or the heated air to the accommodating space  12 . Specifically, an end of the outlet duct  33  composing the circulation duct may be connected with the air outlet  21 B. Because of that, the communication part  110  may be provided between the circulation duct and the air outlet  21 B, in the rear portion of the circulation fan  32  within the outlet duct  33 . 
     In the meanwhile, the outlet duct  33  may be connected with the housing  23  configured to surround the evaporator  24  and the condenser  28 , which compose the heat pump, as mentioned above. The housing  23  may be provided on a bottom of the mechanism chamber  20 . In addition, the air outlet  21 B connected with the outlet duct  33  is provided in a bottom of the accommodating space  12 . When the outlet duct  33  is directly connected with the air outlet  21 B, there might be a distance between the outlet duct  33  and the air outlet  21 B or there might be little distance between them to result in connection difficulty. As a result, to solve this disadvantage, a connection duct  35  may be further provided to connect the outlet duct  33  and the air outlet  21 B with each other. The connection duct  35  may be formed of a flexible material and it may adjust a distance when connecting the outlet duct  33  and the air outlet  21 B with each other. Because of that, the connection duct  35  may connect the outlet duct  33  and the air outlet  21 B with each other, corresponding to the distance between them. 
     In the meanwhile, the communication part  110  mentioned above may be provided in the outlet duct  33  located between the circulation duct and the air outlet  21 B or it may be provided in the connection duct  35  mentioned above.  FIG. 8  illustrates an embodiment presenting the communication part  110  provided in the connection duct  35 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 8 , the communication part  110  includes at least one opening  112  formed in a predetermined portion of the connection duct  35 . A single opening  112  may be formed or two or more openings  112  maybe formed according to the volume of the accommodating space  12  and the like. The communication part  110  may further include a door  114  rotatably provided, with being adjacent to the opening  112 . As mentioned above, the door  114  is opened by its self weight and it is closed by the pressure of the air or the heated air when the air or the heated air is supplied by the circulation fan  32 . Because of this structure, the door  114  is adjacent to a lower portion of the opening  112 . The rotatable structure of the door  114  may be embodied in various ways. For example, a hole  35 A is provided below the opening  112  and a hooking projection  116  corresponding to the hole  35 A is provided in the door  114 . As a result, the hooking projection  116  is inserted in the hole  35 A and the door  114  is then rotatable by the hooking projection  116 . 
       FIG. 10  is a partial side-sectional view illustrating a cabinet formed with a communication part according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. 
     Referring to  FIG. 10 , a communication part  200  of a fourth embodiment includes a first hole  210  formed at an inner surface of the cabinet  100 , and a second hole  220  formed at an outer surface of the cabinet  100 . A communicating channel  230  is formed between the first hole  210  and the second hole  220 , through which air flows. 
     The communicating channel  230  serves to communicate the accommodating space  110  in the cabinet  100  with the outside. In order to prevent the hot air or the steam supplied to the accommodating space  110  from leaking out, the communicating channel  230  is formed to be bent at one point or more. In order to form the bent communicating channel  230 , at least one projection portion  240  is provided along the channel. 
     The projection portion  240  is provided in the communicating channel  230  between the first hole  210  and the second hole  220 , so that the communicating channel  230  is formed to be bent. Such a projection portion  240  functions as resistance to the hot air or the steam flowing through the communicating channel  230 . Accordingly, although the accommodating space  110  communicates with the outside by the communicating channel  230 , excessive leakage of the hot air or the steam supplied to the accommodating space  110  is prevented. 
     The projection portion  240  may be provided in a single number, and may also be provided in plural numbers to form the communicating channel  230  in a zigzag shape so as to further decrease the outflow amount of air from the first hole  210  to the second hole  220  and thereby enhance the leakage-preventing effect. 
     Preferably, the communication part  200  for communicating the inside of the cabinet  100  with the outside is formed near a corner of the cabinet  100 . This is because when steam or hot air is supplied to the cabinet  100 , an inner region near the corner of the cabinet  100  forms a so-called “dead zone”, to which the smallest amount of steam or hot air is supplied. Therefore, if the communication part  200  is formed near such a “dead zone”, it is possible to maximize the effect of preventing leakage of the steam or the hot air from the cabinet  100 . 
       FIG. 11  is a partial side-sectional view illustrating a cabinet formed with a communication part according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 12  is a sectional view taken along line XII-XII of  FIG. 11 . A communication part of a fifth embodiment has difference from the communication part of the fourth embodiment in a method of forming a communicating channel to be bent, which will be explained in detail hereinafter. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 11 and 12 , a communication part  300  of a fifth embodiment includes a plurality of partition walls  320 , so as to form a communicating channel  340  to be bent. The partition walls  320 , as shown in  FIGS. 11 and 12 , may be formed in a concentric circle shape centering on a first hole  310 , and a second hole  330  may be formed along an outer surface of one of the partition walls  320 . 
     The partition walls  320  may be formed with communicating holes  322  and  324  for defining a communicating channel  340  connecting the first hole  310  and the second hole  330 . In other words, the communicating channel  340  is formed along the communicating holes  322  and  324  formed at the partition walls  320  from the first hole  310 , and is connected to the second hole  330 . 
     In such a case, in order to form the communicating channel  340  to be bent, it is preferred that the communicating holes  322  and  324  formed at the partition walls  320  are positioned alternately to each other. In other words, as shown in  FIG. 12 , each of the first communicating holes  322  and each of the second communicating holes  324  are not aligned with each other in a radial direction from the first hole  310 , and are arranged alternately to each other in a radial direction so as to form the communicating channel  340  to be bent. As such, if the communicating holes  322  and  324  are arranged alternately to each other, the communicating channel  340  connecting the communicating holes  322  and  324  is formed to be bent in a so-called “maze structure”. Accordingly, similar to the aforementioned embodiments, although the communication part  300  of this embodiment communicates the inside of the cabinet  100  with the outside, excessive leakage of the hot air or the steam supplied to the cabinet  100  is prevented. 
     The communication part is not limited to the above-described structure, and can be modified diversely. 
     As described above, the clothes treatment apparatus according to the present invention can prevent leakage of hot air or steam from the accommodating space and it can prevent deterioration of efficiency of the clothes treatment apparatus by allowing external air to be introduced into the accommodating space. 
     As apparent from the above description, the clothes treatment apparatus according to the present invention includes the communication part for communicating the accommodating space with the outside. 
     Further, because external air is allowed to be introduced into the accommodating space, the performance of the clothes treatment apparatus can be enhanced. 
     Still further, by virtue of the communication part for communicating the accommodating space with the outside, the inner space of the clothes treatment apparatus can be prevented from being odorized. 
     It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the inventions. Thus, it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.