Patent Publication Number: US-8534097-B2

Title: Clothes treating apparatus with liquid supply unit

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a clothes treating apparatus, and particularly, to a clothes treating apparatus capable of being used to wash or dry clothes, such as a clothes dryer, and capable of spraying liquid into the clothes during a clothes treating process. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     A clothes treating apparatus such as a clothes dryer or a washing machine having a drying function serves to dry clothes by accommodating clothes into a drum installed in a body, and by supplying blast into the drum. Here, the blast of a high temperature is supplied into the drum to remove moisture of the clothes in a state that the clothes having been completely dehydrated are disposed in the drum. This may cause the clothes tangled with each other to be dried with a lot of wrinkles. 
     To solve this, there has been proposed a clothes dryer capable of removing wrinkles by supplying steam to clothes having been completely dried. 
     According to the clothes dryer having a steam supply device, excessive wrinkles may be removed by making the clothes contain a proper amount of moisture by supplying steam to the clothes during a drying process. And, the clothes having been drawn out of the clothes dryer may be in a state suitable for ironing. 
     The steam supply device of the clothes dryer includes a steam generator having a heater therein, a pump for supplying water into the steam generator, a reservoir for storing water to be supplied into the steam generator, etc. The steam generator is therein provided with a high level sensor and a low level sensor each for sensing a level of supplied water. The pump is operated by a controller based on the water level sensed by the sensors, thereby allowing the steam generator to maintain a water level inside a proper range. 
     The conventional steam supply device may have the following problems. 
     Firstly, the conventional steam supply device a complicated structure due to the plurality of components, and have high fabrication costs due to the expensive pump. 
     Secondly, water leakage may occur at a connection part between the reservoir and the pump. 
     Thirdly, once water shortage is detected while the steam generator operates, an inner temperature of the steam supply device becomes lower due to a large amount of water which is additionally supplied. This may cause steam generation to be paused. 
     DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a clothes treating apparatus with a liquid supply unit capable of supplying a proper amount of liquid into a steam generator without using an expensive pump. 
     Solution to Problem 
     To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, there is provided a clothes treating apparatus, comprising: a body; a drum accommodated in the body; a steam generator communicated with inside of the drum, and configured to inject steam into the drum; a reservoir configured to store liquid to be supplied to the steam generator, and having an outlet at a bottom surface thereof; a closure having a check valve, and configured to close the outlet; and a reservoir accommodation portion configured to temporarily store the liquid discharged through the check valve, and communicated with the steam generator for flow of the liquid, wherein the check valve is configured to be open only when the reservoir has been mounted to the reservoir accommodation portion. 
     The liquid inside the reservoir may be consecutively supplied into the steam generator by an amount consumed by the steam generator, by making a pressure of the liquid and air inside the reservoir equal to the atmospheric pressure, without using the conventional pump. When a pressure of the liquid and air inside the reservoir is equal to an atmospheric pressure, a level of the liquid inside the reservoir accommodation portion to which the reservoir has been mounted may be equal to a height of the check valve. 
     Accordingly, a position of the check valve when the reservoir has been mounted to the reservoir accommodation portion may be set to be higher than an upper surface of the steam generator. This may allow the steam generator to always maintain a full water level. 
     The steam generator may include a container, and a heater installed in the container. In this case, the position of the check valve when the reservoir has been mounted to the reservoir accommodation portion may be set to be higher than the heater. Through this configuration, the heater may be always in an immersed state into the liquid. This may prevent heat from the heater from being directly transmitted to the container, thereby protecting the heater and the container. 
     Alternatively, the position of the check valve may be set to be higher than the heater, but to be lower than an upper surface of the container, thereby allowing the steam generator to always maintain a proper water level. 
     The clothes treating apparatus may further comprise a conduit configured to connect the reservoir accommodation portion and the steam generator with each other. 
     The clothes treating apparatus may further comprise an inlet formed above the reservoir, and a supplementary closure configured to open and close the inlet. The liquid may be supplemented into the reservoir through the inlet. 
     An adjustment panel configured to adjust the clothes treating apparatus may be protrudingly formed on an upper surface of the body, and the reservoir may constitute a part of the adjustment panel. In this case, the reservoir may be configured to be flushed with the adjustment panel. 
     The reservoir may be partially or entirely made of a transparent material, such that a remaining amount of the liquid inside the reservoir is easily checked. The transparent material may indicate a material having transparency high enough to check a level of the liquid inside the reservoir. 
     According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a clothes treating apparatus, comprising: a body; a drum accommodated in the body; a steam generator communicated with inside of the drum, and configured to inject steam into the drum; a reservoir configured to store liquid to be supplied to the steam generator, having an outlet at a bottom surface thereof, and installed at the steam generator; and a closure having a check valve, and configured to close the outlet, wherein the check valve is configured to be open only when the reservoir has been mounted to the steam generator. 
     Advantageous Effects of Invention 
     According to the aspects of the present invention, the clothes treating apparatus may have a simple structure since the reservoir is directly installed at the steam generator. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF 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 specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
       In the drawings: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view schematically showing a clothes treating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a side sectional view showing a position relation between a reservoir and a steam generator of  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 3  is a sectional view schematically showing a sectional surface of the clothes treating apparatus corresponding to the side sectional view of  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     MODE FOR THE INVENTION 
     Description will now be given in detail of the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view schematically showing a clothes treating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 2  is a side sectional view showing a position relation between a reservoir and a steam generator of  FIG. 1 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, the clothes treating apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a clothes dryer  100  having a stream spraying function. However, the clothes treating apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the clothes dryer  100 , but may be applied to a washing machine having a clothes drying function, etc. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the clothes dryer  100  comprises a front plate  102  which forms a front surface of the clothes dryer  100 , a top plate  104  which forms an upper surface of the clothes dryer  100 , a rear plate  106  which forms a rear surface of the clothes dryer  100 , a side plate which forms a side surface of the clothes dryer  100 , etc. For convenience, the side plate was omitted in drawings. 
     A circular door  108  is installed at a central part of the front plate  104 , and a user is accessible, through the door  108 , to inside of a drum (not shown) rotatably installed in the body. More concretely, the drum serves to accommodate clothes therein, and installed in a tub  110  concentrically installed outside the drum. 
     The clothes dryer  100  comprises a blast path configured to form a flow path of blast supplied into the drum, and installed at the rear plate; a heater installed inside the blast path, and forming blast by heating introduced air; a blower fan configured to transfer the blast along the blast path; etc. Accordingly, the blast is supplied to a front side of the drum from a rear side of the drum during a drying process. This configuration may be implemented by adopting the conventional technique, and thus its detailed explanations will be omitted. 
     An adjustment panel  120  is protruding from a rear surface of the top plate  104 . Each kind of switch  122  for controlling the operation of the clothes treating apparatus, a display window  124 , etc. are provided on the surface of the adjustment panel  120 . 
     A steam generator  130  is installed on a bottom surface of the top plate  104 . The steam generator  130  includes a container  132  which forms a space where water to be heated is stored; and a heater  134  installed adjacent to a bottom surface of the container  132 , and configured to heat the stored water. An inlet  136  is formed at one side of the bottom surface of the container  132 , through which water is introduced into the container  132  from a reservoir which will be later explained. The inlet  136  may be positioned on an upper surface of the container  132 , not on the bottom surface of the container  132 . 
     A reservoir  140  configured to store water to be supplied to the steam generator  130  is positioned at one side of the adjustment panel  120 . The reservoir  140  includes a storage portion  142 , and an outlet  144  formed on a bottom surface of the reservoir  142 . The storage portion  142  is formed of a material having transparency high enough for a remaining amount of water inside the reservoir  140  to be seen from outside. A closure  150  having a check valve installed thereat is mounted to the outlet  144 . 
     The reservoir  140  is installed at a reservoir accommodation portion  126  disposed at one side of the adjustment panel  120 . In this state, a front surface of the reservoir  140  is consecutively connected to a front surface of the adjustment panel  120 . This may provide an integrated appearance of the reservoir  140  and the adjustment panel  120 . The reservoir  140  may be installed at a position separated from the adjustment panel  120 . In a case that the adjustment panel  120  is positioned on the same plane as the top plate, rather than the case that the adjustment panel  120  is protruding from the top plate, the reservoir  140  may be independently positioned from the adjustment panel  120 . In this case, the reservoir  140  may be positioned on a bottom surface of the top plate not to be exposed to the outside. 
     A supplementary reservoir  160  is formed on a bottom surface of the reservoir accommodation portion  126 . The supplementary reservoir  160  serves to provide a space which encompasses an outer circumference of the outlet in a state that the reservoir has been mounted to the reservoir accommodation portion. And, the supplementary reservoir  160  also serves to temporarily store water discharged through the outlet  144  before the water is supplied to the steam generator. 
     An outlet  162  is formed on a bottom surface of the supplementary reservoir  160 . And, the outlet  162  and the inlet  136  of the steam generator  130  are connected to each other such that liquid flows through a conduit  164  therebetween. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the steam generator is installed such that the heater  134  disposed in the container  132  is positioned at a lower side of the closure  150 . Among an upper surface of the container  130  of the steam generator, a part having a lowest height is positioned at an upper side of the closure  150 . The reason is because water supplied into the steam generator has the same height as the closure  150 , more concretely, the check valve of the closure  150 . This may allow a water level inside the container  132  of the steam generator to be always in an optimum state, i.e., to be positioned between the heater  134  and the upper surface of the container  130  of the steam generator. 
     The embodiment will be explained in more detail with reference to  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 3  is a sectional view schematically showing a sectional surface of the clothes treating apparatus corresponding to the side sectional view of  FIG. 2 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , a valve hole  152  is formed at a central part of the closure  150 , and a valve body  170  configured to open and close the valve hole  152  is mounted to the valve hole  152  so as to be movable in upper and lower directions. The valve body  170  consists of a head  172  configured to open and close the valve hole  152 , and a stem  174  protrudingly-extending from the head  172 . 
     A mounting portion  176  contacting a bottom surface of the supplementary reservoir  160  is formed at the end of the stem  174 , and a coil spring  178  is installed on the mounting portion  176 . The coil spring  178  serves to provide an elastic force to the valve body  170 . When the reservoir  140  is in a separated state from the reservoir accommodation portion  126 , water inside the reservoir  140  does not leak to outside since the valve hole  152  is closed by the head  172  by the coil spring  178 . On the other hand, when the reservoir  140  is in a mounted state to the reservoir accommodation portion  126 , the mounting portion  176  is pressed by a bottom surface of the supplementary reservoir  160 . Accordingly, the head  172  is upwardly moved to open the valve hole  152 , and thus the water inside the reservoir  140  is discharged to be stored in the supplementary reservoir  160 . 
     Then, the water stored in the supplementary reservoir  160  is introduced into the container  132  of the steam generator through the conduit  164 . 
     The operation of the clothes treating apparatus will be explained with reference to  FIG. 3 . 
     As aforementioned, when the reservoir  140  is in a mounted state to the reservoir accommodation portion  126 , the mounting portion  176  is pressed by a bottom surface of the supplementary reservoir  160 . Accordingly, the head  172  is upwardly moved to open the valve hole  152 , and thus the water inside the reservoir  140  is discharged to be stored in the supplementary reservoir  160 . Once a water level (h s ) inside the steam generator becomes low due to steam generation, the water inside the supplementary reservoir  160  is introduced into the steam generator through the conduit  164 . Accordingly, a water level (h r ) inside the supplementary reservoir  160  becomes low. 
     Once the water level (h r ) inside the supplementary reservoir  160  becomes lower than the height of the valve hole  152 , external air is introduced into the reservoir  140  through the valve hole  152  due to the atmospheric pressure. Since the introduced external air pushes out the water inside the reservoir  140 , the water level (h r ) inside the supplementary reservoir  160  becomes high. Once the water level (h r ) inside the supplementary reservoir  160  becomes high enough to reach the valve hole  152 , introduction of external air into the reservoir  140  is prevented, and thus the increase of the water level (h r ) inside the supplementary reservoir  160  is stopped. Through these processes, the water level (h s ) inside the steam generator becomes equal to the water level (h r ) inside the supplementary reservoir  160 . 
     In the case that the amount of water inside the reservoir  140  is small, the amount of water to be introduced into the steam generator is reduced. This may cause the water level (h s ) inside the steam generator to become gradually low. Accordingly, a low level sensor composed of two electrodes is installed in the steam generator. If the water level inside the steam generator becomes low enough for the heater to be exposed out, a warning signal is sent to a user so as to stop the heater for protection of the clothes treating apparatus. The low level sensor may be installed at the conventional steam generator, together with a high level sensor configured to sense a full water level. However, in the present invention, a high level sensor may be omitted since the steam generator does not have a full water level. 
     The preferred embodiment of the present invention may be implemented in various manners. For instance, the inlet which is open and closed by the closure may be formed above the reservoir  140 , thereby re-supplying water to the reservoir  140  even in a state that the reservoir  140  has been mounted to the reservoir accommodation portion  160 . This may enhance the user s convenience. Here, water has to be resupplied to the reservoir  140  only when water shortage has been detected by the low level sensor. The reason is as follows. If the closure on the reservoir is opened in a state that water remains in the reservoir, the remaining water may be discharged out at one time due to the atmospheric pressure applied into the reservoir. 
     Furthermore, the reservoir may be directly installed at the container of the steam generator, without installing the supplementary reservoir. The liquid to be stored in the reservoir is not limited to water, but may include various types of liquid to be sprayed to clothes in the form of steam, e.g., fragrant liquid. 
     The foregoing embodiments and advantages are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting the present disclosure. The present teachings can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. This description is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims. Many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The features, structures, methods, and other characteristics of the exemplary embodiments described herein may be combined in various ways to obtain additional and/or alternative exemplary embodiments. 
     As the present features may be embodied in several forms without departing from the characteristics thereof, it should also be understood that the above-described embodiments are not limited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unless otherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within its scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore all changes and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of the claims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intended to be embraced by the appended claims.