阅读说明：本技术 衣物处理装置 (Clothes treating device ) 是由 李光助 郑佳英 朱孝真 崔璋安 于 2021-03-26 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种衣物处理装置,其包括：冷凝水回收部,设置于箱体内,并且提供用于收集并存储冷凝水的空间；排水泵组件,设置于所述冷凝水回收部,并且用于抽吸存储于所述冷凝水回收部的冷凝水并存储于排水桶；以及杀菌模块,对所述冷凝水回收部内的冷凝水进行杀菌,由此,能够防止冷凝水回收部内的冷凝水中的细菌繁殖,或者冷凝水回收部内的冷凝水发生污染。(The present invention provides a clothes treatment device, comprising: a condensed water recovery part provided in the case and providing a space for collecting and storing condensed water; a drain pump assembly disposed in the condensed water recovery portion, for sucking the condensed water stored in the condensed water recovery portion and storing the same in a drain tank; and a sterilization module for sterilizing the condensed water in the condensed water recovery part, thereby preventing the propagation of bacteria in the condensed water recovery part or the pollution of the condensed water in the condensed water recovery part.)

1. A laundry treating apparatus, comprising:

a condensed water recovery part provided in the case and providing a space for collecting and storing condensed water;

a drain pump assembly disposed in the condensed water recovery portion, for sucking the condensed water stored in the condensed water recovery portion and storing the same in a drain tank; and

and a sterilization module for sterilizing the condensed water in the condensed water recovery part.

2. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1,

the drain pump assembly includes a pump cover formed to cover the condensed water recovery part, a drain pump provided inside the pump cover,

the sterilization module is arranged on the pump cover.

3. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 2,

the pump cover is provided with a light hole which penetrates through the inside and the outside of the pump cover,

the sterilization module is configured to irradiate a sterilization light source to the condensed water in the condensed water recovery unit through the light-transmitting hole of the pump cover.

4. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 3,

the light transmission hole is formed on the top surface of the pump cover,

the sterilization module is arranged on the outer side of the top surface of the pump cover.

5. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 4,

the light-transmitting hole is formed at a position where the condensed water in the top surface of the pump cover flows into the condensed water recovery portion.

6. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 4,

the sterilization module comprises a circuit substrate, and a light emitting diode used for irradiating short-wave ultraviolet rays is mounted on the circuit substrate.

7. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 6,

the sterilization module includes:

a case in which an installation space for installing the circuit board is provided, and an irradiation hole communicating with the light transmission hole is formed in a bottom surface of the case;

a light transmissive window disposed to cover the irradiation hole at a bottom surface of the case; and

and a sealing member coupling the light transmission window to the case.

8. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 7,

the sealing member is formed in a circular ring structure having a communication hole formed at the center thereof.

9. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 4,

a recovery port is formed on the top surface of the pump cover and used for recovering condensed water overflowing from the drainage bucket,

the light-transmitting hole is formed at a position adjacent to the recovery port in the top surface of the pump cover.

10. The laundry treating apparatus according to claim 1,

the sterilization module comprises a circuit substrate, and a light emitting diode used for irradiating short-wave ultraviolet rays is mounted on the circuit substrate.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a novel laundry treatment apparatus capable of preventing contamination of residual water by improving sterilization performance.

Background

Generally, a laundry treatment apparatus includes a washing machine, a laundry dryer, a washing and drying machine, a laundry management machine, and the like, which are provided in a place of business such as a house or a laundry, and perform a function of performing a whole process (treatment) for washing, drying, or removing wrinkles, etc. on laundry, various kinds of bed clothes, and the like.

In such a clothes treating apparatus, the clothes drying means is provided with a heat pump system, and hot air is supplied to the treating object such as clothes or bedclothes, which is put into the drum (or tub) by the operation of the heat pump system, thereby evaporating moisture contained in the treating object and drying the treating object.

In addition, the laundry dryer may be classified into an exhaust type dryer and a condensing type dryer according to a manner of treating high-temperature and high-humidity air exhausted from the drum after drying the treatment object.

Here, the exhaust type drying mechanism directly discharges the high-temperature and high-humidity air generated during the drying operation to the outside, and the condensing type drying mechanism circulates the high-temperature and high-humidity air generated during the drying operation without discharging the high-temperature and high-humidity air to the outside and condenses moisture contained in the air by performing heat exchange with the air.

In particular, the condensing type dryer may be implemented such that a heat pump (heat pump) system including a compressor, a condenser, an expander, and an evaporator is provided, and air is dehumidified while passing through the evaporator of the heat pump system and then heated while passing through the condenser.

As such a condensing type dryer, the patent publications 10-2010-0090087, 10-2013-0127816, 10-2016-0087183 and 10-2016-0149852 have been described.

On the other hand, in the above-mentioned related art condensing type dryer, heat exchange is performed and a large amount of condensed water is generated on the way of the air passing through the evaporator.

Such condensed water is collected to a portion (condensed water recovery portion) for collecting and storing the condensed water after flowing down to the bottom portion in the circulation flow path, and the condensed water thus collected is sucked by a drain pump provided in the condensed water recovery portion and stored in a drain tub.

However, although it is necessary to completely discharge the condensed water existing at a portion where the drain pump is located using the drain pump, it is actually difficult to completely discharge the condensed water due to structural limitations of a general drain pump.

Therefore, a certain amount of condensed water always remains in the condensed water recovery unit, and there is a problem that only contamination by such remaining water can occur.

In particular, since the condensed water collecting portion in which the condensed water remains is formed as a space isolated from the external environment so as to easily suck the condensed water, if water remains in the space, the remaining water cannot be quickly evaporated and the remaining time is long, so that there is a concern that only bacteria may be further propagated due to contamination of the remaining water.

Of course, the bacteria contained in the condensed water may be sterilized by supplying hot air of a high temperature of approximately 70 c, and the above-mentioned bacteria may also be sterilized by using a chemical.

However, the method of sterilizing bacteria using hot air at high temperature consumes much energy and thus causes only dissatisfaction of users, and the method of sterilizing bacteria using a medicine has a risk that the medicine remains on clothes.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: korean laid-open patent publication No. 10-2010-0090087

Patent document 2: korean laid-open patent publication No. 10-2016-

Patent document 3: korean laid-open patent publication No. 10-2017-0016754

Patent document 4: korean laid-open patent publication No. 10-2016-

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a novel laundry treating apparatus having a sterilization function and an operation control method thereof, which can sterilize condensed water stored in a condensed water collection unit and thereby prevent contamination of the condensed water.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a laundry treating apparatus having a novel sterilization function and an operation control method thereof, which can sterilize condensed water while the condensed water flows into a condensed water recovery unit, thereby preventing contamination of the condensed water in the condensed water recovery unit to the maximum.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a clothes treating apparatus having a novel sterilization function capable of suppressing the proliferation of bacteria in condensed water remaining in a condensed water collecting unit, and an operation control method thereof.

In order to achieve the above object, the laundry treating apparatus according to the present invention provides a sterilizing module for sterilizing condensed water in a condensed water collecting unit for collecting and storing the condensed water, thereby preventing propagation of bacteria in the condensed water collecting unit or contamination of the condensed water in the condensed water collecting unit.

In the laundry treating apparatus according to the present invention, the sterilizing module is provided on the pump cover of the drain pump assembly, so that the sterilizing module and the drain pump assembly can be formed into a single module.

In the clothes treatment apparatus of the present invention, the light-transmitting hole is formed in the pump cover, and the sterilization module irradiates the sterilization light source toward the light-transmitting hole, thereby accurately irradiating only a portion where the sterilization light source needs to be irradiated.

In the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention, the sterilization module is provided outside the top surface of the pump cover, so that maintenance management such as replacement of only the sterilization module can be performed without separating the drain pump assembly.

In the laundry processing apparatus according to the present invention, the sterilization light source irradiates a portion where the condensed water flows into the condensed water collection unit, thereby sterilizing the condensed water stored in the condensed water collection unit as a whole.

In the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention, the light source for sterilization is short-wave ultraviolet rays, and thereby bacteria contained in the flowing condensed water can be sterilized.

In addition, in the laundry processing apparatus according to the present invention, the sterilization module includes: a circuit board for irradiating short-wave ultraviolet rays; a housing for mounting a circuit board; and a sealing member for protecting the circuit substrate from condensed water, whereby the sterilization module can be independently separated or assembled.

In addition, in the laundry treating apparatus of the present invention, the sealing member is provided with a light transmission window, and the short wavelength ultraviolet rays are irradiated through the light transmission window, whereby the short wavelength ultraviolet rays can be irradiated while blocking inflow of condensed water.

In the laundry treating apparatus according to the present invention, the bottom surface of the sealing member is formed to cover the light transmission hole and to be in close contact with the light transmission hole, thereby preventing inflow of condensed water to the maximum extent.

In addition, in the laundry treating apparatus of the present invention, the light transmissive window is inserted and fixed into the recess of the sealing member, thereby enabling the light transmissive window to be stably installed.

In addition, in the laundry treating apparatus of the present invention, the recess depth of the recess is formed to be deeper than the thickness of the light transmission window, thereby enabling the light transmission window to be stably installed.

In the laundry treating apparatus according to the present invention, the sealing member is formed in a disc shape, and thus, the sealing member can increase the contact area with the pump cover, thereby improving airtightness.

In the laundry treating apparatus according to the present invention, the sealing member may have at least one circular indentation formed in a bottom surface thereof, thereby further improving airtightness.

In the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention, the sealing member is formed of a silicon material, and thus can maintain airtightness by being in close contact with the pump cover.

In the clothes treatment apparatus according to the present invention, the housing of the sterilization module is formed as an openable internal space, so that maintenance of the circuit board can be performed.

In the laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention, the sterilization module and the pump cover are fastened and fixed by screws or bolts, thereby allowing easy separation and coupling.

In the laundry processing apparatus according to the present invention, the LED continuously emits light during the sterilization operation, thereby improving the sterilization effect.

In the laundry treating apparatus according to the present invention, the drain pump assembly is controlled to repeat the operation and the interruption operation during the sterilization operation, thereby improving the sterilization effect.

In the laundry treating apparatus according to the present invention, the sterilizing operation can be performed by controlling only the operation of the LED and the drain pump assembly.

In the laundry processing apparatus according to the present invention, the condensed water collected in the collection port may be irradiated with the sterilizing light source, thereby improving the sterilizing effect on the condensed water in the condensed water collection unit.

In the laundry processing apparatus according to the present invention, the light source for sterilization irradiated by the sterilization module is short-wave ultraviolet rays, and thus bacteria can be killed by continuous irradiation.

In order to achieve another object, an operation control method of a laundry treatment apparatus according to the present invention includes: when the drying step is finished, the sterilization step for sterilizing the condensed water circulated by the drain pump assembly is executed, so that the condensed water in the condensed water collection unit can be sterilized.

In addition, according to the operation control method of the laundry treating apparatus of the present invention, the sterilization step is performed in a no-load state in which only the drain pump assembly and the sterilization module are operated, thereby not only reducing power consumption but also achieving smooth sterilization of the condensed water.

In addition, according to the operation control method of the laundry treatment apparatus of the present invention, the sterilization module is controlled to continuously irradiate the short-wave ultraviolet rays in the sterilization step, thereby improving the sterilization effect.

In addition, according to the operation control method of the laundry treating apparatus of the present invention, in the sterilization step, the drain pump assembly is controlled to repeatedly perform the operation and the interruption operation, so that the sterilized condensed water and the non-sterilized condensed water in the condensed water recovery unit can be smoothly mixed with each other, and the sterilization effect can be improved.

In addition, according to the operation control method of the laundry treatment apparatus of the present invention, the time for controlling the operation of the water discharge pump assembly is shorter than the time for the interruption operation, thereby reducing power consumption.

As described above, according to the laundry treating apparatus and the operation control method thereof of the present invention, the condensed water stored in the condensed water recovery portion can be sterilized by additionally providing the sterilization module, thereby having an effect of preventing the condensed water from being contaminated.

In addition, according to the laundry treating apparatus and the operation control method thereof of the present invention, the condensed water is sterilized while the condensed water flows into the condensed water collecting unit, thereby preventing or delaying contamination of the condensed water in the condensed water collecting unit to the maximum extent.

In addition, according to the laundry treating apparatus and the operation control method thereof of the present invention, even if the drying operation is finished, the bacteria growth in the condensed water remaining in the condensed water collecting unit can be continuously suppressed by the sterilizing operation.

In addition, according to the laundry treating apparatus and the operation control method thereof of the present invention, since the sterilizing module is provided to the outer surface of the pump cover in a replaceable manner, there is an effect that maintenance can be performed by simple assembly and disassembly.

In addition, according to the laundry treating apparatus and the operation control method thereof of the present invention, since the portion of the sterilizing module for installing the circuit board can maintain airtightness with the space in the condensed water collecting unit, and the structure can stably and perfectly maintain the airtightness, it is possible to prevent the circuit board from being damaged by the permeated moisture.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an internal structure of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the construction of a drying operation and a washing operation for the laundry treating apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a side view schematically showing a structure for a drying operation performed by the laundry treating apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a heat pump system of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the portion "a" of fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a heat pump system of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a plan view illustrating a base frame of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged view of the portion "B" of fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a main part shown to explain a state in which a drain pump assembly is provided in a condensed water recovery part of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a main part shown to explain a state in which the drain pump assembly is taken out from the condensed water recovery part of the laundry treating apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken along line I-I of fig. 4.

Fig. 12 is a sectional view of a main portion shown for explaining an internal structure of a side where a circulation flow path of the laundry treating apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is located.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged sectional view showing a structure of a portion where the drain pump assembly is provided among the respective portions of fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is an enlarged view of the portion "C" of fig. 13.

Fig. 15 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a structure of a sterilization module of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 16 is a perspective view illustrating a state of the sterilization module of the laundry treating apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the bottom.

Fig. 17 is a sectional perspective view of a main portion shown for explaining an installation state of a sterilization module of the laundry treating apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 18 is a sectional view illustrating a structure of a sterilization module of a laundry treating apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 19 is a plan view illustrating a state in which condensed water flows into a condensed water collecting unit in a drying operation of the laundry treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 20 is a sectional view illustrating a state in which condensed water flows to the condensed water collecting unit and an operation state of the sterilization module in the laundry treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention during the drying operation.

Description of the reference numerals

100: a box body 101: input port

110: drum 111: roller

112: dryness detection unit 113: motor for driving roller

120: the door 140: input unit

152: recessed portion for compressor 153: depressed part for motor

160: a drainage bucket 170: control unit

180: the water cover 200: base frame

210: circulation flow path 212: air inlet pipeline

213: the air outlet pipe 214: base cover

220: the seating recess 221: through hole

230: condensed water recovery unit 300: drain pump assembly

310: drain pump 311: drainage motor

312: the impeller 320: pump cover

321: setting the hole 322: discharge port

323: the recycle port 324: light hole

326: water level sensor 410: compressor with a compressor housing having a plurality of compressor blades

411: the heat dissipation fan 420: condenser

430: the expander 440: evaporator with a heat exchanger

500: circulating fan assembly 510: fan cover

520: the circulation fan 530: fan motor

600: washing section 640: flow directing valve

900: the sterilization module 910: circuit board

911: illumination LED 920: shell body

921: housing main body 921 a: irradiation hole

922: top cover 930: light-transmitting window

940: sealing member 941: communicating hole

942: recessed portion 943: circular concave-convex

Detailed Description

Next, a preferred embodiment of the laundry treating apparatus and the operation control method thereof according to the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 20.

Before the embodiments are explained, it should be clear that the laundry treating apparatus of the present invention is exemplified by a laundry dryer which dries laundry by supplying dry hot wind.

Fig. 1 to 7 show arrangement structures of respective parts of a laundry treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which fig. 1 is a perspective view showing to explain an internal structure of the laundry treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, fig. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a structure for a drying operation and a washing operation performed by the laundry treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 3 is a side view schematically showing a structure for a drying operation performed by the laundry treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a heat pump system of a laundry treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the heat pump system of the laundry treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 7 is a plan view illustrating a base frame of the laundry treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the drawings, the laundry treating apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a sterilizing module 900 for sterilizing condensed water in the condensed water collecting unit 230.

That is, since the condensed water flowing into the condensed water collection unit 230 can be sterilized by additionally providing the sterilization module 900, even if the condensed water remains in the condensed water collection unit 230, the condensed water can be prevented from being contaminated.

The laundry treating apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention having such features generally includes a cabinet 100, a drain pump assembly 300, a heat pump system, a circulation fan assembly 500, and a sterilization module 900, and the structure of the laundry treating apparatus will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First, the case 100 will be described with reference to fig. 1.

The cabinet 100 is a part for forming the external appearance of the laundry treating apparatus.

The cabinet 100 is formed as a hollow cylinder inside, and a drum 110 for accommodating a drying object may be provided inside the cabinet 100, and the drum 110 may be rotatably provided.

In this case, an inlet 101 for introducing the drying object into the drum 110 is formed in a front surface of the cabinet 100, and the inlet 101 may be opened and closed by a door 120.

In addition, a drain tub 160 may be provided in the case 100. The drain tub 160 is a tub that temporarily stores condensed water to be drained.

In addition, a base frame (200) may be provided at a lower end of the case body 100, and such a base frame 200 may constitute a bottom portion inside the case body 100.

Of course, although not shown, an additional bottom plate for closing the opened bottom surface of the case 100 may be provided, and the base frame 200 may be configured to be placed and fixed on the bottom plate.

As shown in fig. 4 to 7, a drain pump assembly 300, a heat pump system, a circulation fan assembly 500, a circulation flow path 210, and the like, which will be described later, may be provided or formed on the top surface (bottom surface in the case) of the base frame 200.

Meanwhile, a plurality of concave portions may be provided on the top surface of the base frame 200. The recessed portion may include: a recessed portion 152 for providing a compressor 410; a recessed portion 153 for installing the drum driving motor 113; and a recess for disposing the drain pump assembly 300. These are shown in fig. 4 and 7.

In particular, the recessed portion for providing the drain pump assembly 300 may serve as the condensed water recovery portion 230 for storing condensed water.

In this case, the condensed water stored in the condensed water recovery unit 230 may include condensed water condensed by heat exchange between water generated during the drying operation and the evaporator.

On the other hand, a circulation flow path 210 may be formed on one side of the top surface of the base frame 200.

Such a circulation flow path 210 may be implemented as a duct type structure (refer to fig. 6) having left and right wall surfaces 211, respectively, which guide the flow of air so that the air passes through the evaporator 440 and the condenser 420 in sequence, in which the evaporator 440 and the condenser 420 of the heat pump system are sequentially disposed. At this time, the top surface of the circulation flow path 210 may be formed to be open, and the bottom surface inside the circulation flow path 210 may be formed as the top surface of the base frame 200.

Of course, the circulation flow path 210 may be formed in various configurations such as a cylindrical pipe, etc., in addition to a box shape having an open top surface, in consideration of the shape of the peripheral structure or the air flow characteristics.

As shown in fig. 1, an air inlet duct (inlet duct)212 may be connected to a rear side, i.e., an air outlet side, of the circulation flow path 210, the air inlet duct 212 guiding the dry air to be supplied into the drum 110, and an air outlet duct (outlet duct)213 may be connected to a front side, i.e., an air inlet side, of the circulation flow path 210, the air outlet duct 213 guiding the flow of the air discharged from the drum 110.

At the same time, the open top surface of the circulation flow path 210 may be covered and closed by a base cover 214 (see fig. 4 and 6). That is, the circulation flow path 210 may have a space isolated from the external environment by the base cover 214.

In addition, a seating recess 220 is concavely formed at a bottom surface in the circulation flow path 210, a water cover 180 may be seated in the seating recess 220, and an evaporator 440 and a condenser 420 are seated and fixed on the water cover 180. In this case, a through hole 221 (see fig. 6, 10, and 12) communicating with the front space in the condensed water collection unit 230 may be formed in a side wall (rear side wall) of the seating recess 220.

That is, the condensed water falling into the circulation flow path 210 flows into the placement concave portion 220, then flows rearward along the bottom surface in the placement concave portion 220, and then passes through the through-hole 221 and is stored in the condensed water collection portion 230. At this time, the bottom surface in the seating recess 220 is formed to be inclined toward a portion where the condensed water recovery portion 230 is located, whereby the condensed water flowing to the bottom in the seating recess 220 can smoothly flow to the condensed water recovery portion 230 along the inclined bottom surface.

Meanwhile, it is possible to realize that the remaining water stored in the condensed water recovery portion 230 is discharged into the drain tub 160 after all operations.

On the other hand, a control unit 170 may be provided inside the case 100.

The control unit 170 is provided to control the operation of the laundry treatment apparatus.

Such a control part 170 may be implemented to control the operation of the laundry treating apparatus according to a user operation input from the input part 140 of the cabinet 100.

The control unit 170 may be programmed to perform a drying operation for the treatment object while controlling the operation of the circulation fan assembly 500 and the compressor 410, and perform a draining operation for sucking and draining the residual water stored in the condensed water collection unit 230 by controlling the operation of the drain pump 310 based on the water level detected by the water level sensor 326, which will be described later. In this case, the water level sensor 326 is a sensor provided in the drain pump assembly 300 and configured to detect a water level of the condensed water in the condensed water recovery unit 230.

Next, the drum 110 will be described with reference to fig. 1 and 3.

The drum 110 may be formed into a cylindrical body having openings on the front and rear surfaces thereof, and the opening on the front side of the drum 110 may be provided to communicate with the inlet 101 of the housing 100. At this time, the drum 110 is rotatably supported by the rollers 111 in the casing 100.

Meanwhile, the hot dry air may pass through the inside of the drum 110, and in this case, the hot dry air may flow into the inner space through the rear opening of the drum 110 and then be discharged to the outside of the drum 110 through the front opening of the drum 110.

Further, a circulation flow path 210 may be connected to the front opening of the drum 110 and the rear opening of the drum 110, and the circulation flow path 210 may pass through an evaporator 440 and a condenser 420 of a heat pump system, which will be described later.

That is, the operation of drying the drying object in the drum 110 by the high-temperature dry air received from the heat pump system through the circulation flow path 210 and circulating the humid air containing the moisture while drying the drying object is repeated. This is shown in figure 2.

On the other hand, a dryness detector 112 (see fig. 2) may be provided inside the drum 110.

The dryness detection unit 112 is configured to check the dryness (degree of dryness) of the drying object, and may be configured with two electrodes. At this time, the two electrodes may be disposed to be spaced apart from each other and exposed to the inside of the drum 110. For example, the dryness detection unit 112 may be provided in the door 120, or may be provided in the case 100 on the door 120 side.

The dryness detection unit (two electrodes) 112 determines dryness of the drying object using an electrode value converted based on a current value that changes according to a state of the drying object (for example, a degree of wetness of the drying object) when the drying object is in contact with the drying object. That is, when it is considered that the drying object acts as a resistor to the dryness detection unit (two electrodes) 112, since the resistance value changes according to the moisture content of the drying object, the current on the circuit also changes, the change value of the current thus changed is converted into a predetermined electrode value, and the dryness can be determined using the electrode value.

In this case, the predetermined electrode value may be any value that is converted into a numerical range in which the laundry treatment apparatus is easily controlled.

Next, the drain pump assembly 300 will be described with reference to fig. 7 to 13.

The drain pump assembly 300 is provided to suck (pumping) the condensed water stored in the condensed water recovery portion 230, and may be accommodated and installed in the condensed water recovery portion 230, as shown in fig. 7 to 9.

The drain pump assembly 300 may include a drain pump 310 and a pump cover 320.

Here, the drain pump 310 is a pump provided to suck the condensed water stored in the condensed water collection unit 230.

Although such a drain pump 310 is not illustrated in detail, the drain pump may be configured to suck the condensed water stored in the condensed water collection unit 230 by using rotation of an impeller generated by driving of a drain motor.

The pump cover 320 is configured to provide the drain pump 310 and form a suction space isolated from the external environment inside the condensation and recovery unit 230.

Such a pump cover 320 may be formed to cover and close the open top surface of the condensed water recovery portion 230, and have an open bottom cylindrical body.

That is, the interior of the condensed water collection unit 230 forms a space sealed from the outside by the pump cover 320, and thus the drain pump 310 can stably perform a suction operation.

In this case, the pump cover 320 may have an installation hole 321 formed therethrough, and the drain pump 310 may be installed such that: the impeller 312 is positioned in the condensed water recovery portion 230 with reference to the installation hole 321 of the pump cover 320, and the drain motor 311 is positioned outside the condensed water recovery portion 230. This is shown in figure 13.

Further, a discharge port 322 protruding upward may be formed in the pump cover 320, the discharge port 322 may guide a discharge flow of the condensed water sucked by the operation of the drain pump 310, and a suction guide hose (not shown) may be connected to the discharge port 322, so that the condensed water sucked by the drain pump 310 may be guided to the suction guide hose, pass through the flow guide valve 640 (see fig. 6), and be stored in the drain tub 160.

In addition, a water level sensor 326 may be provided at the pump cover 320. In this case, the water level sensor 326 may be provided to detect the water level in the condensed water collection unit 230 and supply the detected water level to the controller 170, and the drain pump 310 may be controlled to operate based on the water level in the condensed water collection unit 230 detected by the water level sensor 326.

Meanwhile, the pump cover 320 may be formed; and a recovery port 323 for recovering and flowing the condensed water overflowing from the drain bucket 160.

Such a recovery port 323 is configured to communicate with a condensed water inflow side (a portion communicating with the through hole 221) of the condensed water recovery portion 230, so that the condensed water recovered from the drain tub 160 through the recovery port 323 and the condensed water flowing down along the installation recess 220 of the base frame 200 and flowing into the condensed water recovery portion 230 meet each other at the same portion, and then flow into a side where the drain pump 310 is located. In this case, the recovery port 323 may be connected to the drain tub 160 via a recovery flow path (not shown).

Next, the heat pump system will be described with reference to fig. 2.

The heat pump system is a device that generates high-temperature dry air by heat-exchanging humid air discharged from the drum 110.

That is, the air supplied into the drum 110 by the heat pump system can be always in a high-temperature and dry state.

Such a heat pump system may include a compressor 410, a condenser 420, an expander 430, and an evaporator 440.

Here, the compressor 410 is a device that receives a high-temperature low-pressure refrigerant for heat exchange and compresses the refrigerant into a high-temperature high-pressure refrigerant; the condenser 420 receives the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant and condenses the refrigerant into a low-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant; the expander 430 is a device that receives the condensed low-temperature high-pressure refrigerant and expands the refrigerant into a low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant; the evaporator 440 receives the low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant and exchanges heat with air passing around the evaporator. At this time, a cycle may be implemented in which the refrigerant passing through the evaporator 440 is formed in a high-temperature low-pressure state, and such high-temperature low-pressure refrigerant is supplied to the compressor 410, repeatedly.

In the laundry treating apparatus of the present invention, the compressor 410 and the expander 430 may be located at any one side of the top surface of the base frame 200 (refer to fig. 4), and the condenser 420 and the evaporator 440 may be located in the circulation flow path 210 (refer to fig. 6, 7, and 10).

At this time, the evaporator 440 may be disposed at a side of the inner space of the circulation flow path 210 into which the humid air flows and perform a function of removing moisture by heat-exchanging the air with the low-temperature and low-pressure refrigerant, and the condenser 420 may be disposed at a side of the evaporator 440 from which the air flows and perform a function of making the dry air, which has a low temperature while passing through the evaporator 440, become a high temperature.

Of course, when it is considered that the compressor 410 is a device generating a large amount of hot gas when it operates, the compressor 410 may be disposed adjacent to the heat radiating fan 411 for radiating heat from the compressor 410. That is, the heat radiation of the compressor 410 is realized by the heat radiation fan 411.

Such a compressor 410 and an expander 430 may be provided at a position separated from the circulation flow path 210, thereby not affecting the air (flow and temperature of the air) to be circulated.

Next, the circulation fan assembly 500 will be described with reference to fig. 4 and 6.

The circulation fan assembly 500 is configured to forcibly circulate air.

That is, the circulation fan assembly 500 is driven to circulate the air sequentially passing through the evaporator 440 and the condenser 420 in the circulation flow path 210, through the intake duct 212 and into the drum 110, and the air passing through the drum 110 through the outlet duct 213 and sequentially passing through the evaporator 440 and the condenser 420 in the circulation flow path 210.

The circulation fan assembly 500 may be located at a side of the circulation flow path 210 where air of the condenser 420 flows out.

In particular, the circulation fan assembly 500 may include: a circulation fan 520 disposed to be accommodated in the fan housing 510; and a fan motor 530 for driving the circulation fan 520. In this case, the suction port of the fan cover 510 may be connected to the circulation flow path 210, and the discharge port of the fan cover 510 may be connected to the intake duct 212.

Next, the sterilization module 900 will be described with reference to fig. 14 to 18.

At this time, fig. 14 is an enlarged view showing an installation state of a drain pump assembly and a sterilization module, fig. 15 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure of the sterilization module of the laundry treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, fig. 16 is a perspective view showing a state seen from a bottom surface to explain the structure of the sterilization module of the laundry treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, fig. 17 is a sectional perspective view showing a main portion to explain an installation state of the sterilization module of the laundry treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 18 is a sectional view showing a structure to explain the sterilization module of the laundry treatment apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

The sterilization module 900 is configured to sterilize the condensed water in the condensed water collection unit 230.

Such a sterilization module 900 may be provided to the pump cover 320 constituting the drain pump assembly 300.

The pump cover 320 is formed with a light transmission hole 324 penetrating the inside and outside of the pump cover 320, and the sterilization module 900 may be configured to irradiate a sterilization light source into the condensed water collection unit 230 through the light transmission hole 324.

At this time, the light-transmitting hole 324 is formed on the top surface of the pump cap 320, and the sterilization module 900 may be disposed at a position where the light-transmitting hole 324 is located in the outer side of the top surface of the pump cap 320. The formation position of the light transmission hole 324 and the installation position of the sterilization module 900 are positions where the sterilization module 900 can be easily coupled and separated, and thus the maintenance can be easily performed.

In particular, it is preferable that the light transmission hole 324 is formed at a portion where the condensed water in the top surface of the pump cover 320 flows into the condensed water recovery part 230. That is, the condensed water can receive the sterilization light source irradiated from the sterilization module 900 while flowing into the condensed water collection unit 230.

Of course, the light transmitting hole 324 may be formed in a part where the condensed water remains among the respective parts in the condensed water collection unit 230. However, as described above, the portion where the condensed water remains is actually wide, and the sterilization light source irradiated from the sterilization module 900 has an irradiation angle to the extent that only a part of the condensed water is irradiated, and thus the sterilization effect may be reduced.

In view of this, as in the foregoing embodiment, it is most preferable that the sterilization light source is configured to irradiate a portion where the condensed water flows into the condensed water collection unit 230.

On the other hand, the light source for sterilization irradiated from the sterilization module 900 is short-wave ultraviolet rays having excellent sterilization performance. That is, excellent bactericidal activity can be obtained by using short-wave ultraviolet (UV-C) rays having a wavelength of 100nm to 280nm as a light source for sterilization.

To this end, the sterilization module 900 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a circuit substrate 910 on which a short-wave ultraviolet radiation LED (Light Emitting Diode) (hereinafter, referred to as "radiation LED") 911 is mounted, and at the same time, may further include a case 920, a Light transmission window 930, and a sealing member 940, wherein the case 920 is configured to stably mount the circuit substrate 910 and protect the circuit substrate 910 from an external environment.

This will be explained in more detail below.

First, the case 920 provides an installation space for installing the circuit board 910.

Such a case 920 may include a case body 921 and a top cover 922, the case body 921 having a bottom surface closed and a top surface opened, the top cover 922 covering the top surface of the case body 921 having an opened top surface. At this time, the circuit substrate 910 may be disposed inside the case body 921. That is, the case body 921 is configured to have an internal space thereof opened, thereby allowing maintenance of the circuit board 910 located therein.

In particular, the case 920 may be fastened and fixed to the top surface of the pump cap 320 by screws or bolts, thereby allowing the sterilization module 900 to be easily separated from the pump cap 320 or the sterilization module 900 to be coupled to the pump cap 900.

In addition, an irradiation hole 921a communicating with the light transmission hole 324 of the pump cover 320 is formed in the bottom surface of the case body 921 constituting the case 920, and the irradiation LED911 of the circuit board 910 may be provided to irradiate short-wavelength ultraviolet rays through the irradiation hole 921 a.

The light-transmitting window 930 is a window through which short-wavelength ultraviolet light emitted from the irradiation LED911 passes, and may be a quartz window made of quartz.

The sealing member 940 may prevent the condensed water in the condensed water collecting unit 230 from penetrating into the circuit board 910, and may also couple the light transmitting window 930 to the case 920.

Such a sealing member 940 is formed of silicon (silicon), and thus can be accurately brought into close contact with the pump cap 320, and can maintain airtightness. This is to prevent the inflow of the condensed water through the light transmission hole 324.

Meanwhile, the sealing member 940 may be formed in a circular ring structure having a communication hole 941 formed at a central portion of an inner side thereof. Of course, although not shown, the sealing member 940 may have a rectangular frame structure having a communication hole 941 formed at the center thereof. However, in order to improve the airtightness by increasing the close contact area, it is more preferable that the sealing member 940 be formed in a circular ring shape.

At this time, the communication hole 941 is formed at a central portion of the sealing member 940 and functions to communicate the irradiation hole 921a of the case 920 and the light transmission hole 324 of the pump cover 320 with each other, and the light transmission window 930 may be disposed to cover the communication hole 941.

In particular, a recess 942 may be concavely formed in the periphery of the communication hole 941 in the bottom surface of the sealing member 940, and the light transmission window 930 may be disposed to be inserted and fixed into the recess 942.

At this time, the depth of the recess 942 is greater than the thickness of the light transmission window 930, so that the sealing member 940 can be compressed and deformed to be maximally closely attached to the surface of the pump cap 320 when contacting the surface.

Further, at least one circular irregularity 943 may be formed between a portion of the bottom surface of the sealing member 940 where the depression 942 is formed and the outer periphery of the sealing member 940. In this case, the circular protrusions and recesses 943 may be grooves recessed from the surface of the sealing member 940. Such circular irregularities 943 can prevent moisture existing outside the sealing member 940 from penetrating into the light transmission window 930 in the recess 942 to the maximum. Of course, the circular unevenness 943 may be formed as a projection projecting from the surface of the sealing member 940.

On the other hand, unexplained reference numeral 600 in fig. 2 is a washing portion provided for washing the surface of the evaporator 440.

Hereinafter, the processes of the drying operation and the sterilizing operation for the laundry treating apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in further detail.

Note that the control of the operation elements for each operation or the control of the sensors and valves is performed by the control unit 170 based on information programmed in advance or a set procedure, and the case where each control is performed by the control unit 170 is taken as an example in the following description, although not particularly mentioned.

First, the drying operation is an operation of drying the drying object.

Such drying operation may be performed by a user's operation. That is, if the drying operation is selected by the user's operation, the control part 170 may perform the drying operation by controlling the operations of the heat pump system and the circulation fan assembly 500.

That is, the drying object can be dried by not only removing moisture contained in the air but also supplying the air into the drum 110 in a high temperature state by the flow of the refrigerant circulating in the heat pump system by the operation of the compressor 410 and the circulation flow of the air sequentially passing through the evaporator 440 and the condenser 420 by the operation of the circulation fan assembly 500.

At this time, the humid air discharged from the drum 110 repeats a cycle in which, after flowing into the circulation flow path 210 through the outlet duct 213, moisture is removed while passing through the evaporator 440 located in the circulation flow path 210, and the temperature is increased while passing through the condenser 420, and then passes through the fan cover 510 provided with the circulation fan assembly 500 and flows to the inlet duct 212, and is supplied into the drum 110.

In addition, during the circulation of the air, moisture contained in the air may be condensed on the surface of the evaporator 440 (the surface of each heat exchange fin) on the way of the humid air passing through the evaporator 440, and may flow down along the surface to be collected in the seating recess 220 after falling to the water cover 180.

Then, the condensed water collected in the installation recess 220 flows to a rear portion of the installation recess 220 through an inclined surface formed on the bottom surface of the installation recess 220, and is stored in the condensed water collection unit 230 through the through hole 221.

In particular, when the above-described drying operation is performed, the irradiation LED911 emits light by the power supply (or operation control) of the sterilization module 900, and the condensed water flowing into the condensed water collection unit 230 through the through-hole 221 can be irradiated with short-wave ultraviolet light by the light emission of the irradiation LED 911.

At this time, the short-wave ultraviolet rays pass through the irradiation hole 921a of the case 920 constituting the sterilization module 900, the light transmission window 930, and the light transmission hole 324 of the pump cover 320 in this order, and then irradiate the condensed water flowing into the condensed water collection unit 230 through the through hole 221.

Therefore, the condensed water flowing into the condensed water collection unit 230 can be stored in the condensed water collection unit 230 in a state of being sterilized by the short wave ultraviolet rays.

On the other hand, when the condensed water flows into the condensed water recovery unit 230, the water level sensor 326 provided in the condensed water recovery unit 230 detects the water level of the condensed water stored in the condensed water recovery unit 230. The controller 170 may determine whether to discharge the residual water in the condensate water recovery unit 230 to the drain bucket 160 based on the detected water level.

If it is determined that the drain is performed to the drain tub 160, the drain pump 310 and the flow guide valve 640 are operated, thereby pumping the condensed water in the condensed water recovery part 230 to the drain tub 160 and storing the condensed water in the drain tub 160.

In addition, in case that the amount of the condensed water pumped to the drain tub 160 and stored exceeds the allowable storage amount of the drain tub 160, the condensed water may overflow from the drain tub 160, so that the condensed water overflowing from the drain tub 160 may pass through the recovery port 323 of the pump cover 320 along the recovery flow path (not shown) and then be recovered into the condensed water recovery part 230.

In this process, the condensed water collected is merged with the condensed water flowing into the condensed water collection unit 230 through the through-holes 221, or flows into the condensed water inflow side of the condensed water collection unit 230 alone, and then is sterilized by the short-wave ultraviolet rays irradiated from the sterilization module 900 toward the condensed water inflow side of the condensed water collection unit 230, and then is stored in the condensed water collection unit 230.

Finally, the condensed water flowing into the condensed water collection unit 230 is continuously irradiated with the short-wave ultraviolet rays by the irradiation LED911 of the sterilization module 900, whereby the condensed water stored in the condensed water collection unit 230 can be prevented or delayed from being contaminated to the maximum extent.

On the other hand, as described above, the sterilization module 900 is not limited to control to irradiate short-wave ultraviolet rays only in the drying operation.

That is, when it is considered that the sterilization module 900 may obtain more excellent sterilizing power by irradiating short-wave ultraviolet rays for a long time than by irradiating short-wave ultraviolet rays for a short time by the sterilization module 900, it may be preferably controlled to continuously irradiate short-wave ultraviolet rays before or after performing the drying operation.

In particular, at the end of the drying operation, it may be additionally performed: in a state where the heat pump system and the circulation fan assembly 500 are stopped, the sterilization operation for sterilizing the condensed water for a predetermined time can be performed only by the operation of the drain pump assembly 300 and the sterilization module 900.

That is, considering the irradiation angle of the short-wave ultraviolet rays irradiated from the sterilization module 900, the short-wave ultraviolet rays cannot be uniformly irradiated to the entire portion in the condensed water collection unit 230, and thus bacteria may be propagated in the condensed water at a portion not irradiated with the short-wave ultraviolet rays. In view of this, it is preferable that the condensed water in the condensed water collection unit 230 be continuously mixed during the operation of the sterilization module 900, so that the sterilization power for the condensed water can be further improved.

Of course, when the level of the condensed water stored in the condensed water collection unit 230 is a level that can be sucked by the drain pump 310, the condensed water is sucked and discharged by the operation of the drain pump 310, and then flows into the condensed water collection unit 230 again to be circulated, thereby achieving re-sterilization. When the level of the condensed water stored in the condensed water collection unit 230 is a level at which the condensed water cannot be sucked by the drain pump 310, the condensed water cannot be sucked but flows through the condensed water collection unit 230 under the influence of wind generated by the rotation operation of the impeller constituting the drain pump 310, so that even the condensed water existing in the dead zone in the condensed water collection unit 230, to which the short wavelength ultraviolet rays cannot be irradiated, flows through the flow as described above to the region to which the short wavelength ultraviolet rays can be irradiated, and the influence of the short wavelength ultraviolet rays can be sufficiently received.

When the condensed water in the condensed water recovery portion 230 is sucked by the operation of the drain pump assembly 300, the operation of the flow guide valve 640 may be controlled.

That is, by controlling the operation of the flow guide valve 640, the condensed water may flow to the installation recess 220 through the washing unit 600 without being pumped to the drain tub 160, and then flow along the installation recess 220 and be collected again in the condensed water collection unit 230, or the condensed water may be pumped to the drain tub 160 and then be collected in the condensed water collection unit 230 through the collection flow path and the collection port 323.

In addition, when the above-described sterilization operation is performed, the drain pump module 300 may be controlled to repeat the operation and the stop operation.

That is, the condensed water existing at each portion in the condensed water collection unit 230 can be sterilized while flowing and mixing with each other for each portion by the repeated opening and closing operation of the drain pump 310, instead of maintaining the accumulated state, thereby obtaining an improved sterilization effect.

In this case, it is preferable to control the drain pump assembly 300 to operate for a time shorter than a time for stopping the operation. That is, by performing the suction operation only for a short time in an emergency, not only the power consumption can be reduced, but also the condensed water in the condensed water collection unit 230 can be smoothly mixed.

Therefore, through the above-described series of processes, even if the condensed water remains in the condensed water collection unit 230, the remaining condensed water is in a state of being sterilized by the sterilization module 900, and thus the contamination thereof can be prevented.

The sterilization operation may be performed only by the operation of the sterilization module 900. That is, after all operations are completed, only the sterilization module 900 may be operated continuously or periodically (for example, once every predetermined time or every few days), thereby continuously preventing the condensed water in the condensed water collection unit 230 from being contaminated.

Finally, according to the laundry treating apparatus and the operation control method thereof of the present invention, it is possible to sterilize the condensed water stored in the condensed water recovery part 230 by additionally providing the sterilization module 900, thereby preventing the condensed water from being contaminated.

In addition, according to the laundry treating apparatus and the operation control method thereof of the present invention, since the condensed water is sterilized while the condensed water flows into the condensed water collecting unit 230, it is possible to prevent or delay contamination of the condensed water in the condensed water collecting unit 230 to the maximum extent.

In addition, according to the laundry treating apparatus and the operation control method thereof of the present invention, even when the drying operation is finished, the bacteria remaining in the condensed water collecting unit 230 can be continuously suppressed from growing by the sterilizing operation.

In addition, according to the laundry treating apparatus and the operation control method thereof of the present invention, since the sterilizing module 900 is replaceably provided to the outer surface of the pump cover 320, maintenance can be performed by simple assembly and disassembly.

In addition, according to the laundry treating apparatus and the operation control method thereof of the present invention, since the circuit board 910 constituting the sterilizing module 900 is provided so as to maintain airtightness with the space inside the condensed water collecting unit 230 and to stably and perfectly maintain the airtightness, it is possible to prevent the circuit board 910 from being damaged by the permeated moisture.

On the other hand, the laundry treating apparatus and the operation control method to which the sterilization module 900 according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied are not limited to the configurations of the illustrated embodiments.

For example, as disclosed in the patent publications 10-2010-0090087 and 10-2013-0127816, in the structure in which the drain pump assembly 300 is disposed at the rear side of the base frame 200, the sterilization module 900 may be disposed at a portion of the drain pump assembly 300 for recovering the condensed water. Of course, the sterilization control by the sterilization module 900 may be performed in the same manner as the operation of the above-described embodiment.

Therefore, the laundry treating apparatus and the operation control method to which the sterilization module 900 of the present invention is applied may be implemented in various forms not shown in the drawings.