Laundry treatment apparatus

Abstract

A laundry treatment apparatus including a circulation duct to guide air discharged from a tub back to the tub, a fan located in the circulation duct to circulate air from the tub, a heater located in the circulation duct to heat the air, an exhaust duct to discharge some of the air introduced into the tub from the tub, a suction duct to introduce air from outside of the tub into the tub, and a water supply unit to supply water into the tub so as to cool the tub.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A laundry treatment apparatus comprising:
 a tub providing a space to store wash water;   a drum within the tub;   a circulation duct to guide air discharged from the tub back to the tub;   a fan located in the circulation duct to circulate air from the tub;   a heater located in the circulation duct to heat the air;   an exhaust duct to discharge some of the air introduced into the tub from the tub;   a suction duct to introduce air from outside of the tub into the tub; and   a water supply unit to supply water into the tub so as to cool the tub.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a controller to control opening/closing of the water supply unit,   wherein the controller controls the water supply unit to supply water into the tub during operation of the fan and the heater.   
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of to  claim 2 , wherein the controller rotates the drum at a first Revolutions Per Minute (RPM) and a second RPM during operation of the fan and the heater,
 wherein the first RPM is set to a value at which the centrifugal force of laundry caused by rotation of the drum becomes greater than the weight of the laundry, and   wherein the second RPM is set to a value greater than the first RPM.   
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the controller controls the water supply unit to supply water into the tub while the drum is rotated at the second RPM. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the water supply unit supplies water into the tub through the circumference of the tub at a position spaced apart from a vertical line passing a rotation center of the drum by a predetermined distance in a width direction of the tub. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the suction duct and the exhaust duct remain in an open state during operation of the heater and the fan. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the suction duct is located in a flow path through which interior air of the tub is directed to the fan such that outside air of the tub is introduced into the circulation duct through the suction duct. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the cross sectional area of the exhaust duct is less than the cross sectional area of the circulation duct. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the quantity of air discharged through the exhaust duct and the quantity of air introduced through the suction duct are set to be equal to each other. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the quantity of air discharged through the exhaust duct is set to be greater than the quantity of air introduced through the suction duct. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a drain unit to discharge water stored in the tub from the tub,   wherein the exhaust duct is connected to the drain unit.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein a junction of the exhaust duct and the drain unit is located higher than the set maximum water level of the tub. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a switchover valve configured to open or close the exhaust duct.   
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13 , further comprising:
 a flow path valve configured to prevent air introduced into the drain unit through the exhaust duct from being supplied into the tub.   
     
     
         15 . A laundry treatment apparatus comprising:
 a drum in which laundry is stored;   a heater to heat air;   a first heat exchange flow path including a tub to provide a space in which the drum is received and a space in which air is condensed and a duct through which some of interior air of the tub is directed to the heater and then resupplied to the tub;   a second heat exchange flow path including a duct through which outside air of the tub is guided into the tub by way of the heater and a duct through which some of interior air of the tub is discharged from the tub; and   a water supply unit to supply water into the tub so as to cool the tub.   
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , further comprising:
 a controller to control opening/closing of the water supply unit and RPM of the drum,   wherein the controller supplies water into the tub while the drum is rotated at or above a predetermined reference RPM.   
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a water supply guide to introduce water supplied from the water supply unit into the tub,   wherein the water supply guide is positioned to allow water introduced into the tub to move to the bottom of the tub along an inner circumferential surface of the tub.   
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the water supply guide is located at the circumference of the tub at a position spaced apart from a vertical line passing through a rotation center of the drum by a predetermined distance in a width direction of the tub. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the water supply guide is located between a vertical line tangent to the circumference of the drum and a vertical line tangent to the circumference of the tub. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the tub further includes a water supply communication portion (fourth communication portion) perforated in the circumference of the tub to communicate with the water supply unit,
 wherein the water supply guide includes:   a trap body accommodated in the water supply communication portion to provide a space in which water is stored, an outer circumferential surface of the trap body being spaced apart from an inner circumferential surface of the water supply communication portion by a predetermined distance; and   a guide pipe fixed to the water supply communication portion to guide water into the trap body, the guide pipe defining a flow path for communication between a space between the outer circumferential surface of the trap body and the inner circumferential surface of the water supply communication portion and the interior of the trap body.   
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 20 , wherein the bottom of the trap body is spaced apart from an outlet of the guide pipe by a predetermined distance, and
 wherein the space between the outer circumferential surface of the trap body and the inner circumferential surface of the water supply communication portion has an open plane for communication between the interior of the trap body and the interior of the tub.   
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 21 , wherein the open plane takes the form of a semicircle or arc located farther from a vertical line passing a rotation center of the drum on the basis of a line passing a center of the water supply communication portion to extend parallel to the longitudinal direction of the tub. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the suction duct includes:
 a suction port through which outside air is introduced, the suction port being fixed to the circulation duct; and   a discharge port through which the air introduced through the suction port is supplied into the tub, the discharge port being fixed to the tub.   
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 23 , wherein the circulation duct is fixed to the top of an outer circumferential surface of the tub. 
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 24 , further comprising:
 a duct communication portion (first communication portion) to discharge interior air of the tub into the circulation duct,   wherein the discharge port is located in the duct communication portion.   
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 25 , wherein the circulation duct further includes a fixing portion to which the suction port is connected. 
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 26 , wherein the circulation duct further includes a first filter provided at the fixing portion to filter air to be introduced into the suction port. 
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 27 , further comprising:
 a second filter located in the duct communication portion (first communication portion) to filter air to be directed from the tub to the circulation duct.   
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 28 , further comprising:
 a filter washer to supply wash water to the second filter so as to wash the second filter.   
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 23 , wherein the suction duct includes:
 a coupling section located below the circulation duct to communicate with the tub, the coupling section being provided with the discharge port; and   an extension section extending from the coupling section to the circulation duct, the extension section being provided with the suction port.