Clothes treating apparatus

Abstract

The present invention relates to a clothes treating apparatus that comprise: a cabinet that forms the external appearance and includes a door on the top thereof for extracting or introducing laundry; a tub provided within the cabinet so as to store washing water; a drum rotatably provided within the tub so as to receive the laundry; a balancer provided to rotate together with the drum and to maintain dynamic equilibrium of the drum using water supplied thereinto; and a water supply unit that supplies water to the balancer. The balancer includes a drain unit that drains the water received in the balancer when the rotating speed of the drum is lower than or equal to a specified speed.

1 . A laundry treating apparatus comprising
 a cabinet forming an external appearance and including a door provided on a top surface to take or put laundry out of or into the top surface;   a tub provided inside the cabinet to store washing water therein;   a drum rotatably provided inside the tub to receive the laundry therein;   a balancer provided in a single body to be rotated together with the drum and provided to maintain dynamic equilibrium of the drum by supplying water thereinto; and   a water supply unit supplying water to the balancer,   wherein the balancer includes a drainage unit provided to drain the water received in the balancer when a rotating speed of the drum reaches a predetermined speed or less.   
     
     
         2 . The laundry treating apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the balancer is provided on at least one of an upper portion and a lower portion of the drum. 
     
     
         3 . The laundry treating apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the balancer includes:
 a housing in which water is stored;   at least one or more barriers partitioning the inside of the housing; and   an inlet provided in the housing to allow the water to enter the inside of the housing.   
     
     
         4 . The laundry treating apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein the drainage unit is provided at a circumferential inner side of the housing to drain the water inside the housing when the rotating speed of the drum reaches a predetermined speed or less. 
     
     
         5 . The laundry treating apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein the barriers include:
 a main barrier provided to partition the inside of the housing; and   at least one or more sub barriers provided in a space partitioned by the main barrier to prevent the water received in the housing from being concentrated on one side.   
     
     
         6 . The laundry treating apparatus according to  claim 5 , wherein the sub barriers are provided to have their respective heights which gradually become higher along a rotating direction of the drum. 
     
     
         7 . The laundry treating apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the water supply unit includes:
 a water supply nozzle provided to spray water to a desired position in a state that the balancer is rotated; and   a water supply guider guiding the water sprayed by the water supply nozzle to enter the inside of the balancer.   
     
     
         8 . The laundry treating apparatus according to  claim 7 , wherein the water supply nozzle is provided to be communicated with a washing water supply unit for supplying washing water to the tub. 
     
     
         9 . The laundry treating apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a fluid balancer or a ball balancer provided at an upper portion or lower portion of the drum, having a fluid or a ball therein to maintain dynamic equilibrium of the drum. 
     
     
         10 . The laundry treating apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the drum is provided such that its rotary shaft is vertical to a lower surface of the cabinet. 
     
     
         11 . The laundry treating apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein each of the drum and the tub includes an opening on an upper surface to put or take laundry into or out of the upper surface. 
     
     
         12 . The laundry treating apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the drainage unit is provided to drain the water received in the balancer in a direction vertical to a gravity direction. 
     
     
         13 . The laundry treating apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein the barrier is extended in a direction vertical to a gravity direction to partition the inside of the housing. 
     
     
         14 . The laundry treating apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a driving unit for rotating the drum, wherein the driving unit includes:
 a motor providing a rotating force;   a shaft having one end communicated with the motor and the other end communicated with the drum, the shaft being provided in parallel with a gravity direction.