Laundry treating apparatus

Abstract

A laundry treating apparatus includes a cabinet including a front panel, an accommodating portion disposed inside the cabinet to accommodate therein laundry, a door disposed on the front panel, and a control panel disposed on the front panel and having an output area where a screen is output, the control panel is disposed between the door and an upper end of the front panel, the door has a circular edge with respect to the front panel, and the control panel includes a central portion including the output area and having straight edges with respect to the front panel, and a side portion positioned at each of two lateral ends of the central portion based on a width direction of the cabinet and having a curved edge with respect to the front panel.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A laundry treating apparatus comprising:
 a cabinet, the cabinet including a front panel having a first opening located therein;   an accommodating portion disposed inside the cabinet, the accommodating portion being configured to accommodate laundry therein;   a door located on the front panel, the door being configured to open and close the first opening, the door having a circular edge; and   a control panel located on the front panel between the door and an upper end of the front panel, the control panel being configured to output a screen at an output area, the control panel including:
 a central portion including the output area, the central portion having a pair of straight edges; and 
 a pair of side portions positioned at opposite lateral ends of the central portion, each side portion having a curved edge connected to the pair of straight edges of the central portion. 
   
     
     
         2 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the front panel further includes a second opening spaced apart from the first opening,
 wherein the control panel is coupled to the front panel so as to be located in the second opening, and   wherein the second opening has a pair of straight edges and curved edges corresponding to the pair of straight edges and the curved edges of the control panel, respectively.   
     
     
         3 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein a first distance between the upper end of the front panel and an upper end of the control panel is equal to or smaller than a second distance between a lower end of the control panel and an upper end of the door. 
     
     
         4 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein, based on a height direction of the cabinet, an overall height of the control panel is equal to or greater than twice the first distance. 
     
     
         5 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein an overall height of the output area is equal to or greater than twice the first distance. 
     
     
         6 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein each of the first distance and the second distance is equal to or smaller than 1/20 of a height of the cabinet. 
     
     
         7 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein a horizontal center line parallel to the width direction of the cabinet passes through a center of the control panel, the horizontal center line being located above a midpoint between an upper end of the door and the upper end of the front panel. 
     
     
         8 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, based on a width direction of the cabinet, a width of the control panel is equal to or greater than a shortest distance between one of two lateral ends of the front panel and the control panel. 
     
     
         9 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, based on a width direction of the cabinet, a width of the control panel is equal to or greater than ⅓ of a width of the front panel and equal to or smaller than ½ of the width of the front panel. 
     
     
         10 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, based on a width direction of the cabinet, a width of the control panel is equal to or greater than ⅓ of a width of the door and equal to or smaller than ½ of the width of the door. 
     
     
         11 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, based on a height direction of the cabinet, an overall height of the output area is equal to or greater than 8/10 of an overall height of the control panel. 
     
     
         12 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, based on a height direction of the cabinet, an overall height of the output area is equal to or smaller than ⅙ of a height of the door. 
     
     
         13 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, based on a width direction of the cabinet and a height direction of the cabinet, a width of the output area is equal to or greater than twice an overall height of the output area. 
     
     
         14 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, based on a width direction of the cabinet, a width of the output area is equal to or greater than ⅔ of a width of the central portion. 
     
     
         15 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, based on a width direction of the cabinet, a width of the output area is equal to or greater than ½ of a width of the control panel and equal to or smaller than ⅔ of the width of the control panel. 
     
     
         16 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, based on a width direction of the cabinet, a width of the output area is equal to or greater than ¼ of a width of the door and equal to or smaller than ⅓ of the width of the door. 
     
     
         17 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the control panel includes a pair of buttons located at opposite ends of the central portion such that at least a portion of each button is located on a corresponding side portion of the pair of side portions. 
     
     
         18 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the pair of straight edges of the central portion and the curved edge of each side portion are connected to each other via a pair of connecting points such that a pair of boundary lines of the central portion passing through the pair of connecting points crosses the corresponding button. 
     
     
         19 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein the central portion has a rectangular shape defined by the straight edges and the pair of boundary lines, and
 wherein each side portion has a semicircular shape defined by the curved edge and the corresponding boundary line of the pair of boundary lines.   
     
     
         20 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein, based on a width direction of the cabinet, a vertical quadrant line of the door is defined to pass through a midpoint between a vertical center line of the door and an outermost end of the door, and
 wherein a vertical outer line passing through an outermost end of the control panel is located between the vertical center line of the door and the vertical quadrant line of the door.