Laundry treating apparatus

Abstract

A laundry treating apparatus includes a treatment chamber, a laundry hanger, a laundry hanger support configured to support the laundry hanger, the laundry hanger support being configured to repeat a reciprocating motion, a driver that provides driving force to the laundry hanger support, a heat exchanger configured to remove moisture from air in the treatment chamber, a steam supply configured to generate and supply steam to the treatment chamber, and a controller configured to control the driver to control a frequency of the reciprocating motion of the laundry hanger support. The controller is configured to operate the laundry hanger support (i) in a motion mode to maintain the frequency of the reciprocating motion a reference frequency and (ii) in another motion mode to vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion to be greater than or equal to the reference frequency.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A laundry treating apparatus comprising:
 a treatment chamber configured to receive laundry;   a laundry hanger configured to hang the laundry and to be accommodated in the treatment chamber;   a laundry hanger support located in the treatment chamber and configured to support the laundry hanger, the laundry hanger support being configured to repeat a reciprocating motion between a first position and a second position;   a driver configured to provide driving force to the laundry hanger support;   a moisture removal module configured to remove moisture from air in the treatment chamber;   a steam supply configured to generate steam and to supply the steam to the treatment chamber; and   a controller configured to control the driver to control a frequency of the reciprocating motion of the laundry hanger support,   wherein the laundry treating apparatus is configured to perform a plurality of laundry treatment courses including at least one of (i) a steam cycle configured to increase a moisture content of the laundry based on operating the steam supply or (ii) a drying cycle configured to reduce the moisture content of the laundry,   wherein the controller is configured to:
 in a first motion mode, control the driver to maintain the frequency of the reciprocating motion of the laundry hanger support at a reference frequency, and 
 in another motion mode different from the first motion mode, control the driver to maintain to vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion of the laundry hanger support to be greater than or equal to the reference frequency. 
   
     
     
         2 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the laundry hanger support is configured to operate in the another motion mode during the steam cycle. 
     
     
         3 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the reference frequency is selected from a frequency range that is predetermined based on a sample hung on the laundry hanger having (i) a first shape of a first waveform in a first state in which the sample is biased to a first side of the laundry hanger support and (ii) a second shape of a second waveform in a second state in which the sample is biased to a second side of the laundry hanger support, and
 wherein the frequency range is defined based on overlap points of the first waveform and the second waveform.   
     
     
         4 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the sample comprises a piece of cotton fabric having a width of 20 cm and a length of 90 cm, the piece of cotton fabric having a weight in a range of 140 g/m 2  to 160 g/m 2 . 
     
     
         5 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the laundry hanger is configured to, based on the laundry hanger support reciprocating between the first position and the second position, reciprocate ends of the laundry hanger along an arc with respect to a central axis of the laundry hanger. 
     
     
         6 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the reference frequency is selected from a range of 200 rpm to 250 rpm. 
     
     
         7 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to, in the another motion mode, vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion to be (i) greater than or equal to the reference frequency and (ii) less than or equal to a maximum frequency. 
     
     
         8 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the maximum frequency is defined based on the driver providing a maximum output to the laundry hanger support. 
     
     
         9 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to, in the another motion mode, vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion for a period in a range of 20 seconds to 1 minute. 
     
     
         10 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to, during the period in the another motion mode, vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion among (i) a first frequency greater than or equal to the reference frequency, (ii) a second frequency greater than the first frequency, and (iii) a third frequency that is greater than or equal to the second frequency and less than or equal to a maximum frequency,
 wherein the period includes (i) a first section of a first time period and (ii) a second section of a second time period that is shorter than the first time period, and   wherein the controller is configured to:
 during the first section, vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion from the first frequency to the third frequency for the first time period, and 
 during the second section, vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion from the third frequency to the first frequency for the second time period. 
   
     
     
         11 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the laundry hanger support is configured to vary a shape of the laundry hung on the laundry hanger based on vibration of the laundry in response to the reciprocating motion of the laundry hanger support, the shape of the laundry defining (i) a first waveform in a first state in which the laundry is biased to a first side of the laundry hanger support and (ii) a second waveform in a second state in which the laundry is biased to a second side of the laundry hanger support, and
 wherein a position of an overlap point of the first waveform and the second waveform varies in the another motion mode.   
     
     
         12 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of laundry treatment courses comprise:
 a first treatment course for operating the laundry hanger support in the another motion mode while the steam cycle is performed; and   a second treatment course for operating the laundry hanger support at a frequency less than the reference frequency while the steam cycle is performed.   
     
     
         13 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the first treatment course further comprises the drying cycle to be performed after the steam cycle, and
 wherein the laundry hanger support is configured to move at a frequency less than or equal to the reference frequency while the drying cycle is performed during the first treatment course.   
     
     
         14 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the controller is configured to, in a second motion mode, control the driver to vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion to be less than or equal to the reference frequency, and
 wherein the controller is configured to operate the laundry hanger support in the second motion mode while the drying cycle is performed during the first treatment course.   
     
     
         15 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the controller is configured to operate the laundry hanger support in the first motion mode, the second motion mode, a third motion mode, and a fourth motion mode, the fourth motion mode being the another motion mode,
 wherein the controller is configured to:
 in the fourth motion mode, vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion among (i) a first frequency greater than or equal to the reference frequency, (ii) a second frequency greater than the first frequency, and (iii) a third frequency that is greater than or equal to the second frequency and less than or equal to a maximum frequency, 
 in the second motion mode, vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion for a period in a range of 20 seconds to 1 minute, and 
 during the period in the second motion mode, vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion among (i) a fourth frequency greater than or equal to the reference frequency, (ii) a fifth frequency greater than the fourth frequency, and (iii) a sixth frequency that is greater than the fifth frequency and less than or equal to the maximum frequency, 
   wherein the period in the second motion mode includes (i) a first section of a first time period and (ii) a second section of a second time period that is shorter than the first time period, and   wherein the controller is configured to:
 during the first section of the period in the second motion mode, vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion from the fourth frequency to the sixth frequency for the first time period, and 
 during the second section of the period in the second motion mode, vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion from the sixth frequency to the fourth frequency for the second time period. 
   
     
     
         16 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the controller is configured to control the driver to maintain an amplitude of a displacement of the laundry hanger support based on the reciprocating motion of the laundry hanger support in the first motion mode, the second motion mode, and the fourth motion mode. 
     
     
         17 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the controller is configured to, in the third motion mode, control the driver to vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion to be less than or equal to the reference frequency. 
     
     
         18 . A hanger module comprising:
 a laundry hanger support configured to support a laundry hanger, the laundry hanger support being configured to repeat a reciprocating motion between a first position and a second position;   a driver configured to provide driving force to the laundry hanger support; and   a controller configured to control the driver to control a frequency of the reciprocating motion of the laundry hanger support, the controller being configured to operate the laundry hanger support in a first motion mode, a second motion mode, a third motion mode, and a fourth motion mode,   wherein the controller is configured to:
 in the first motion mode, maintain the frequency of the reciprocating motion of the laundry hanger support at a reference frequency, and 
 in the fourth motion mode, vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion of the laundry hanger support to be greater than or equal to the reference frequency. 
   
     
     
         19 . The hanger module of  claim 18 , wherein the reference frequency is selected from a range of 200 rpm to 250 rpm. 
     
     
         20 . The hanger module of  claim 18 , wherein the controller is configured to, in at least one of the second motion mode or the third motion mode, control the driver to vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion to be less than or equal to the reference frequency.