Laundry treating apparatus

Abstract

A laundry treating apparatus includes a treatment chamber, a laundry hanger, a laundry hanger support 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 a frequency of the reciprocating motion of the laundry hanger support. The controller is configured to control the driver to maintain the frequency of the reciprocating motion at a reference frequency that is selected from a frequency range that is predetermined based on a sample hung on the laundry hanger having (i) a shape of a first waveform at a first side of the laundry hanger support and (ii) a shape of a second waveform at a second side of the laundry hanger support. The frequency range is defined based on overlap points of the first waveform and the second waveform.

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; and   a controller configured to control the driver to control a frequency of the reciprocating motion of the laundry hanger support,   wherein the controller is configured to control the driver to maintain the frequency of the reciprocating motion at a reference frequency that is selected from a frequency range,   wherein the frequency range 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.   
     
     
         2 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , 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 . 
     
     
         3 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control the driver to vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion to be greater than or equal to the reference frequency to thereby vary at least one of (i) a number of the overlap points or (ii) positions of the overlap points of the first waveform and the second waveform. 
     
     
         4 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the number of the overlap points of the first waveform and the second waveform is greater than or equal to two. 
     
     
         5 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to 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, the maximum frequency being defined based on the driver providing a maximum output to the laundry hanger support. 
     
     
         6 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control the driver to vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion to be less than or equal to the reference frequency to thereby vary at least one of (i) a number of the overlap points or (ii) positions of the overlap points of the first waveform and the second waveform. 
     
     
         7 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the number of the overlap points of the first waveform and the second waveform is less than or equal to two. 
     
     
         8 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the controller is configured to vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion to be (i) less than or equal to the reference frequency and (ii) greater than or equal to a minimum frequency, the minimum frequency being greater than or equal to 40% of the reference frequency. 
     
     
         9 . 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. 
     
     
         10 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the reference frequency is selected from a range of 200 rpm to 250 rpm. 
     
     
         11 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the laundry hanger is configured to, based on the laundry hanger support moving from the first position to the second position, move by a maximum displacement at an end of the laundry hanger, the maximum displacement being in a range of 25 mm to 85 mm. 
     
     
         12 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the controller is configured to control the driver to maintain the frequency of the reciprocating motion at the reference frequency during a cycle for reducing a moisture content of the laundry. 
     
     
         13 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 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 circulation fan configured to circulate the air in the treatment chamber.   
     
     
         14 . 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,   wherein the controller is configured to control the driver to maintain the frequency of the reciprocating motion at a reference frequency that is selected from a frequency range,   wherein the frequency range 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.   
     
     
         15 . The hanger module of  claim 14 , wherein the controller is configured to control the driver to vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion to be greater than or equal to the reference frequency to thereby vary at least one of (i) a number the overlap points or (ii) positions of the overlap points of the first waveform and the second waveform. 
     
     
         16 . The hanger module of  claim 15 , wherein the number of the overlap points of the first waveform and the second waveform is greater than or equal to two. 
     
     
         17 . The hanger module of  claim 14 , 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 . 
     
     
         18 . The hanger module of  claim 14 , wherein the controller is configured to control the driver to vary the frequency of the reciprocating motion to be less than or equal to the reference frequency to thereby vary at least one of (i) a number of the overlap points or (ii) positions of the overlap points of the first waveform and the second waveform. 
     
     
         19 . The hanger module of  claim 18 , wherein the number of the overlap points of the first waveform and the second waveform is less than or equal to two. 
     
     
         20 . The hanger module of  claim 14 , wherein the reference frequency is selected from a range of 200 rpm to 250 rpm.