Washing machine

Abstract

This washing machine comprises a housing, a drum rotatable while inside the housing, and a lifter extending from the inner circumference surface of the drum toward the rotation axis of the drum. The lifter comprises a lifter body mountable on the drum, a lifter case coupleable to and decoupleable from the lifter body, the lifter case having an inlet and an outlet, a filter to be provided on the lifter case, and a lifter valve that is deformable to be away from the inlet of the lifter case to open the inlet and return toward the inlet of the lifter case to close the inlet.

1 . A washing machine comprising:
 a housing;   a drum rotatable while inside the housing; and   a lifter extending from an inner circumferential surface of the drum toward a rotation axis of the drum,   wherein the lifter includes:
 a lifter body mountable on the drum; 
 a lifter case coupleable to and decoupleable from the lifter body, the lifter case having an inlet and an outlet; 
 a filter to be provided on the lifter case; and 
 a lifter valve that is deformable to be away from the inlet of the lifter case to open the inlet and return toward the inlet of the lifter case to close the inlet. 
   
     
     
         2 . The washing machine of  claim 1 , wherein the lifter valve is provided as an elastic body, and the filter is provided on a portion of the lifter case in which the outlet is located. 
     
     
         3 . The washing machine of  claim 1 , wherein the outlet is configured to face the rotation axis of the drum. 
     
     
         4 . The washing machine of  claim 3 , wherein the outlet is a first outlet, and the lifter case includes a second outlet facing the first outlet. 
     
     
         5 . The washing machine of  claim 4 , wherein the second outlet is located radially outside of the drum compared to the first outlet. 
     
     
         6 . The washing machine of  claim 1 , wherein the inlet is configured to face a rotation direction of the drum. 
     
     
         7 . The washing machine of  claim 1 , wherein the lifter valve includes:
 a fixed portion fixed to the lifter case; and   a moving portion having a thickness that decreases along a direction away from the fixed portion.   
     
     
         8 . The washing machine of  claim 1 , wherein the lifter case includes:
 a rotating coupling portion configured to be rotatable while coupled to the lifter body; and   a fixed coupling portion that is provided to be fixable and coupleable to the lifter body while the rotating coupling portion is rotatable while coupled to the lifter body.   
     
     
         9 . The washing machine of  claim 1 , wherein the inlet is a first inlet facing a first rotation direction of the drum and the lifter includes a second inlet facing a second rotation direction opposite to the first rotation direction of the drum,
 the lifter valve is a first lifter valve configured to open and close the first inlet and the lifter includes a second lifter valve configured to open and close the second inlet, and   the lifter includes a valve support member configured to apply elasticity to the first lifter valve in a direction away from the second lifter valve.   
     
     
         10 . The washing machine of  claim 1 , wherein the lifter case includes a transparent or translucent window provided on a portion facing a drum opening of the drum. 
     
     
         11 . The washing machine of  claim 1 , wherein
 the lifter is a first lifter, and   a second lifter having a different configuration from the first lifter is provided on the inner circumferential surface of the drum.   
     
     
         12 . The washing machine of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 a driving device configured to drive the drum;   a vibration sensor configured to detect vibration of the drum while the drum rotates; and   a controller configured to control the driving device based on information detected by the vibration sensor.   
     
     
         13 . The washing machine of  claim 12 , wherein the controller is configured to stop an operation of the driving device based on determining that the vibration of the drum is greater than a preset magnitude. 
     
     
         14 . The washing machine of  claim 1 , wherein the lifter case includes a chamber configured to collect foreign substances filtered out by the filter. 
     
     
         15 . The washing machine of  claim 14 , wherein the lifter valve is configured to open and close the inlet to allow the foreign substances to be introduced into the chamber and prevent the foreign substances from being discharged from the chamber.