STEAM GENERATOR AND CLOTHES CARE APPARATUS INCLUDING SAME

Abstract

A steam generator is disclosed. The steam generator includes: a recovery chamber which includes a first inlet, a second inlet, a steam outlet, and a drain outlet; a first pipe configured to receive water through a first end of the first pipe and which is connected at a second end of the first pipe to the first inlet; a second pipe which is connected at a first end of the second pipe to the drain outlet and is connected at a second end of the second pipe to the second inlet; and a heater device configured to heat water moving through at least one of the first pipe and the second pipe.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a by-pass continuation application of International Application No. PCT/KR2022/007845, filed on Jun. 2, 2022, which based on and claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2021-0095873, filed Jul. 21, 2021, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The disclosure relates to a steam generator having a structure improved to have higher driving efficiency and a compact size and a clothes care apparatus including the same.

2. Description of Related Art

The steam generator is divided into a water tank type steam generator for directly boiling water accommodated in a water tank to generate steam, and an instant steam generator for generating steam by passing water in the water tank through a boiler by using a pump.

The water tank type steam generator has a problem in terms of requiring a sufficient space for accommodating a large size water tank, slow initial steam generation speed, and high energy loss. In addition, the instant steam generator has problems of small steam generation amount, durability issue due to local cooling of the boiler, and complicated control logic of the pump and the heater.

SUMMARY

The disclosure is designed to improve the above-described problem, and the purpose of the disclosure is to provide a steam generator having a structure improved to have higher driving efficiency and a compact size and a clothes care apparatus including the same.

A steam generator according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure may include a recovery chamber including a first inlet, a second inlet, a steam outlet, and a drain outlet, a first pipe configured to receive water through a first end of the first pipe and which is connected at a second end of the first pipe to the first inlet, a second pipe which is connected at a first end of the second pipe to the drain outlet and is connected at a second end of the second pipe to the second inlet, and a heater device configured to heat water moving through at least one of the first pipe and the second pipe.

The heater device may include a heat wire member is configured to dissipate heat and a molding member is configured to integrate the first pipe and the heat wire member.

The first pipe and the heat wire member may pass through the molding member, and the wire member may be disposed at a further inside of the molding member than the first pipe.

The first pipe may include a heating area covered by the molding member and is formed to be spiral to surround the heat wire member.

The molding member may be formed of at least one of aluminum, copper, gold, or silver.

The second pipe may include a re-heating area to surround a side surface of the heater device.

The re-heating area may have a front end connected to the first end of the second pipe adjacently disposed with a lower surface of the heater device, and a rear end connected to the second end of the second pipe adjacently disposed with an upper surface of the heater device.

The re-heating area may be formed to be upwardly spiral with an angle of greater than or equal to three degrees and less than or equal to ten degrees.

The recovery chamber may be disposed at a further upper side than the heater device.

The drain outlet may be disposed at a lower surface of the recovery chamber, and the lower surface of the recovery chamber may be formed to be downwardly inclined toward the drain outlet.

The lower surface of the recovery chamber may be formed to be downwardly inclined with an angle of greater than or equal to two degrees and less than or equal to ten degrees.

The steam generator may further include a water supply pump device to supply water to the first end of the first pipe.

The steam generator may further include a recovery pump device to recover water from the first end of the first pipe.

The steam generator may further include an insulation member to cover at least one outer surface between the recovery chamber and the heater device.

A clothes care apparatus according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure may include a main body including a clothes care room and a machine room, and a steam generator disposed in the machine room and provided to supply steam to inside of the clothes care room, and the steam generator may include a recovery chamber including a first inlet, a second inlet, a steam outlet, and a drain outlet, a first pipe configured to receive water through a first end and which is connected at a second end to the first inlet, a second pipe which is connected at a first end to the drain outlet and is connected at the second end to the second inlet, and a heater device configured to heat water moving through at least one of the first pipe and the second pipe.

The first pipe may include a first spiral portion passing through the heater device, and the second pipe may include a second spiral portion surrounding the heater device.

The water flowing along the first spiral portion may flow downwards, and the water flowing along the second spiral portion may flow upwards.

The first spiral portion may be disposed at an inside of the second spiral portion.

The first inlet, the second inlet, and the drain outlet may be disposed at a lower portion of the recovery chamber, and the drain outlet may be disposed at a further lower portion of the first inlet and the second inlet.

The recovery chamber may be disposed at a further upper side than the heater device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of certain embodiments of the present disclosure will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a clothes care apparatus according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a steam generator according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the heater device of FIG. 2.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a heater device according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Examples described hereinafter are for easy understanding of the disclosure, and it may be understood that various changes is made to examples described herein and the disclosure is embodied in different forms. In addition, in the following description, detailed descriptions of well-known functions or configurations will be omitted since they would unnecessarily obscure the subject matters of the disclosure. In addition, it may be noted that the drawings as attached are just for easy understanding of the disclosure, and are not illustrated as really scaled, and dimensions of some elements may be exaggerated.

The terms used in the present disclosure and the claims are general terms identified in consideration of the functions of the various embodiments of the disclosure. However, these terms may vary depending on intention, technical interpretation, emergence of new technologies, and the like of those skilled in the related art. Unless there is a specific definition of a term, the term may be understood based on the overall contents and technological understanding of those skilled in the related art.

It is to be understood that the terms such as “include” or “consist of” may, for example, be used to designate a presence of a characteristic, number, operation, element, component, or a combination thereof, and not to preclude a presence or a possibility of adding one or more of other characteristics.

In the disclosure, components used for the description of each embodiment of the disclosure are described and thus, the embodiment is not necessarily limited thereto. Accordingly, some components may be changed or omitted and other components may be added. In addition, components may be disposed and arranged in different independent devices.

Further, the embodiments of the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and the contents described in the accompanying drawings, but the disclosure is not limited or limited by the embodiments.

Hereinbelow, the disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a clothes care apparatus according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1, a clothes care apparatus 1 according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure may include a main body 10 and a door 20. The main body 10 may form the exterior of the clothes care apparatus 1 and may include a clothes care room 11 and a machine room 12. The door 20 may be rotatably connected to the main body 10 to open and close the clothes care room 11 of the main body 10.

The clothes care room 11 may accommodate the clothes (C). The machine room 12 may be disposed at a lower side of the clothes care room 11 in which devices for heating or humidifying air inside the clothes care room 11 may be disposed.

In addition, a steam generator 1000 (FIG. 2) may be disposed in the machine room 12 and provided to supply steam to the inside of the clothes care room 11. The steam generator 1000 may discharge steam from the machine room 12 toward the clothes care room 11 upward along a discharge path S.

Dust or foreign substances may be removed from the clothes C accommodated in the clothes care room 11 by air and steam introduced from the machine room 12, and the smell which permeates the clothes C may be removed from the clothes C.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a steam generator according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the heater device of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the steam generator 1000 according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure may include the recovery chamber 100, a first pipe 200, a second pipe 300, and a heater device 400.

The recovery chamber 100 may include a first inlet 110, a second inlet 120, a steam outlet 130, and a drain outlet 140. The recovery chamber 100 may accommodate steam in a gas state and liquid in a liquid state in the inner space.

The water accommodated in the recovery chamber 100 may be discharged to the outside of the recovery chamber 100 through the drain outlet 140 by self-weight.

Water may be introduced to a first end of the first pipe 201 and a second end of the first pipe 202 may be connected to the first inlet 110.

A first end of the second pipe 301 may be connected to the drain outlet 140 and a second end of the second pipe 302 may be connected to the second inlet 120.

The first pipe 200 and the second pipe 300 may be formed of a material like stainless steel (STS), aluminum, bronze, copper, plastic, or the like, but a type is not limited thereto.

The heater device 400 may heat water moving along the first pipe 200 and the second pipe 300.

The water flowing into a first end of the first pipe 201 may be heated by a heater device 400 and phase-changed into steam. Thereafter, the steam in the first pipe 200 may be introduced into the internal space of the recovery chamber 100 through a second end of the first pipe 202 and the first inlet 110 of the recovery chamber 100. The steam may be discharged to the outside of the recovery chamber 100 through the steam outlet 130 of the recovery chamber 100. The steam outlet 130 may be disposed at an upper portion of the recovery chamber 100, and accordingly, steam having a low density may be easily discharged to the outside along the discharge path (S) through the steam outlet 130.

The recovery chamber 100 may be disposed at a further upper portion than the heater device 400. Accordingly, the low-density steam phase-changed in a portion adjacent to the heater device 400 between the first pipe 200 and second pipe 300 may easily move to the recovery chamber 100 at an upper side.

A part of the water moving through the first pipe 200 is not phase-changed and moved into the inner space of the recovery chamber 100 through the first inlet 110 in a liquid phase to be retained. The water retained in the internal space of the recovery chamber 100 may have a high temperature immediately before the phase change.

The water of high temperature retained in the inside space of the recovery chamber 100 may move to the first end of the second pipe 301 through the drain outlet 140 by self-weight. Then, the high-temperature water moving along the second pipe 300 may be heated by the heater device 400 and may be easily phase-changed to steam.

That is, the steam generation efficiency of the steam generator 1000 may be increased and the steam generation amount may be increased compared to the related-art instant steam generator, because even high-temperature water which has not yet been phase-changed while moving along the first pipe 200 is phase-changed to steam if the water is re-heated a little bit while moving along the second pipe 300.

The heater device 400 may include a heat wire member 410 and a molding member 420. The heat wire member 410 may dissipate heat to the outside. The molding member 420 may integrate the first pipe 200 and the heat wire member 410.

Accordingly, in the heater device 400, a structure of coupling and fixing between the pipe and the heat wire is omitted, the heater device 400 may have a slim size, and an additional space may be secured inside the machine room 12.

In the molding member 420, the first pipe 200 and the heat wire member 410 may be fixed inside by a die casting technology, but the embodiment is not limited thereto.

The heat wire member 410 may be implemented with a sheathe heater made of stainless material, but the type is not limited thereto.

The molding member 420 may be formed of at least one of aluminum, copper, gold, or silver. That is, the molding member is formed of metal having high thermal conductivity and may effectively transmit heat from the heat wire member 410 to the first pipe 200.

The first pipe 200 and the heat wire member 410 may pass through the molding member 420. The heat wire member 410 may be disposed inside the molding member 420 than the first pipe 200.

Accordingly, heat generated from the heat wire member 410 may move without heat loss through the molding member 420 to the first pipe 200 disposed at the further outside than the heat wire member 410.

If the heat wire member 410 is disposed outside the molding member 420 than the first pipe 200, some of the heat generated from the heat wire member 410 may not be transmitted to the first pipe 200, but may be meaninglessly emitted to the outside. However, according to the arrangement relationship between the heat wire member 410 and the first pipe 200 according to one or more embodiments of the disclosure, heat transfer efficiency from the heat wire member 410 to the first pipe 200 may increase.

The first pipe 200 may include a heating area 210 which is covered by a molding member 420 and is spirally formed to surround the heat wire member 410. Accordingly, because the heating area 210 is arranged to be adjacent to each other in a long section with the heat wire member 410, heat transfer efficiency from the heat wire member 410 to the heating area 210 may be increased.

The second pipe 300 may include the re-heating area 310 to surround the side surface 401 of the heater device 400. The side surface 401 of the heater device 400 may be a side surface of the molding member 420. That is, water moving from the drain outlet 140 of the recovery chamber 100 to the second pipe 300 may be phase-changed to steam while passing through the re-heating area 310 adjacent to the heater device 400.

That is, the first pipe 200 may include a first spiral portion S1 passing through the heater device 400, and the second pipe 300 may include a second spiral portion S2 surrounding the heater device 400. The water flowing along the first spiral portion S1 may be primarily heated by the heater device 400, and the water flowing along the second spiral portion S2 may be secondarily heated by the heater device 400.

The re-heating area 310 of the second pipe 300 may be disposed at an outside of the heater device 400. That is, the first spiral portion S1 may be disposed at an inside of the second spiral portion S2. Accordingly, heat dissipated to the outside from the heater device 400 is re-used for heating water moving along the second pipe 300, so heat transfer efficiency of the steam generator 1000 may be increased.

The re-heating area 310 of the second pipe 300 may be coupled to the side surface 401 of the heater device 400 by bolt or welding, but the coupling method is not limited thereto.

The front end 311 of the re-heating area 310 is connected to first end of the second pipe 301 and may be disposed adjacent to the lower surface 403 of the heater device 400. The rear end 312 of the re-heating area 310 is connected to the second end of the second pipe 302 and may be disposed adjacent to the upper surface 402 of the heater device 400. The upper surface 402 and the lower surface 403 of the heater device 400 may be the upper surface and the lower surface of the molding member 420, respectively.

The water flowing along the first spiral portion S1 may flow downward by gravity and a water supply pump device 500. The water flowing along the second spiral portion S2 may flow upward by pressing force of dropping water from the recovery chamber 100 and change in density due to phase change.

That is, the re-heating area 310 may be disposed adjacent to the heater device 400 in a long section corresponding to the entire height of the heater device 400 and may receive most of heat dissipated to the outside from the side surface 401 of the heater device 400.

The re-heating area 310 may be spirally formed to be inclined upwardly at an angle greater than or equal to three degrees and less than or equal to ten degrees with respect to a horizontal direction. That is, the re-heating area 310 may be formed to be inclined upwardly from the front end 311 toward the rear end 312.

The steam phase-changed from water by heating may move upward due to density that becomes low. That is, as the re-heating area 310 has a spiral structure formed to be upwardly inclined, steam that is phase-changed from water in the re-heating area 310 may easily move toward the second inlet 120 without flowing backward.

The drain outlet 140 may be disposed at a lower surface 150 of the recovery chamber 100, and the lower surface 150 of the recovery chamber 100 may be formed downwardly inclined toward the drain outlet 140.

The first inlet 110, the second inlet 120, and the drain outlet 140 may be disposed at a lower portion of the recovery chamber 100, and the drain outlet 140 may be disposed at a further lower portion than the first inlet 110 and the second inlet 120.

Accordingly, the water retained in the recovery chamber 100 may not be stagnant in the recovery chamber 100 and may be easily drained to the second pipe 300 through the drain outlet 140.

The lower surface 150 of the recovery chamber 100 may be formed to be downwardly inclined with an angle α1 of greater than or equal to two degrees and less than or equal to ten degrees with reference to a horizontal direction.

Accordingly, water accommodated in the recovery chamber 100 may be easily drained to the drain outlet 140, but also the lower surface 150 of the recovery chamber 100 is downwardly inclined with a steep angle to cause water to be excessively drained to the drain outlet 140 and the phenomenon that water is stagnant on the second pipe 300 may be prevented.

The steam generator 1000 may further include the water supply pump device 500 for supplying water to the first end of the first pipe 201.

The water supply pump device 500 may include a water tank in which water is stored, and a motor for providing a driving force to supply water from the water tank to the first end of the first pipe 201. A user may periodically fill the water tank with water. The water supply pump device 500 may supply water to the first end of the first pipe 201 such that the pressure in the first pipe 200 becomes 1 bar to 1.5 bar.

For example, a processor of the steam generator 1000 may control the heater device 400 to be driven after a preset time (for example, within five seconds) after the water supply pump device 500 is operated first. Accordingly, because the heater device 400 is driven after the water in the first pipe 200 is sufficiently filled, damage to the heater device 400 and damage to the first pipe 200 due to overheating may be prevented.

In the meantime, the steam generator 1000 may further include a temperature sensor. The temperature sensor may be disposed to be adjacent to the upper surface 402 of the heater device 400, and may detect temperature of water passing through the heater device 400 among water moving along the first pipe 200.

The processor may control the heater device 400 by receiving data detected from the temperature sensor to discharge steam of a preset temperature from the heater device 400 by a Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) control method.

The steam generator 1000 may further include a recovery pump device 600 for recovering water from the first end of the first pipe 201.

The recovery pump device 600 may include a water tank for recovering water and a motor for providing driving force to recover water to the water tank from the first end of the first pipe 201.

For example, in a state that the heater device 400 is controlled so that temperature of the first pipe 200 is maintained to be 60 degrees or less, the water supply pump device 500 and the recovery pump device 600 may be driven to remove scales in a pipe. Accordingly, a descaling liquid may be drained to the water tank of the recovery pump device 600.

The steam generator 1000 may further include an insulation member (not shown) covering the outer surface of at least one of the recovery chamber 100 and the heater device 400. The insulation member may cover the outer surface of the re-heating area 310 of the second pipe 300. The insulation member may be formed of a material such as Slentex, glass wool, ceramic wool, or the like, but the type is not limited thereto.

Accordingly, heat may not be transferred to the outside of the recovery chamber 100 or the heater device 400, the insulation member may maintain temperature of steam and water inside the recovery chamber 100 and may improve heat transmission efficiency from the heater device 400 to the first pipe 200 and the second pipe 300

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a heater device according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

Referring to FIG. 4, the heat wire member 410 may be disposed inside the heating area 210 of the first pipe 200, and the heating area 210 may have a spiral structure disposed to be inclined downward to surround the heat wire member 410. The heating area 210 may descend until it is adjacent to the lower surface 403 of the heater device 400 and then ascend, pass through the upper surface 402 of the heater device 400, and may then be connected to the recovery chamber 100. As the first pipe 200 has the above-described structure of being disposed adjacent to the heat wire member 410 in a long section, the heater device 400 may have a slim appearance. Although not shown in FIG. 4, the second pipe 300 may be disposed to surround the side surface 401 of the heater device 400 like the structure of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 5, the first pipe 200, the heat wire member 410, and the second pipe 300 may be sequentially arranged along a Y-axis direction. The first pipe 200 and the heat wire member 410 may be integrated by the molding member 420 and fixedly disposed. The second pipe 300 may be disposed on the outer surface of the heater device 400 to receive heat.

That is, the first pipe 200 and the second pipe 300 should not be necessarily formed in a spiral structure, and may be formed in various shapes capable of receiving heat with high efficiency from the heat wire member 410 in a long section that is bent several times.

While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A steam generator comprising:

a recovery chamber comprising a first inlet, a second inlet, a steam outlet, and a drain outlet;

a first pipe configured to receive water through a first end of the first pipe and which is connected at a second end of the first pipe to the first inlet;

a second pipe which is connected at a first end of the second pipe to the drain outlet and is connected at a second end of the second pipe to the second inlet; and

a heater device configured to heat water moving through at least one of the first pipe and the second pipe.

2. The steam generator of claim 1, wherein the heater device comprises:

a heat wire member configured to dissipate heat; and

a molding member configured to integrate the first pipe and the heat wire member.

3. The steam generator of claim 2, wherein the first pipe and the heat wire member pass through the molding member, and

wherein the heat wire member is disposed further inside of the molding member than the first pipe.

4. The steam generator of claim 2, wherein the first pipe comprises a heating area covered by the molding member and is formed to be spiral to surround the heat wire member.

5. The steam generator of claim 2, wherein the molding member is formed of at least one of aluminum, copper, gold, or silver.

6. The steam generator of claim 1, wherein the second pipe comprises a re-heating area to surround a side surface of the heater device.

7. The steam generator of claim 6, wherein the re-heating area comprises a front end connected to the first end of the second pipe adjacently disposed with a lower surface of the heater device, and a rear end connected to the second end of the second pipe adjacently disposed with an upper surface of the heater device.

8. The steam generator of claim 6, wherein the re-heating area is formed to be upwardly spiral with an angle of greater than or equal to three degrees and less than or equal to ten degrees.

9. The steam generator of claim 1, wherein the recovery chamber is disposed at a side further up than the heater device.

10. The steam generator of claim 1, wherein the drain outlet is disposed at a lower surface of the recovery chamber, and the lower surface of the recovery chamber is formed to be downwardly inclined toward the drain outlet.

11. The steam generator of claim 10, wherein the lower surface of the recovery chamber is formed to be downwardly inclined with an angle of greater than or equal to two degrees and less than or equal to ten degrees.

12. The steam generator of claim 1, further comprising a water supply pump device configured to supply water to the first end of the first pipe.

13. The steam generator of claim 1, further comprising a recovery pump device configured to recover water from the first end of the first pipe.

14. The steam generator of claim 1, further comprising:

an insulation member configured to cover at least one outer surface between the recovery chamber and the heater device.

15. A clothes care apparatus comprising:

a main body comprising a clothes care room and a machine room; and

a steam generator disposed in the machine room and provided to supply steam to inside of the clothes care room,

wherein the steam generator comprises: a recovery chamber comprising a first inlet, a second inlet, a steam outlet, and a drain outlet, a first pipe configured to receive water through a first end of the first pipe and which is connected at a second end of the first pipe to the first inlet; a second pipe which is connected at a first end of the second pipe to the drain outlet and is connected at a second end of the second pipe to the second inlet; and a heater device configured to heat water moving through at least one of the first pipe and the second pipe.