Laundry treating apparatus and method of manufacturing a front cover for a laundry treating apparatus

Abstract

A laundry treating apparatus and a method of manufacturing a front cover for a laundry treating apparatus are provided herein. The method manufactures a front cover having an accurate desired shape using stainless steel having a unique metal color and gloss. The method of manufacturing a front cover for a laundry treating apparatus includes a drawing step to mold a front surface and a side surface of the front cover by drawing a stainless steel plate, a spring back reducing step to reduce a spring back of the drawn stainless steel plate, and a cutting step to cut the front cover from the stainless steel plate.

1 . A method of manufacturing a metal cover for an appliance, comprising:
 conducting a drawing step on a metal plate to form a front surface and side surfaces of the cover; and   conducting a spring back reducing step on the metal plate.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein conducting the spring back reducing step comprises reducing a residual stress in at least one side surface of the cover. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein conducting the spring back reducing step comprises simultaneously reducing a residual stress in all of the side surfaces. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a residual stress exists in a side surface of the cover after the drawing step is conducted, wherein the residual stress can be resolved into a first residual stress acting in a longitudinal direction of the side surface and a second residual stress acting in a direction perpendicular to the side surface, and wherein conducting the spring back reducing step results in the first residual stress being larger than the second residual stress. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein conducting the spring back reducing step results in the first residual stress being two or more times as great as the second residual stress. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein conducting the spring back reducing step comprises elongating at least one side surface formed in the metal plate. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein conducting the spring back reducing step comprises simultaneously elongating all of the side surfaces formed in the metal plate. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein conducting the drawing step also results in the formation of flange portions which extend away from corresponding ones of the side surfaces at an angle. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein conducting the spring back reducing step also comprises elongating at least one flange portion. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein conducting the spring back reducing step results in the formation of a stepped portion on each of the flange portions. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising cutting at least one circular door opening in the plate prior to conducting the drawing step. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein conducting the drawing step comprises forming a recess in the plate for the door opening. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein conducting the drawing step comprises simultaneously forming the front surface, the side surfaces and the recess during the same drawing step. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein conducting the drawing step results in the formation of at least one side surface having a depth of more than approximately 2 cm and a length of more than 40 cm. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising conducting a cutting step to remove excess portions of the metal plate. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein conducting the drawing step comprises conducting the drawing step on a stainless steel plate. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the drawing step results in the front surface and two mutually perpendicular side surfaces forming a continuously formed corner of the cover. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the drawing step results in the front surface and four side surfaces being continuously formed from the metal plate. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein no joining processes are used to connect the front surface and the side surfaces. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 19 , wherein no joining processes are used to join adjacent side surfaces to each other. 
   
   
       21 . A front cover for a laundry treating apparatus manufactured by the method of  claim 1 . 
   
   
       22 . A laundry treating apparatus comprising the front cover of  claim 21 . 
   
   
       23 . A method of manufacturing a metal cover for an appliance, comprising:
 conducting a drawing step on a metal plate to form a front surface and continuously formed side surfaces; and   conducting a residual stress reducing step to reduce residual stresses formed in the side surfaces during the drawing step.   
   
   
       24 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the drawing step results in adjacent side surfaces of the cover being continuously formed with each other without the need for a separate joining step. 
   
   
       25 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein conducting the residual stress reducing step comprises elongating the side surfaces. 
   
   
       26 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the residual stress in each of the side surfaces can be resolved into a first residual stress acting in a longitudinal direction of the side surface and a second residual stress acting in a direction perpendicular to the side surface, and wherein conducting the residual stress reducing step results in the first residual stress being larger than the second residual stress. 
   
   
       27 . The method of  claim 23 , wherein the metal plate comprises a stainless steel plate. 
   
   
       28 . A front cover for a laundry treating apparatus manufactured by the method of  claim 23 . 
   
   
       29 . A laundry treating apparatus comprising the front cover of  claim 28 .