Laundry treatment apparatus

Abstract

A laundry treatment apparatus including a support body for supporting laundry, an air supply unit for supplying air into laundry hung on the support body, and a tensile force provision unit for providing a tensile force to the laundry hung on the support body.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A laundry treatment apparatus comprising:
 a support body for supporting laundry;   an air supply unit for supplying air into laundry hung on the support body; and   a tensile force provision unit for providing a tensile force to the laundry hung on the support body.   
     
     
         2 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the tensile force provision unit is separably connected to the support body. 
     
     
         3 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the tensile force provision unit is separably connected to the laundry hung on the support body. 
     
     
         4 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the tensile force provision unit enables at least some of the air supplied into the laundry to flow back toward the air supply unit. 
     
     
         5 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the tensile force provision unit comprises:
 a tensile force provision body for spacing apart the inner circumferential surface parts of the laundry from each other by a predetermined distance; and   a fixing part separably attached to the laundry for connecting the tensile force provision body to the laundry.   
     
     
         6 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 an attachment and detachment part for separably coupling the tensile force provision body to the support body.   
     
     
         7 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the attachment and detachment part comprises:
 a first attachment and detachment part provided at one selected from between the support body and the tensile force provision body; and   a second attachment and detachment part provided at the other selected from between the support body and the tensile force provision body such that the second attachment and detachment part is configure to couple the first attachment and detachment part.   
     
     
         8 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 7 , further comprising:
 an inlet port provided in the support body such that the air supply unit is coupled to the inlet port;   a first discharge port provided in the support body for allowing air introduced through the inlet port to be discharged toward the tensile force provision body; and   a second discharge port and a third discharge port provided in the support body for allowing the air introduced through the inlet port to be discharged toward respective sleeves of the laundry.   
     
     
         9 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 8 , further comprising:
 a guide body located under the inlet port;   a through hole formed in the guide body for guiding the air introduced through the inlet port to the first discharge port;   a first inclined surface provided on the guide body for guiding the air introduced through the inlet port to the second discharge port; and   a second inclined surface provided on the guide body for guiding the air introduced through the inlet port to the third discharge port.   
     
     
         10 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the tensile force provision unit comprises:
 a tensile force provision body for spacing apart the inner circumferential surface parts of the laundry from each other by a predetermined distance;   a tensile force provision body receiving part separably connected to the support body for receiving the tensile force provision body; and   a fixing part separably attached to the laundry for connecting the tensile force provision body receiving part to the laundry.   
     
     
         11 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the tensile force provision unit further comprises an extension part provided at the tensile force provision body such that the extension part can be withdrawn from the tensile force provision body. 
     
     
         12 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the attachment and detachment part comprises:
 a first attachment and detachment part provided at one selected from between the support body and the tensile force provision body receiving part; and   a second attachment and detachment part provided at the other selected from between the support body and the tensile force provision body receiving part such that the second attachment and detachment part is configured to couple the first attachment and detachment part.   
     
     
         13 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 a receiving recess provided in the tensile force provision body receiving part for adjusting a distance between the tensile force provision body and the support body.   
     
     
         14 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the tensile force provision unit comprises:
 a tensile force provision body separably connected to the support body; and   an expansion part for connecting the tensile force provision body to the support body, the expansion part being configured such that a volume of the expansion part is increased by air supplied from the air supply unit when the air supply unit is operated.   
     
     
         15 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the expansion part comprises:
 a first expansion body for connecting the tensile force provision body to the support body, the first expansion body being configured such that a volume of the first expansion body is increased when air is supplied from the air supply unit ; and   a second expansion body and a third expansion body connected to the first expansion body such that volumes of the second expansion body and the third expansion body increase, the second expansion body and the third expansion body being inserted into respective sleeves of the laundry.   
     
     
         16 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein at least one selected from between the second expansion body and the third expansion body has a higher rate of expansion than the first expansion body. 
     
     
         17 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 an inlet port formed through the support body for allowing an inside of the expansion part and an outside of the support body to communicate with each other therethrough, wherein   the air supply unit is provided in the inlet port.   
     
     
         18 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 14 , further comprising:
 a connection part for separably coupling the tensile force provision body to the support body.   
     
     
         19 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 18 , further comprising:
 a receiving recess for receiving the expansion part in a state in which a volume of the expansion part does not increase.   
     
     
         20 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the connection part comprises a flange provided along an outer circumferential surface of an upper end of the receiving recess for receiving an outer circumferential surface of the support body.