Laundry treating apparatus

Abstract

A laundry treating apparatus includes: a drum and a lifter that is disposed at an inner circumferential surface of the drum, that revolves, and that includes a frame cover and a lifter frame including (i) a frame base coupled to the inner circumferential surface and including a seating groove provided along a circumference of the frame base, (ii) a frame upper plate spaced apart from the frame base toward a center of the drum, (iii) a frame sidewall connecting the frame upper plate to the frame base, and (iv) a pair of insertion protrusions that protrude from an inner surface of the lifter frame. A pair of mounting slots are defined in the drum such that the pair of insertion protrusions are inserted into the drum through the pair of mounting slots to couple the lifter frame to the inner circumferential surface of the drum.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A laundry treating apparatus comprising:
 a drum configured to rotate about a rotation axis extending in a front-rear direction of the drum; and   a lifter that is disposed at an inner circumferential surface of the drum such that a longitudinal direction of the lifter corresponds to the front-rear direction of the drum and that is configured to, based on the drum rotating, revolve around the rotation axis,   wherein the lifter comprises a lifter frame disposed at the inner circumferential surface of the drum and a frame cover that is coupled to the lifter frame and that protrudes radially inward from the inner circumferential surface of the drum,   wherein the lifter frame comprises (i) a frame base that is coupled to the inner circumferential surface of the drum and that includes a seating groove provided along a circumference of the frame base, (ii) a frame upper plate spaced apart from the frame base toward a center of the drum, (iii) a frame sidewall connecting the frame upper plate to the frame base, and (iv) a pair of insertion protrusions that protrude from an inner surface of the lifter frame at a central portion of the inner surface with respect to a longitudinal direction of the lifter frame, and   wherein a pair of mounting slots are defined in the drum such that the pair of insertion protrusions are inserted into the drum through the pair of mounting slots to couple the lifter frame to the inner circumferential surface of the drum.   
     
     
         2 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the pair of insertion protrusions are symmetric to each other with respect to the longitudinal direction of the lifter frame. 
     
     
         3 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein each of the pair of insertion protrusions comprises:
 a vertical portion extending downward from a bottom surface of the frame base; and   a catching portion angled from a lower end of the vertical portion toward a center of the frame base.   
     
     
         4 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the lifter frame further comprises a fastening boss protruding from the inner surface of the lifter frame toward the inner circumferential surface of the drum, and a fastening hole is defined in the drum such that the fastening boss and the fastening hole are fastened to each other by a fastening member. 
     
     
         5 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the fastening hole includes a pair of fastening holes that are disposed diagonally to each other with respect to a center line along the longitudinal direction of the lifter. 
     
     
         6 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the fastening boss protrudes from an inner surface of the frame upper plate toward the inner circumferential surface of the drum. 
     
     
         7 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the lifter comprises:
 a plurality of front lifters disposed along a circumferential direction of the drum; and   a plurality of rear lifters disposed behind the front lifters along the circumferential direction of the drum.   
     
     
         8 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein a center line of the plurality of front lifters along the longitudinal direction and a center line of the plurality of rear lifters along the longitudinal direction are different. 
     
     
         9 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the frame cover comprises:
 a cover upper plate having an inner surface that faces the frame upper plate; and   a cover sidewall having a lower end and an upper end,   wherein the lower end of the cover sidewall is mounted on the seating groove, and the upper end of the cover sidewall is connected to the cover upper plate.   
     
     
         10 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein:
 a coupling tab is protrudes from a lower end portion of the frame cover,   a tab binding port, into which the coupling tab is inserted based on the lifter frame being coupled to the frame cover, is defined inside the seating groove of the lifter frame, and   a tab guide portion is provided at the frame sidewall, protrudes toward the tab binding port, and has a shape including an inclined surface.   
     
     
         11 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the seating groove forms a closed curve along the circumference of the frame base, and a horizontal projection plane of the pair of insertion protrusions is positioned within the closed curve of the seating groove. 
     
     
         12 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the lifter frame is made of a synthetic resin material, and the frame cover is made of a metal material. 
     
     
         13 . A laundry treating apparatus comprising:
 a washing tub configured to receive washing water;   a drum configured to rotate about a rotation axis extending in a front-rear direction within the washing tub; and   a lifter that is disposed at an inner circumferential surface of the drum such that a longitudinal direction of the lifter corresponds to the front-rear direction of the drum and that is configured to, based on the drum rotating, revolve around the rotation axis,   wherein the lifter comprises (i) a lifter frame disposed at the inner circumferential surface of the drum and (ii) a frame cover that is coupled to the lifter frame and that protrudes radially inward from the inner circumferential surface of the drum,   wherein a pair of insertion protrusions protrude from an inner surface of the lifter frame that is a central portion of the inner surface with respect to a longitudinal direction of the lifter frame in a plane view of the lifter frame, such that, based on the lifter frame being coupled to the inner circumferential surface of the drum, the pair of insertion protrusions are inserted into a pair of mounting slots defined in the drum.   
     
     
         14 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the pair of insertion protrusions are symmetric to each other with respect to the longitudinal direction of the lifter frame. 
     
     
         15 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein each of the pair of insertion protrusions comprises:
 a vertical portion extending downward from a bottom surface of the lifter frame; and   a catching portion angled from a lower end of the vertical portion toward a center of the lifter frame.   
     
     
         16 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the lifter frame comprises a fastening boss protruding from the inner surface of the lifter frame toward the inner circumferential surface of the drum, and a fastening hole is defined in the drum such that the fastening boss and the fastening hole are fastened to each other by a fastening member. 
     
     
         17 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the fastening hole includes a pair of fastening holes that are disposed diagonally to each other with respect to a center line along the longitudinal direction of the lifter. 
     
     
         18 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the lifter comprises:
 a plurality of front lifters disposed along a circumferential direction of the drum; and   a plurality of rear lifters disposed behind the front lifters along the circumferential direction of the drum.   
     
     
         19 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 18 , wherein a center line of the front lifters along the longitudinal direction and a center line of the rear lifters along the longitudinal direction are different. 
     
     
         20 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the lifter frame is made of a synthetic resin material, and the frame cover is made of a metal material.