Laundry treating apparatus

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a flow path selection part disposed in a pump disposed in a laundry treating apparatus. The flow path selection part includes a flow channel body including a drain flow passage having a drain inlet hole in communication with a first inlet and a drain outlet hole in communication with a first outlet defined therein, and a circulation flow passage having a circulation inlet hole in communication with a second inlet and a circulation outlet hole in communication with a second outlet defined therein, and a diaphragm accommodated inside the flow channel body to divide the drain flow passage and the circulation flow passage from each other, wherein the diaphragm closes the drain flow passage or closes the circulation flow passage based on a rotation direction of an impeller, and a direction from the drain inlet hole to the drain outlet hole is inclined with an extension direction of the first discharge pipe, and a direction from the circulation inlet hole to the circulation outlet hole is inclined with an extension direction of the second discharge pipe. Thus, a size of the pump itself may be minimized. In addition, during installation, contact with other components is prevented, so that damage to the pump and other components may be prevented as much as possible.

1 . A laundry treating apparatus comprising:
 a cabinet;   a tub disposed in the cabinet to provide a space for storing water therein;   a drum disposed to be rotatable in the tub and accommodating clothes therein; and   a drain pump located under the tub, wherein the drain pump discharges water in the tub to the outside of the cabinet or circulates water to the tub,   wherein the drain pump comprises:   a pump housing in communication with the tub to receive water from the tub, wherein the pump housing accommodates an impeller therein;   a first discharge passage extending from the pump housing and defined at a side where water is discharged by rotation of the impeller;   a second discharge passage spaced apart from the first discharge passage, wherein the second discharge passage extends from the pump housing and is defined at the side where water is discharged by the rotation of the impeller; and   a flow path selection part connected to the first discharge passage and the second discharge passage, wherein the flow path selection part is provided to discharge water to the outside of the cabinet or to circulate water to the tub based on a rotation direction of the impeller,   wherein the flow path selection part comprises:   a first inlet in communication with the first discharge passage, wherein water discharged from the first discharge passage is introduced into the first inlet;   a second inlet in communication with the second discharge passage,   wherein water discharged from the second discharge passage is introduced into the second inlet;   a first outlet in communication with the outside of the cabinet to guide water that has passed through the first inlet to the outside of the cabinet;   a second outlet in communication with the tub to guide water that has passed through the second inlet to the tub;   a flow channel body including a drain flow passage having a drain inlet hole in communication with the first inlet and a drain outlet hole in communication with the first outlet defined therein, and a circulation flow passage having a circulation inlet hole in communication with the second inlet and a circulation outlet hole in communication with the second outlet defined therein; and   a diaphragm accommodated inside the flow channel body to partition the drain flow passage and the circulation flow passage from each other, wherein the diaphragm closes the drain flow passage or closes the circulation flow passage based on the rotation direction of the impeller,   wherein a direction from the drain inlet hole to the drain outlet hole is inclined with an extension direction of the first discharge passage,   wherein a direction from the circulation inlet hole to the circulation outlet hole is inclined with an extension direction of the second discharge passage.   
     
     
         2 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein an extension length of the drain flow passage in the direction from the drain inlet hole to the drain outlet hole is greater than a diameter of the drain flow passage, wherein an extension length of the circulation flow passage in the direction from the circulation inlet hole to the circulation outlet hole is greater than a diameter of the circulation flow passage. 
     
     
         3 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the drain flow passage is defined in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the first discharge passage, wherein the circulation flow passage is defined in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the second discharge passage. 
     
     
         4 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first discharge pipe and the second discharge pipe extend in a direction away from a bottom surface of the cabinet,
 wherein the drain flow passage and the circulation flow passage are defined in parallel with the bottom surface of the cabinet.   
     
     
         5 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the drain inlet hole is spaced apart from the drain outlet hole in a direction in parallel with the bottom surface of the cabinet, wherein the circulation inlet hole is spaced apart from the circulation outlet hole in the direction in parallel with the bottom surface of the cabinet. 
     
     
         6 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the flow channel body further comprises:
 a drain closing surface disposed on one surface defining the drain flow passage, wherein the drain closing surface is able to be in contact with the diaphragm when the impeller rotates in one direction; and   a circulation closing surface disposed on the other surface defining the circulation flow passage, wherein the circulation closing surface is able to be in contact with the diaphragm when the impeller rotates in the other direction.   
     
     
         7 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the drain closing surface is disposed to be inclined in an extension direction of the drain flow passage, wherein the circulation closing surface is disposed to be inclined in an extension direction of the circulation flow passage. 
     
     
         8 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the drain closing surface is inclined to correspond to a flow direction of water introduced into the drain flow passage, wherein the circulation closing surface is inclined to correspond to a flow direction of water introduced into the circulation flow passage. 
     
     
         9 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the diaphragm is configured to:
 come into contact with an end of the drain closing surface and close the drain flow passage when the impeller rotates in a first direction; and   come into contact with an end of the circulation closing surface and close the drain flow passage when the impeller rotates in a second direction.   
     
     
         10 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the diaphragm is configured such that:
 a degree of protrusion deformation toward the drain closing surface in a case where the impeller rotates in a first direction is greater than a degree of protrusion deformation toward the circulation closing surface in a case where the impeller rotates in a second direction; and   a separation distance from a center of the diaphragm to the drain closing surface is greater than a separation distance from the center of the diaphragm to the circulation closing surface.   
     
     
         11 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the diaphragm is constructed such that:
 a degree of protrusion deformation toward the drain closing surface in the case where the impeller rotates in said one direction is smaller than a degree of protrusion deformation toward the circulation closing surface in the case where the impeller rotates in the other direction; and   a separation distance between the diaphragm and the drain closing surface is smaller than a separation distance between the diaphragm and the circulation closing surface when the diaphragm is located at a reference location.   
     
     
         12 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein a shape of a cross-section of the diaphragm corresponds to a shape of a cross-section of the flow channel body. 
     
     
         13 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein a length of the diaphragm along a first direction, an extension direction of the drain flow passage, is greater than a length of the diaphragm along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. 
     
     
         14 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 13 , wherein the diaphragm comprises:
 a first recess defined by being recessed in one surface of the diaphragm facing toward the drain flow passage; and   a second recess defined by being recessed in the other surface of the diaphragm facing toward the circulation flow passage.   
     
     
         15 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the first recess and the second recess includes a plurality of first recesss and a plurality of second recesss, respectively, wherein each first recess and each second recess are defined to be spaced apart from each other, wherein the first recess and the second recess are defined at locations not overlapping each other in a plan view. 
     
     
         16 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the flow channel body further comprises:
 a drain closing surface disposed on said one surface defining the drain flow passage, wherein the drain closing surface is able to be in contact with the diaphragm when the impeller rotates in one direction; and   a circulation closing surface disposed on the other surface defining the circulation flow passage, wherein the circulation closing surface is able to be in contact with the diaphragm when the impeller rotates in the other direction,   wherein the first recess is defined avoiding the drain closing surface so as not to be in contact with the drain closing surface, wherein the second recess is defined avoiding the circulation closing surface so as not to be in contact with the circulation closing surface.   
     
     
         17 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the diaphragm comprises:
 a first contact surface disposed on said one surface, wherein the first recess is not defined in the first contact surface; and   a second contact surface disposed on the other surface, wherein the second recess is not defined in the second contact surface,   wherein the first contact surface has an inclination corresponding to an inclination of the drain closing surface, wherein the second contact surface has an inclination corresponding to an inclination of the circulation closing surface.   
     
     
         18 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein a location where the first recess is defined in said one surface of the diaphragm is misaligned from a location where the second recess is defined in the other surface of the diaphragm in a direction away from a center of the diaphragm. 
     
     
         19 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the diaphragm comprises:
 a coupling portion coupled to the flow channel body; and   a deformable portion disposed inside the coupling portion and deformable to protrude toward the drain flow passage or the circulation flow passage based on the rotation direction of the impeller,   wherein the flow channel body includes a coupling seating portion recessed along a perimeter of the flow channel body such that the coupling portion may be seated thereon.   
     
     
         20 . The laundry treating apparatus of  claim 19 , wherein the diaphragm further comprises a coupling protrusion protruding from an outer surface of the coupling portion, wherein the flow channel body further comprises a coupling protrusion seating portion recessed at a location outward of the coupling seating portion so as to be coupled with the coupling protrusion.