Clothing processing apparatus

Abstract

The present invention relates to a clothing processing apparatus comprising: a cabinet forming the external appearance; an inner case forming a clothing processing space in which clothes are accommodated; a machine room located under the inner case within the cabinet; an evaporator and a condenser provided within the machine room; a heat supply part including a compressor which supplies compressed refrigerant to the condenser; a circulation duct providing a flow path through which air in the clothing processing space is circulated; and a base part supporting the bottom of the circulation duct, wherein: the circulation duct includes a duct body in which the evaporator and the condenser are accommodated and an air discharge part which extends backward from the duct body and guides air introduced into the duct body out of the circulation duct; and the air discharge part is provided to have a smaller diameter than the width of the duct body.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A laundry treatment apparatus comprising:
 a cabinet defining an appearance of the laundry treatment apparatus;   an inner case provided in the cabinet, the inner case defining a laundry treatment space configured to receive laundry therein and having an opening through which the laundry is introduced and taken out;   a machine compartment positioned at a lower portion of the inner case in the cabinet;   a heat supply comprising an evaporator, which is provided in the machine compartment so as to remove moisture from air introduced from the laundry treatment space, a condenser configured to heat the air introduced from the laundry treatment space, and a compressor configured to supply compressed refrigerant to the condenser;   a circulation duct provided in the machine compartment and defining a flow channel in which the air in the laundry treatment space is circulated; and   a base provided in the machine compartment so as to support a lower portion of the circulation duct,   wherein the circulation duct comprises:   a duct body configured to receive the evaporator and the condenser therein; and   an air discharge portion which extends backwards from the duct body to guide air introduced into the duct body to an outside of the circulation duct, and   wherein a diameter of the air discharge portion is smaller than a width of the duct body.   
     
     
         2 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the air discharge portion comprises:
 an air extension pipe which extends backwards from the duct body to guide air in the duct body; and   an air discharge pipe which extends backwards to discharge the air in the duct body to an outside of the duct body.   
     
     
         3 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein an interior cross-sectional area of the air extension pipe decreases in a direction in which the air extension pipe extends, and an interior cross-sectional area of the air discharge pip increases in a direction in which the air discharge pipe extends. 
     
     
         4 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein an inside diameter of the air extension pipe decreases in a direction in which the air extension pipe extends, and an extent to which the inside diameter of the air extension pipe decreases in the direction in which the air extension pipe extends. 
     
     
         5 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein a gradient of an inner surface of the air extension pipe relative to a direction in which the air extension pipe extends is different from a gradient of an inner surface of the air discharge pipe relative to a direction in which the air discharge pipe extends. 
     
     
         6 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein an inside diameter of a portion at which the air extension pipe and the air discharge pipe are connected to each other is smallest among inside diameters of other portions of the air extension pipe and the air discharge pipe. 
     
     
         7 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the circulation duct further comprises a heat exchanger installation portion which is provided in the duct body and in which the evaporator and the condenser are installed, and
 wherein a length of the air extension pipe in a forward/backward direction is less than a length of the heat exchanger installation portion in the forward/backward direction.   
     
     
         8 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 2 , wherein the circulation duct further comprises an installation partition wall which projects from an inner lateral surface of the duct body and is disposed in front of the evaporator, and
 wherein a length of the air extension pipe in a forward/backward direction is less than a distance between the installation partition wall and the air extension pipe.   
     
     
         9 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the installation partition wall partially supports a front surface of the evaporator. 
     
     
         10 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a fan installation portion which is coupled to the air discharge portion so as to allow the inner case to communicate with the circulation duct and to circulate air in the laundry treatment space. 
     
     
         11 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the air discharge portion comprises:
 an air extension pipe which extends backwards from the duct body to guide air in the duct body; and   an air discharge pipe which extends backwards from the air extension pipe to discharge the air in the duct body to an outside of the duct body, and   wherein the fan installation portion is coupled to the air discharge pipe.   
     
     
         12 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the base comprises a compressor installation portion configured to provide a space in which the compressor is installed, and
 wherein the compressor is installed to the compressor installation portion and is disposed so as to overlap the air discharge portion in a width direction of the base.   
     
     
         13 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprises a controller which is provided in the machine compartment so as to control the compressor, and
 wherein the air discharge portion is disposed so as to overlap the controller in a height direction of the cabinet.   
     
     
         14 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the circulation duct and the base are integrally formed. 
     
     
         15 . The laundry treatment apparatus of  claim 14 , wherein the duct body and the air discharge portion are integrally formed.