CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0139308, filed on Nov. 13, 2018 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure relates to a clothes handling apparatus, and more particularly, to a clothes handling apparatus that allows a user to easily change a door opening direction (left hand opening or right hand opening).

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a clothes handling apparatus may include a washer which washes clothes and a dryer which dries the clothes.

The washer may include a rotatable drum and remove contaminants (foreign substances) attached to clothes by using a mechanical action by rotation of the drum and a chemical action by a detergent. The washer may be a front loading type in which an opening for putting laundry (load) in the drum is provided at a front surface of a main body of the washer or may be a top loading type in which the opening is provided at an upper surface of the main body of the washer.

The dryer may also include a rotatable drum and remove moisture from clothes using a mechanical action by rotation of the drum and a high-temperature dry hot air. Nowadays, most dryers are a front loading type in which an opening for putting laundry (load) in the drum is provided at a front surface of a main body of the dryer.

A user may use a front-loading type washer and a front-loading type dryer together.

In this case, for convenience of the user, a door opening direction of the washer and a door opening direction of the dryer may be different. For example, when the washer is disposed at the left side of the dryer and the dryer is disposed at the right side of the washer, the washer may include a left hand opening door which opens from the left side, and the dryer may include a right hand opening door which opens from the right side.

Generally, a washer and a dryer each include a left hand opening door which opens from the left side. Therefore, for convenience of a user, a left hand opening door of any one of a washer and a dryer may be changed to a right hand opening door which opens from the right side.

In the conventional washer and dryer, since a front panel of a main body has to be removed to change a left hand opening door to a right hand opening door, it is difficult for a user to change a door opening direction by himself or herself.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide a clothes handling apparatus that allows a user to easily change a door opening direction.

It is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide a clothes handling apparatus that allows a user to change a door opening direction without removing a front panel of a main body.

It is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide a clothes handling apparatus that allows a door to be locked even when a user changes an opening direction of the door.

It is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide a clothes handling apparatus that includes a pair of door locking devices installed at both sides of an opening for putting clothes in a drum.

It is an aspect of the present disclosure to provide a clothes handling apparatus in which a pair of door locking devices are formed to be symmetrical to each other.

Additional aspects of the disclosure will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the disclosure.

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a clothes handling apparatus includes a cabinet having an opening formed in a front surface thereof, a door configured to open or close the opening, and a door lock including a first door latch installed at a right side of the opening and provided to lock the door and a second door latch installed at a left side of the opening and provided to lock the door. The door may be rotatably installed at the left side of the opening or rotatably installed at the right side of the opening, and the first door latch or the second door latch may lock the door depending on whether the door is installed at the left side or the right side of the opening.

The first door latch may be provided to lock the door rotatably installed at the left side of the opening. The second door latch may be provided to lock the door rotatably installed at the right side of the opening.

The door may include a door base configured to open or close the opening, a door hinge rotatably installed at one end of the door base, and a lever tip installed at the other end of the door base. The door hinge may be removably installed at the left side of the opening or removably installed at the right side of the opening.

The lever tip may be locked by the first door latch when the door hinge is installed at the left side of the opening and may be locked by the second door latch when the door hinge is installed at the right side of the opening.

The clothes handling apparatus may further include a closure detector configured to detect closure of the door and a controller configured to control the door lock to lock the door in response to detection of the closure of the door by the closure detector.

The first door latch and the second door latch may be connected in parallel with the controller.

The first door latch and the second door latch may be connected in series with the controller.

The first door latch and the second door latch may be formed to be symmetrical to each other.

The first door latch and the second door latch may each include a closure detection switch provided to detect closure of the door, a solenoid provided to lock the door on the basis of detection of the closure of the door by the closure detection switch, and a locking detection switch provided to detect locking of the door.

The closure detection switch, a locking slider, the solenoid, and the locking detection switch of the first door latch may be disposed to be vertically symmetrical to the closure detection switch, a locking slider, the solenoid, and the locking detection switch of the second door latch.

In each of the first door latch and the second door latch, the closure detection switch and the solenoid may be connected in series with each other. The locking detection switch may be connected in parallel with the closure detection switch and the solenoid.

The first door latch and the second door latch may each further include a controller configured to output a door locking signal thereto. The solenoid may lock the door in response to the door locking signal while the closure detection switch is closed.

The locking detection switch may be closed by the solenoid. The controller may identify whether the door is locked on the basis of whether the locking detection switch is closed.

The first door latch and the second door latch may each include a catch cap caught by the lever tip provided in the door, a door slider configured to move from a first position to a second position due to the closed door and turn on the closure detection switch at the second position, and a locking slider configured to move from a third position to a fourth position due to the solenoid and fix the catch cap and turn on the locking detection switch at the fourth position.

The clothes handling apparatus may further include a closure detector configured to detect closure of the door and a controller configured to control the door lock to lock the door in response to detection of the closure of the door by the closure detector. The first door latch and the second door latch may each include a closure detection switch configured to be closed in response to the closure of the door, a solenoid provided to lock the door in response to a signal from the controller while the closure detection switch is closed, and a locking detection switch configured to be closed in response to locking of the door. The controller may identify whether the door is locked on the basis of whether the locking detection switch is closed.

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a clothes handling apparatus includes a cabinet having an opening formed in a front surface thereof, a door configured to open or close the opening, a door lock including a first door latch installed at a right side of the opening and provided to lock the door and a second door latch installed at a left side of the opening and provided to lock the door, and a controller configured to control the door lock to lock the door. The first door latch and the second door latch may be connected in parallel with the controller.

The first door latch may be provided to lock the door independently of an operation of the second door latch in response to a signal from the controller. The second door latch may be provided to lock the door independently of an operation of the first door latch in response to a signal from the controller.

In accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure, a clothes handling apparatus includes a cabinet having an opening formed in a front surface thereof, a door configured to open or close the opening, and a door lock including a first door latch installed at a right side of the opening and provided to lock the door and a second door latch installed at a left side of the opening and provided to lock the door. The door may be rotatably installed at the left side of the opening or rotatably installed at the right side of the opening. The first door latch and the second door latch may be formed to be symmetrical to each other.

The first door latch and the second door latch may each include a closure detection switch provided to detect closure of the door, a solenoid provided to lock the door on the basis of detection of the closure of the door by the closure detection switch, and a locking detection switch provided to detect locking of the door.

The closure detection switch, a locking slider, the solenoid, and the locking detection switch of the first door latch may be disposed to be vertically symmetrical to the closure detection switch, a locking slider, the solenoid, and the locking detection switch of the second door latch.

