Background Art [2] Generally, there have been known several methods of disposing food wastes : fermenting, incinerating, recycling for animal feed and plant fertilizer, and burying in the earth, all of which not only require a large-scale facility, but also give rise to various harmful effects such as unpleasant odors or inconvenience resulting from rec- ollection, transportation or storage together with a serious social problem known as en- vironment pollution.

[3] Such problems are solved by Korean Utility Model Registration No. 288,525 issued to the applicant, in which is directed to a kind of a household food waste treatment apparatus having pulverizing and drying functions so as to completely dewater food wastes to drastically reduce their volume and then to utilize the dewatered food wastes as manure, e. g. , for plants in flowerpots, gardens and so forth.

Disclosure of Invention Technical Solution [4] It is, therefore, an objective of the present invention to provide a food waste treatment apparatus, in which an entire food waste is rapidly and efficiently dried, and a circulating air emitting a malodor is firmly discharged outside.

[5] It is another objective of the present invention to provide a food waste treatment apparatus capable of charging a food waste with ease and providing convenience of use.

[6] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a food waste treatment apparatus. In the food waste treatment apparatus, a main body includes an upper panel which is formed with a charged opening through which the food waste is charged; a middle panel which is formed with a connection hole communicating with the charged opening formed at the upper panel, an air channel guiding a air stream around the connection hole and a plurality of circulating air inlets reintroducing and discharging circulating air on the air channel; and a lower case formed with an opening on one side thereof and coupled with a lower portion of the middle panel. A dryer is provided in the main body and blowing heated air to dry the food waste. A food waste container inserted in and drawn from the opening of the lower case and ac- commodating the food waste charged through the charged opening of the upper panel.

And, a front panel coupled to a front surface of the main body at a predetermined distance and having a controller controlling operation of the dryer.

[7] The middle panel is provided with the air channel formed by an air channel defining member on an edge thereof, the connection hole surrounded by the air channel defining member on an inner side thereof, an inlet opened downward on one outer side of the air channel defining member, a dryer receptacle, a blowhole opened downward and blowing external air and circulating air circulating the air channel formed by an air channel defining member and an outlet discharging the air emitting a malodor, on the other outer side of the air channel defining member, a first circulating air inlet formed opposite to the inlet in the air channel defining member; and second and third circulating air inlets formed laterally in the air channel defining member.

[8] The dryer is provided in the dryer receptacle of the middle panel, and comprises a motor, a blowing fan rotatably connected to a shaft of the motor, and a far-infrared lamp provided in the blowhole, and discharges heated air toward the blowhole.

[9] The charged opening of the upper panel is opened/closed by an openable cover having a hooked projection connected with a hooking holder of an openable panel.

[10] The lower case comprises a retainer for receiving at least one of a deodorizer and an antimicrobial.

[11] The outlet is connected with an air duct.

[12] The charged opening of the upper panel is further provided with a charging guide for guiding charging of the food waste and for preventing the circulating air emitting a malodor from being leaked outside.

Description of Drawings [13] The above and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by describing in detail preferred em- bodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which: [14] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a food waste treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [15] FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of a food waste treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [16] FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of a food waste treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [17] FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view illustrating opening and closing operations of a food waste treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; and [18] FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view illustrating an air stream of a food waste treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Best Mode [19] The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these em- bodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the thickness of layers and regions are exaggerated for clarity. In addition, when a layer is described to be formed on other layer or on a substrate, which means that the layer may be formed on the other layer or on the substrate, or a third layer may be interposed between the layer and the other layer or the substrate. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the specification.

[20] FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a food waste treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the food waste treatment apparatus comprises a main body and a front panel attached to a front surface of the main body, wherein the main body includes an upper panel 120 having a charged opening 122 which is provided on an upper portion of the main body and is opened and closed by an openable cover 110, a middle panel lD provided with a dryer, and a lower case 160 having a food waste container 180 seated therein.

[21] The upper panel 120 is formed with the charged opening 122 to which a charging guide 126 is coupled on one side of the upper portion of the main body, wherein the food waste is charged into the charging guide 126. The charged opening 122 coupled with the charging guide 126 is opened or closed by the openable cover 110.

[22] The openable cover 110 is formed with a hooked projection 112 on one side of an upper portion thereof, wherein the projection 112 is connected with a hooking holder 132 of an openable panel 130 provided in an outer case or an inner upper portion of a sink.

[23] The openable panel 130 is formed on one side thereof with the hooking holder 132 connected with the hooked projection 112 of the openable cover 110.

[24] FIG. 2 is a top perspective view of the middle panel 1Q, and FIG. 3 is a bottom perspective view of the middle panel 1Q. As shown, the middle panel 14D comprises an air channel defining member 142. Between the edge of the middle panel lD and the air channel defining member 142 is formed an air channel. Further, an inner side of the middle panel lD surrounded by the air channel defining member 142 is provided with a connection hole 144 through which the food waste from the charging guide 126 is charged into the food waste container 180. On one outer side of the air channel defining member 142 is formed an inlet 143 which is opened downward. On the other outer side of the air channel defining member 142 are formed a dryer receptacle 146, a blowhole 147 through which external air blows, and an outlet 145 through which the air emitting a malodor is discharged. The outlet 145 is additionally connected with an air duct 145a (see FIG. 5) and then connected to a drain pipe of the sink, thereby rapidly discharging the air emitting the malodor to the outside.

[25] Further, around the air channel defining member 142 is provided a first circulating air inlet 141, a second circulating air inlet 148, and a third circulating air inlet 149, wherein the first circulating air inlet 141 is opposite to the inlet 143, and the second and third circulating air inlets 148 and 149 are laterally formed.

[26] The dryer comprises a blowing fan and a motor for driving the blowing fan. In the blowhole 147 is provided a far-infrared lamp 154 to heat the air flowing into the food waste container 180.

[27] The lower case 160 is coupled with the middle panel 1Q. The lower case 160 are formed with an opening 163 opened and closed by a door 162, so that the food waste container 180 can be easily inserted in and drawn from the lower case 160. Preferably, the door 162 is rotatably opened/closed by variable arms 164 which are hinged to opposite inner walls of the lower case 160. Further, the lower case 160 comprises a pair of sliders 166 on the bottom thereof to allow the food waste container 180 to be easily inserted in and drawn from the lower case 160.

[28] The food waste container 160 is seated in the lower case 160 with spaced a certain distance apart from the bottom of the lower case 160.

[29] Further, the lower case 160 is provided with a retainer 167 on one inner wall thereof, wherein the retainer 167 receives a deodorizer and/or an antimicrobial.

[30] The front panel 190 is attached to the front surface of the main body, which is composed of the upper panel 120, the middle panel lD and the lower case 160, at a predetermined distance or with a gap. Thus, external air is introduced through the gap from the lower portion of the front panel 190 or the main body. The front panel 190 comprises a recessed grip 194 on one side thereof so as to enable a user to con- veniently draw the food waste treatment apparatus from the sink, and a control panel 192 with a printed circuit board (PCB) to control operations of the food waste treatment apparatus.

[31] On the basis of the embodiment of the present invention configured as set forth above, the food waste treatment apparatus will be described in connection with its operation and effects.

[32] When the food waste is intended to be charged into the food waste treatment apparatus, as shown in Fig. 4, the hooked projection 112 of the openable cover 110 is connected to the hooking holder 132 of the openable panel 130 provided in the external case or the inner upper portion of the sink, so that the openable cover 110 is automatically opened, thereby exposing the charged opening 122 which is provided in the upper panel 120 and coupled with the charging guide 126.

[33] As for drying operation with reference to FIGs. 2,3 and 5, the external air introduced from the lower portion of the front panel 190 and the internal air existing in the food waste treatment apparatus are compelled to pass through the blowhole 147 in which the far-infrared lamp 154 provided in the middle panel 14D is mounted, by means of the blowing fan 152, so that the heated air introduced into the food waste container 180. Then, the heated air going by a superficial layer of the food waste flows from the inlet 143 toward the air channel formed in the middle channel 1Q. Then, a part of the air is circulated again from the blowhole 147 to the inlet 143, thereby forming a circulating air stream (indicated by arrows in the drawings). Thus, the circulating air stream dries the food waste repeatedly. Meanwhile, another part of the air passes through the inlet 145 and is discharged to the outside via the air duct 145a.

[34] Further, the remaining circulating air stream is introduced from three sides through the first, second and third circulating air inlets 141,148 and 149, and then discharged through the blowhole 147, thereby enhancing efficiency of drying the food waste.

[35] Finally, to dispose the dried food waste, as shown in FIG. 4, the food waste container 180 is drawn from the lower case 160 after opening the door 162 of the lower case 160.

[36] As described above, the present invention provides a food waste treatment apparatus, in which the food waste is rapidly and efficiently dried, and air emitting a malodor is circulated in the food waste treatment apparatus and thus fully discharged.

[37] Further, the present invention provides a food waste treatment apparatus, in which a cover is automatically opened when the food waste treatment apparatus is drawn from an external case, thereby allowing a user to easily put the food waste to the food waste treatment apparatus.

[38] Still further, the present invention provides a food waste treatment apparatus, in which a holder for a deodorizer and/or an antimicrobial is provided in the food waste treatment apparatus and polluted air is discharged through an air duct, thereby ef- fectively deodorizing the food waste, wherein the food waste is likely to have a malodor because it is stored for a long time to be dealt at once.