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US 7,610,778 B2Granted
Washing machine
AssigneeLG Electronics Inc.
InventorsSoo Young Oh, Kyung Chul Woo, Jin Woong Kim, Si Moon Jeon
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A washing machine includes a tub disposed inside a cabinet, for storing water; a drum rotatably disposed inside the tub, for washing laundry; and a steam generating apparatus disposed at the cabinet, for generating steam supplied to the inside of the drum, by using high-frequency induction heating. Accordingly, by generating steam using high-frequency induction heating, a structure of the steam generating apparatus can be simplified, and performance of generating steam can be improved.
Claims27
A laundry machine comprising:
- a drum configured to rotate about a horizontal axis;
- a tub located outside the drum;
- a steam generating apparatus configured to generate steam by heating water, the steam generating apparatus including:
- a tubular member;
- and
- a heating system, at least a portion of the heating system being located outside the tubular member;
- a steam supply line configured to provide a passage to the steam generated by the steam generating apparatus such that the steam can be supplied inside the drum of the laundry machine;
- a water supply line configured to provide a passage to the water to be supplied to the steam generating apparatus;
- a water supply valve configured to open/close the water supply line;
- and
- a water supply tube configured to supply washing water into the tub separately from the water supply line.
8 more elements
A laundry machine comprising:
- a drum configured to rotate about a horizontal axis;
- a steam generating apparatus configured to generate steam by heating water, the steam generating apparatus including:
- a tubular member;
- and
- a heating system, at least a portion of the heating system being located outside the tubular member, the heating system including a coil located around the outer circumference of the tubular member so as not to contact the water used to generate steam;
- and
- a steam supply line configured to provide a passage to the steam generated by the steam generating apparatus such that the steam can be supplied inside the drum of the laundry machine.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.