The invention relates to a laundry treating appliance and method for controlling the operation of the laundry treating appliance by determining the surface area of the laundry based on image data of the laundry.

The present application encompasses methods and apparatus for heating a load such as clothes immersed in a medium such as water during a heating period. A method embodiment of the present invention comprises heating the load and medium within an enclosure by subjecting said load and medium to heated air originated from a conventional energy source; and applying heat to said load and medium within the enclosure via an AC electrical field, embodied as a capacitor, originated from an RF power source.

A disclosed dryer includes a receptacle configured to contain material to be dried, an air duct configured to route recirculating air and/or fresh air to the receptacle, a heating device configured to heat the recirculating air, and at least one sensor. The sensor is configured to determine a relative humidity and/or temperature, and the air duct includes at least one adjusting element configured to modify a portion of recirculating air routed to the receptacle. The dryer further includes a control or regulating device configured to control or regulate the portion of recirculating air routed to the receptacle and/or a heating capacity of the heating device during a drying process. A disclosed method includes controlling a portion of recirculating air routed to the receptacle and/or a heating capacity of the heating device. Further, a mixture of recirculating air and fresh air are varied during heat-up, drying, and cool-down phases.

A combination washer/dryer having a cabinet defining an interior, a tub provided within the interior, and a drum rotatably provided within the tub and defining a treating chamber, an induction coil carried by the tub and generating a magnetic field encompassing at least a portion of the container, and a cooling element providing on at least one of the tub or closure to form a cooled surface in fluid communication with the treating chamber.

Disclosed herein is a method of controlling a laundry treating apparatus, if a user selects a uniform course, including performing a preheating operation of a heater to generate steam, performing a first cooling operation to operate a blower unit and a moving hanger after the preheating operation has been terminated, performing a steam operation to operate the blower unit and a steam unit and to circulate steam to a treating chamber after the first cooling operation has been terminated, performing a standby operation to operate the blower unit after the steam operation has been terminated, performing a second cooling operation to operate the blower unit after the standby operation has been terminated, and performing a drying operation to operate the blower unit and a heat pump unit and to provide heat to the treating chamber to dry the treating chamber after the second cooling operation has been terminated.

A clothing management apparatus, comprising: an outer case; an inner case arrangeable inside the outer case to thereby form a clothing accommodation space; a heat exchanger; and a fan. The inner case comprises: an air supply port arrangeable on the top surface of the inner case and is for supplying the air flow to the clothing accommodation space; a first exhaust port arrangeable on a side surface between the bottom surface and the top surface of the inner case; and a second exhaust port arrangeable on the bottom surface of the inner case, wherein air introduced through the first exhaust port is discharged bypassing the heat exchanger and is directed to the fan, and air introduced through the second exhaust port is discharged by passing through the heat exchanger and directed to the fan.