A laundry treating apparatus may include a drum in which laundry is stored, an air flow passage through which air is circulated, and a heating duct configured to supply hot air to the drum. The air flow passage and heating duct may be configured to prevent or reduce or cooling or condensing of moisture in the circulated air. A steam compressor may be provided to compress some of the air flowing through the air flow passage.

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 heater arrangement for a multi-compartment appliance comprises a first heater, a second heater, and a relay. The first heater is disposed within a first airflow path for a first dryer compartment. The second heater is disposed within a second airflow path for a second dryer compartment. The relay interconnects, via an electrical harness, the first and second heaters. The relay, responsive to a demand for heat to the first dryer compartment and the first heater having a temperature being less than a target temperature, diverts power to the first heater.

A washing machine includes: a tub; a drum of metal material configured to be rotated in the tub; an induction heater configured to be fixed to the tub in a state of being separated from the drum, and to heat the drum; a first temperature sensor configured to have a tube of metal material heated by the induction heater and a thermistor disposed in the tube, at least a part of the tube being exposed between the tub and the drum; a second temperature sensor configured to be disposed in a position further away than the first temperature sensor from the induction heater in a circumferential direction, and detect a temperature of air between the tub and the drum; and a controller configured to control the induction heater based on a first detection value of the first temperature sensor and a second detection value of the second temperature sensor.

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 appliance may include a cabinet, a tub, a laundry basket, a heater, and a controller. The laundry basket may be rotatably mounted within the tub and define a chamber for receipt of articles for washing or drying. The controller may be operably coupled to the heater and configured to initiate a wash/dry operation. The wash/dry operation may include initiating a wash/dry operation for articles within the laundry basket. The wash/dry operation may include a wash cycle and a dry cycle. The wash/dry operation may further include determining completion of the wash cycle and directing a tumble cycle of the laundry basket in response to determining completion of the wash cycle. The wash/dry operation may still further include determining a user drying preference during the tumble cycle of the laundry basket and adjusting the wash/dry operation based on the determined user drying preference.

A dryer appliance may include a cabinet, a drum, a heater assembly, a temperature sensor, and a controller. The heater assembly may be in upstream fluid communication with a drying chamber. The temperature sensor may be in upstream fluid communication with the drying chamber. The controller may be in operable communication with the heater assembly and the temperature sensor. The controller may be configured to initiate a test cycle. The test cycle may include activating the heater assembly, detecting a first temperature upstream of the drum at a first moment following activating the heater assembly, detecting a second temperature upstream of the drum at a second moment following the first moment, determining a temperature delta as a difference between the second temperature and the first temperature, comparing the temperature delta to a delta threshold, and initiating an alert message based on comparing the temperature delta to the delta threshold.

A control method includes performing a first drum operation of supplying water by a first set amount together with a detergent into the tub and rotating the drum at a first drum rotation speed while water is supplied, operating the pump at a first pump rotation speed during the first drum operation, operating a heater to heat water in the tub, performing a second drum operation of rotating the drum at the first drum rotation speed during the operation of the heater, and operating the pump at a second pump rotation speed at least once during the second drum operation, stopping the operation of the heater, performing a third drum operation of rotating the drum at the first drum rotation speed, and operating the pump at the first pump rotation speed during the third drum operation.

A drying air duct, a clothing treatment device and a method for cleaning a drying air duct are provided. The drying air duct includes a condensing section air duct, a heating section air duct and a fan; the fan is provided at a connection position of the condensing section air duct and the heating section air duct, a cleaning device is provided in the condensing section air duct, the cleaning device is provided at an end of the condensing section air duct adjacent to the fan and is capable of cleaning a side of the condensing section air duct away from the fan. The drying air duct can effectively clean the pipe sudden expansion area of the condensing section air duct, preventing the accumulation of soft flocks in the condensing section air duct.

An electronic starting switch assembly and control methods for a dryer having a split-phase induction motor. The assembly comprises a microcontroller unit (MCU) configured to execute a control method that dynamically manages the motor's operation by monitoring the forward magnitude current. The MCU determines a stabilized startup forward magnitude current and calculates a crossover condition, allowing for precise control of the motor's transition to single-phase operation by disconnecting the auxiliary winding and connecting the heater element based on real-time forward magnitude current analysis and processing. The system can also monitor for overload conditions indicative of rotor speed drops and can re-engage the auxiliary winding to maintain motor performance. The assembly includes a housing with a heat-sink for efficient thermal management and environmental protection of electronic components. The disclosed method provides a robust solution for efficient dryer operation by ensuring accurate control of motor start-up, running conditions, and overload protection.