US-20260125845-A1 - CLOTHES DRYER

Abstract

A clothes dryer includes: a cabinet; a drum configured to rotate in the cabinet; a plurality of electrodes between the cabinet and the drum; a radio frequency (RF) power supply configured to apply a voltage to the plurality of electrodes to generate an electric field for dielectric heating of an object accommodated in the drum; and at least one lifter provided in the drum, formed of a metal material, electrically floated, and configured to rotate with the drum, each of the at least one lifter including a first portion in contact with the drum and a second portion bent from the first portion and facing an inner side of the drum.

Inventors

• Taedong GOH
• Minhee Kim
• Bohwan CHOI
• Jinsoo Choi
• Youngho Ryu

Assignees

• SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251230

Priority Date

20230703

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A clothes dryer comprising: a cabinet; a drum configured to rotate in the cabinet; a plurality of electrodes between the cabinet and the drum; a radio frequency (RF) power supply configured to apply a voltage to the plurality of electrodes to generate an electric field for dielectric heating of an object accommodated in the drum; and at least one lifter provided in the drum, formed of a metal material, electrically floated, and configured to rotate with the drum, each of the at least one lifter comprising a first portion in contact with the drum and a second portion bent from the first portion and facing an inner side of the drum.
2. 2 . The clothes dryer of claim 1 , wherein adjacent electrodes of the plurality of electrodes are separated by a first gap, and wherein a first length of the first portion is shorter than the first gap.
3. 3 . The clothes dryer of claim 2 , wherein the at least one lifter comprises a plurality of lifters, and wherein the first gap is overlapped by one or more of the plurality of lifters.
4. 4 . The clothes dryer of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of lifters are at regular intervals in a circumferential direction inside the drum.
5. 5 . The clothes dryer of claim 3 , wherein a second length of the second portion is smaller than a radius of the drum.
6. 6 . The clothes dryer of claim 5 , wherein a first angle between the drum and the second portion is at least 90 degrees.
7. 7 . The clothes dryer of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrodes are spaced apart along an outer circumference of the drum.
8. 8 . The clothes dryer of claim 1 , further comprising: a direct current (DC) power supply configured to provide DC power to the RF power supply.
9. 9 . The clothes dryer of claim 1 , wherein the at least one lifter is fixed to the drum by at least one of adhesion, welding, or screws.
10. 10 . The clothes dryer of claim 6 , wherein adjacent lifters of the plurality of lifters are separated by a second gap, and wherein the second portion covers the second gap as the first angle increases.
11. 11 . The clothes dryer of claim 1 , further comprising a controller configured to control the RF power supply, wherein the at least one lifter comprises a plurality of lifters, and wherein the controller is further configured to adjust a speed of the drum to compensate for an increase in a friction coefficient of an inner wall of the drum according to a number of the plurality of lifters.
12. 12 . The clothes dryer of claim 11 , wherein the controller is further configured to compensate for the increase in the friction coefficient of the inner wall of the drum by adjusting a rotational direction of the drum in a direction opposite to a bending direction of the second portion.
13. 13 . A clothes dryer comprising: a cabinet; a drum configured to rotate in the cabinet; a plurality of electrodes spaced apart along an outer circumference of the drum between the cabinet and the drum; a radio frequency (RF) power supply configured to apply a voltage to the plurality of electrodes to generate an electric field for dielectric heating of an object accommodated in the drum; a direct current (DC) power supply configured to provide DC power to the RF power supply; and at least one lifter in the drum and configured to rotate with drum, the at least one lifter being electrically floated and being formed of metal without electrical connection.
14. 14 . The clothes dryer of claim 13 , wherein each of the at least one lifter comprises: a first portion in contact with the drum, and a second portion bent from the first portion and facing an inner side of the drum.
15. 15 . The clothes dryer of claim 14 , wherein the at least one lifter comprises a plurality of lifters at regular intervals in a circumferential direction inside the drum.
16. 16 . The clothes dryer of claim 15 , wherein adjacent electrodes of the plurality of electrodes are separated by a first gap, and a first length of the first portion is shorter than the first gap.
17. 17 . The clothes dryer of claim 16 , wherein a second length of the second portion is smaller than a radius of the drum.
18. 18 . The clothes dryer of claim 17 , wherein a first angle between the drum and the second portion is at least 90 degrees.
19. 19 . The clothes dryer of claim 18 , wherein adjacent lifters of the plurality of lifters are separated by a second gap, and wherein the second portion covers the second gap as the first angle increases.
20. 20 . The clothes dryer of claim 13 , further comprising a controller configured to control the RF power supply, and determine a rotational speed of the drum.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/KR2024/005917, filed on May 2, 2024, which is based on and claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0086110, filed on Jul. 3, 2023, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2023-0166130, filed on Nov. 24, 2023, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties. BACKGROUND 1. Field The disclosure relates to a clothes dryer, and more particularly, to a clothes dryer capable of drying an object through dielectric heating. 2. Description of Related art A dryer is a device that dries laundry with hot dry air. The dryer is configured to dry an object to be dried by rotating a drum in which the object to be dried is received at a low speed while allowing hot air to pass inside the drum. The dryer includes a cabinet that forms an exterior thereof, a drum rotatably installed inside the cabinet, a drive device that drives the drum, and a hot air supplier that supplies hot air into the rotating drum. When the dryer is operated after inserting the object to be dried into the drum, the drum is rotated by the operation of the drive device, and at the same time, hot air is supplied to the drum through the hot air supplier, thereby drying the object inside the drum. Such a drying method of rotating the drum has a problem of causing damage to the laundry, such as abrasion and shrinkage. In recent years, research has been continuously conducted on drying an object to be dried while reducing damage to the laundry. SUMMARY Provided is a clothes dryer capable of uniformly drying an object to be dried through dielectric heating. Further, provided is a clothes dryer capable of reducing capacitance variation of electrodes according to rotation of an object to be dried inside a drum. Further still, provided is a clothes dryer having an electrically floating lifter inside a drum. Further still, provided is a clothes dryer capable of improving capacitance through an electrically floating lifter inside a drum. Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments. According to an aspect of the disclosure, a clothes dryer includes: a cabinet; a drum configured to rotate in the cabinet; a plurality of electrodes between the cabinet and the drum; a radio frequency (RF) power supply configured to apply a voltage to the plurality of electrodes to generate an electric field for dielectric heating of an object accommodated in the drum; and at least one lifter provided in the drum, formed of a metal material, electrically floated, and configured to rotate with the drum, each of the at least one lifter including a first portion in contact with the drum and a second portion bent from the first portion and facing an inner side of the drum. Adjacent electrodes of the plurality of electrodes may be separated by a first gap, and a first length of the first portion may be shorter than the first gap. The at least one lifter may include a plurality of lifters, and the first gap is overlapped by one or more of the plurality of lifters. The plurality of lifters may be at regular intervals in a circumferential direction inside the drum. A second length of the second portion may be smaller than a radius of the drum. A first angle between the drum and the second portion may be at least 90 degrees. The plurality of electrodes may be spaced apart along an outer circumference of the drum. The clothes dryer may further include a direct current (DC) power supply configured to provide DC power to the RF power supply. The at least one lifter may be fixed to the drum by at least one of adhesion, welding, or screws. Adjacent lifters of the plurality of lifters may be separated by a second gap, and the second portion may cover the second gap as the first angle increases. The clothes dryer may further include a controller configured to control the RF power supply, the at least one lifter may include a plurality of lifters, and the controller may be further configured to adjust a speed of the drum to compensate for an increase in a friction coefficient of an inner wall of the drum according to a number of the plurality of lifters. The controller may be further configured to compensate for the increase in the friction coefficient of the inner wall of the drum by adjusting a rotational direction of the drum in a direction opposite to a bending direction of the second portion. According to an aspect of the disclosure a clothes dryer includes: a cabinet; a drum configured to rotate in the cabinet; a plurality of electrodes spaced apart along an outer circumference of the drum between the cabinet and the drum; a radio frequency (RF) power supply configured to apply a voltage to the plurality of electrodes to generate an electric field for diel