US Patent 7194824 Clothes drying apparatus

A clothes drying apparatus in which lifters arranged on an inner peripheral surface of a rotating drum, while extending axially along the rotating drum, have an improved structure to achieve an enhancement in drying performance. The clothes drying apparatus includes a rotating drum to contain clothes to be dried, and a plurality of lifters arranged on the inner peripheral surface of the rotating drum. Each lifter has at least one first step surface, and a second step surface. The first and second step surfaces are arranged at different levels to form a stepped structure, so that they cause the clothes to be easily dropped after being raised by the lifter. A pair of first step surfaces are arranged at opposite end portions of the lifter, respectively, and the second step surface is arranged between the first step surfaces at a level lower than that of the first step surfaces.