Patent 7325330 was granted and assigned to Samsung on February, 2008 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Apparatus and method for eliminating wrinkles in clothes in a washing or drying machine using steam to eliminate the wrinkles in clothes, in a state in which the clothes are worn by a user or stored, as well as in a state in which washing of the clothes is terminated. The method includes determining whether or not a wrinkle-eliminating course is selected; supplying hot air to the clothes to eliminate dust from the clothes when it is determined that the wrinkle-eliminating course is selected; and supplying steam to the clothes, from which the dust was eliminated, to eliminate the wrinkles in the clothes.