Patent 7490491 was granted and assigned to Samsung on February, 2009 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
A washing machine in which the poor heat-resistance laundry is sufficiently wet so that a plurality of water curtain layers are formed at the laundry, thereby preventing the laundry from being stained and damaged when the laundry contacts the steam. According to the present invention, cold water is supplied simultaneously with injection of the steam so that the real temperature of the steam contacting the surfaces of the laundry is lowered, thereby preventing the laundry from being stained and damaged when the laundry contacts the steam.