Patent ID: 7954344

Claim:
A dryer or a washing machine comprising: a cabinet to form an exterior of the dryer or the washing machine; a drum rotatably provided in the cabinet; and a steam generator provided outside of the drum and at an upper portion of the machine to supply steam to the drum, wherein the steam generator comprises: a water supply line to receive water; a steam discharge line to discharge steam; a heater to heat the water to generate the steam; a reverse flow preventive member provided to the water supply line, wherein the reverse flow preventive member prevents a reverse flow of steam to the water supply line; a water chamber to hold the water, the water chamber includes a main portion having a vertical length greater than a horizontal length for mounting the heater thereto and the horizontal length of the main portion is smaller than a horizontal length of any other portion of the water chamber; and a steam chamber to hold the generated steam, wherein the heater is placed in the water chamber, wherein the water chamber has a vertical direction length relatively greater than a horizontal direction length and the steam chamber has a horizontal direction length relatively greater than the horizontal length of the main portion of the water chamber, and wherein the steam chamber is provided above the water chamber to hold steam generated as the water is heated.