Laundry treating appliance with suspension and seal
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorsDonald E. Erickson, George W. Malheiros, Christoph J. Miller
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A laundry treating appliance comprising a chassis defining an interior with at fixed tub disposed in the interior, the tub defining a liquid chamber. An exoskeleton is disposed within the liquid chamber and houses a drum defining a treating chamber for treating laundry. A suspension comprising one or more suspension component mounts the exoskeleton to that chassis through an opening in the tub. The interior is sealed from the liquid chamber by a plurality of seals at the openings and suspension components extending through the openings, preventing liquid from spilling into the interior from the liquid chamber.
Claims18
A laundry treating appliance configured to treat laundry according to a cycle of operation, comprising:
- a chassis defining an interior and having a front and a rear;
- a tub located within the interior and statically mounted to the chassis with the tub defining a liquid chamber and having a peripheral side wall with at least one opening through the peripheral side wall;
- an exoskeleton located within the liquid chamber and having a front support located near the front of the chassis, a rear support located near the rear of the chassis, and stringers extending between and connecting the front and rear supports to collectively form a skeletal frame defining a frame interior;
- a rotatable drum supported by the exoskeleton and located within the frame interior and defining a treating chamber;
- an electric motor having a drive shaft operably coupled to the rotatable drum, wherein rotation of the drive shaft effects a rotation of the drum;
- a suspension system coupling the exoskeleton to the chassis and extending through the at least one opening in the peripheral side wall of the tub;
- and
- a seal associated with the suspension system, wherein the seal prevents liquid flow from the liquid chamber to the interior through the at least one opening in the tub.
A laundry treating appliance configured to treat laundry according to a cycle of operation, comprising:
- a chassis defining an interior and having a front and a rear;
- a tub located within the interior and statically mounted to the chassis, with the tub defining a liquid chamber and having a peripheral side wall with at least one opening provided through the peripheral side wall fluidly coupling the interior to the liquid chamber;
- an exoskeleton located within the liquid chamber and having a front support located near the front of the chassis, a rear support located near the rear of the chassis, and stringers extending between and connecting the front and rear supports to collectively form a skeletal frame defining a frame interior;
- a drum located within the frame interior and coupled to the exoskeleton;
- a suspension system coupling the exoskeleton to the chassis and extending through the at least one opening in the tub;
- and
- a seal associated with the suspension system, wherein the seal fluidly seals the liquid chamber from the interior at the at least one opening.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.