Reinforcing cap for a tub rear wall of an appliance
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorsSteven Fricke, Tarun Sai Yadav Godha, James B. Hull, Peter A. Wagoner, Eric J. Walsh, Christoph J. Miller
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A laundry appliance includes a tub having a rear wall that includes a plurality of structural ribs. A drive hub has a bearing housing insert injection molded into the rear wall. A stator is attached to the drive hub at stator fastening portions exposed through the rear wall of the tub. A reinforcing cap is fixed to the structural ribs of the rear wall of the tub. The bearing housing of the drive hub extends rearwards through a portion of the reinforcing cap. The stator fastening portions are exposed through the reinforcing cap.
Claims18
A laundry appliance comprising:
- a tub having a rear wall that includes a plurality of structural ribs;
- a drive hub having a bearing housing insert injection molded into the rear wall, wherein radial ribs of the plurality of structural ribs radiate outward from the drive hub;
- a stator that is attached to the drive hub at stator fastening portions exposed through the rear wall of the tub;
- a reinforcing cap having outer and inner reinforcing portions that are parallel with one another and are fixed at least to the radial ribs, the reinforcing cap having an angled reinforcing portion extending between the outer and inner reinforcing portions;
- wherein the bearing housing of the drive hub extends rearwards through a portion of the reinforcing cap;
- the stator fastening portions are exposed through the reinforcing cap;
- the angled reinforcing portion is spaced apart from the radial ribs to define a clearance space therebetween.
A tub for a laundry appliance, the tub comprising:
- a rear wall having structural radial ribs that define a back surface of the rear wall;
- a reinforcing cap having outer and inner reinforcing portions that are fixed to the back surface of the rear wall and an angled reinforcing portion that is spaced apart from the structural radial ribs;
- and
- a drive hub that is insert injection molded into the rear wall;
- wherein
- a stator fastening portion of the drive hub extends through an opening of the reinforcing cap;
- and
- the reinforcing cap is spaced apart from the drive hub and the stator fastening portion.
A tub for a laundry appliance, the tub comprising:
- a rear wall that includes a plurality of structural radial ribs that extend to a back surface of the tub;
- a reinforcing cap having a reinforcing portion that is attached to the plurality of structural radial ribs at the back surface and a frustoconical portion that is at least partially spaced apart from the plurality of structural radial ribs and the back surface;
- and
- a drive hub that is insert injection molded into the rear wall, wherein:
- a stator fastening portion of the drive hub extends through a portion of the reinforcing cap;
- and
- the reinforcing cap is spaced part from the drive hub and the stator fastening portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.