Washing machine, boot purifying aid, boot tray and boot attachment

A washing machine comprising:

• a wash water tub;
• a drum provided in the wash water tub rotatably about a rotation axis extending in a predetermined direction for containing laundry therein;
• cleaning air supply means which supplies cleaning air into the drum for sanitizing the laundry;
• a boot tray to be set in the drum for receiving a pair of boots placed thereon;
• and
• a pair of boot attachments to be inserted into the respective boots;
• wherein the paired boot attachments each include:
• a tubular member through which the cleaning air supplied into the drum flows down from an upper portion thereof;
• and
• a vent through which the cleaning air flows out of the tubular member;
• wherein the boot tray unitarily includes a bottom wall, and a frame wall extending upward from an outer periphery of the bottom wall to surround an upper face of the bottom wall from anteroposterior and lateral sides, and wherein the boot tray has a recess provided in a transversely middle portion of a rear edge portion of the frame wall thereof, being recessed forward, and wherein the bottom wall has a protrusion protruding upward and extending from a middle portion thereof to the recess, the protrusion having a width and a protruding height that progressively increase in a direction toward the recess.

A boot sanitizing aid to be retained in a drum of a drum type washing machine for sanitizing a boot, the boot sanitizing aid comprising:

• a boot tray to be set in the drum for receiving a boot placed thereon;
• and
• a boot attachment including a tubular member to be inserted into the boot placed on the boot tray, the tubular member having an introduction port provided at an upper end thereof for introducing cleaning air supplied to the drum into the tubular member, a lower front vent provided in a lower portion thereof for causing the cleaning air introduced into the tubular member to flow toward a toe portion in the boot, and a multiplicity of perforations provided in a side wall thereof for causing the cleaning air introduced into the tubular member to laterally flow out of the tubular member,
• wherein the boot tray unitarily includes a bottom wall, and a frame wall extending upward from an outer periphery of the bottom wall to surround an upper face of the bottom wall from anteroposterior and lateral sides, and wherein the boot tray has a recess provided in a transversely middle portion of a rear edge portion of the frame wall thereof, being recessed forward, and wherein the bottom wall has a protrusion protruding upward and extending from a middle portion thereof to the recess, the protrusion having a width and a protruding height that progressively increase in a direction toward the recess.

A boot tray to be removably set in a washing machine including a rotatable drum having three baffles circumferentially equidistantly provided on an inner peripheral surface thereof for agitating laundry in the drum, and cleaning air supply means which supplies cleaning air into the drum for sanitizing the laundry, the boot tray having a baffle receiving portion which receives one of the baffles located at a lowermost position, the boot tray being set in the drum so as to straddle the one baffle for receiving a boot placed thereon,

• wherein the boot tray unitarily includes a bottom wall, and
• a frame wall extending upward from an outer periphery of the bottom wall to surround an upper face of the bottom wall from anteroposterior and lateral sides, and
• wherein the boot tray has a recess provided in a transversely middle portion of a rear edge portion of the frame wall thereof, being recessed forward, and
• wherein the bottom wall has a protrusion protruding upward and extending from a middle portion thereof to the recess, the protrusion having a width and a protruding height that progressively increase in a direction toward the recess.