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US 9,228,281 B2Granted
Wash basket for use with a washing machine appliance
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsRoberto Obregon, Joshua Flesch, David Billman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A wash basket has a plurality of fins mounted to the wash basket. The plurality of fins is configured to deliver a flow of wash fluid to the top of the wash basket using e.g., a conduit between the bottom and the top of the wash basket where the wash fluid may be directed to articles disposed within the wash basket.
Claims18
An appliance comprising:
- a cabinet;
- a wash tub received in said cabinet and configured for containing fluids used in a washing process, said wash tub including a bottom portion and a top portion;
- a wash basket mounted in said wash tub, said wash basket configured for the receipt of articles during the washing process and for rotation about an axis, said wash basket being substantially cylindrical;
- a plurality of fins projecting from said wash basket;
- and
- a conduit positioned on an outer surface of said wash tub, said conduit extending between an inlet and an outlet on the outer surface of said wash tub, the inlet of said conduit positioned adjacent the bottom portion of said wash tub, the outlet of said conduit positioned adjacent the top portion of said wash tub, said conduit configured for directing a flow of a wash fluid from the bottom portion of said wash tub to the top portion of said wash tub, at least one fin of said plurality of fins positioned adjacent the inlet of said conduit at the bottom portion of said wash tub,
- wherein said plurality of fins is configured for urging the wash fluid in said wash tub into the inlet of said conduit and out of the outlet of said conduit during rotation of said wash basket, the outlet of sail conduit positioned for directing the wash fluid in said conduit into said wash basket.
4 more elements
A washing machine appliance, comprising:
- a cabinet;
- a tub positioned within the cabinet, the tub including a top portion and a bottom portion, the tub configured for containing a wash fluid;
- a wash basket rotatably mounted within the tub, the wash basket comprising:
- a drum defining an opening at a top of the drum for receipt of articles for washing;
- a bottom panel positioned at a bottom of the drum, the bottom panel being substantially circular;
- and
- a plurality of fins extending radially from the bottom panel;
- and
- a conduit positioned at an outer surface of the tub and extending between an inlet and an outlet, the inlet of the conduit positioned at the bottom portion of the tub, the outlet of the conduit positioned at the top portion of the tub, the conduit configured for directing a flow of the wash fluid from the bottom portion of the tub to the top portion of the tub when the wash basket spins within the tub, at least one fin of the plurality of fins positioned adjacent the inlet of the conduit at the bottom portion of the tub,
- wherein the plurality of fins is configured for urging the wash fluid in the tub into the inlet of the conduit during rotation of the wash basket, the outlet of the conduit positioned for directing the wash fluid in the conduit into the wash basket.
7 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.