Whirlpool Corporation

James R Ollis

Eric Kenneth Farrington

Ali Kaylan

A wash basket alignment system for an automatic washing machine having a wash basket with a drive block partially inserted through a central aperture in the bottom wall of the wash plate. A spin drive tube extends longitudinally through the central aperture in the drive block and through the wash plate bottom wall. A hold down nut is threadingly engaged to the drive block from the inside chamber of the wash basket to position the wash basket within the wash tub. Concentric alignment of the wash basket along a central longitudinal axis decreases basket runout. Therefore, the drive block has a spherical outside surface where it abuts the conical shaped outer surface of the wash basket. The radius of the spherical outside surface intersects the central axis at a point. This configuration facilitates the sliding or moving of this juncture from a first position out of concentricity to a second position that is concentric about the longitudinal axis. Additionally, the hold down nut has a conical shaped underside surface where it abuts the spherical shaped inner surface of the wash basket. A normal taken at this abutment passes through the same point on the central axis. This configuration facilitates movement from a first position out of concentricity to a second position with the wash basket concentric about the longitudinal axis. These two junctures are maintained by tightening the hold down nut.

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Stevensville, MI, United States of America

James R Ollis