Whirlpool Corporation

Jason S Sabel

John M Hunnell

Bradley D Morrow

Nicholas C Fugal

Christine L Strain

James R Sawyer

Prabhath Kv

Robert C Williams

Meredith A Wagner

Joseph C O'Connor

A laundry appliance includes a rotating drum that receives laundry to be treated. A motor rotates a drive shaft about a vertical axis and engages the rotating drum at a base. A coupler is disposed within an upper portion of the base and that rests upon the drive shaft to transfer rotational forces from the drive shaft to the drum. A lower portion of the base engages an outer surface of the shaft to resist moment forces that are exerted against the drive shaft in an off-axis direction relative to the vertical axis.

Structural block for supporting a rotating drum within a laundry appliance

An appliance cabinet, such as a laundry treating appliance cabinet, having a chassis and a cover removably mounted to the chassis, and a labyrinth coupler connecting the cover and the chassis, wherein the coupler is physically configured to define a path requiring a specific sequence of movements between the cover and the chassis to couple or uncouple the cover from the chassis.

Appliance cabinet and method of assembling same

Growing community of inventors

Berrien Springs, MI, United States of America

Jason S Sabel