General Electric Company

Robert Ray Cureton

Dwight William Jacobus

Stephen L McMillan

A washing machine including a tub having a helical flow path defined by a channel and a sump located at a lower end of the channel with a dam therein is described. In an exemplary embodiment, a water outlet is located in the sump, and the dam is positioned in the sump upstream from the outlet. The dam, in the exemplary embodiment, is substantially perpendicular to flow path and extends from a tub sidewall to at least beyond the outer perimeter of the water outlet. The dam has a sufficient height to prevent debris heavier than water from flowing from the channel to the outlet during a non-spin portion of a wash cycle, yet is low enough so that when the spin cycle is initiated, the debris will flow over the dam to the outlet.

Tub sump dam

A filter attached for rotation with a washing machine basket includes a filtering surface which is in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of the basket for filtering laundry liquid during a washing operation and for reverse flushing of the filtering surface during a liquid extraction operation.

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Louisville, KY, United States of America

Robert Ray Cureton