US 11,859,325 B2
Laundry washing machine with biased variable length agitator
Bryan T. Snook, Louisville, KY (US)
Assigned to MIDEA GROUP CO., LTD., Guangdong (CN)
Filed by Midea Group Co., Ltd., Foshan (CN)
Filed on Dec. 3, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/541,504.
Prior Publication US 2023/0175185 A1, Jun. 8, 2023
Int. Cl. D06F 13/04 (2006.01); D06F 13/02 (2006.01); D06F 21/08 (2006.01)
CPC D06F 13/04 (2013.01) [D06F 13/02 (2013.01); D06F 21/08 (2013.01)] 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A laundry washing machine, comprising:
a housing;
a wash tub disposed within the housing; and
a variable length agitator disposed within the wash tub and configured to rotate about an axis of rotation, the variable length agitator being configurable in at least first and second configurations that respectively provide first and second lengths for the variable length agitator along the axis of rotation, and the variable length agitator including a bias mechanism configured to bias the variable length agitator towards the first configuration,
wherein the variable length agitator includes first and second members, the first member includes at least one fin configured to agitate a load during a wash cycle and is moveable relative to the second member along the axis of rotation to vary the length of the variable length agitator along the axis of rotation, and the second member includes a channel that receives at least a portion of the first member and at least a portion of the at least one fin when the variable length agitator is in one of the first and second configurations.