US 11,788,223 B2
Drum washing machine
Yongkwon Kim, Suwon-si (KR); Youngjin Cho, Suwon-si (KR); Sangyoung Kweon, Suwon-si (KR); Jonghun Sung, Suwon-si (KR); and Jihoon Choi, Suwon-si (KR)
Assigned to SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., Suwon-si (KR)
Appl. No. 17/274,366
Filed by Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Suwon-si (KR)
PCT Filed Sep. 9, 2019, PCT No. PCT/KR2019/011614
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Mar. 8, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/055055, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 19, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 10-2018-0108029 (KR), filed on Sep. 11, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0332521 A1, Oct. 28, 2021
Int. Cl. D06F 37/06 (2006.01); D06F 39/08 (2006.01)
CPC D06F 37/06 (2013.01) [D06F 39/08 (2013.01)] 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A front-loading washing machine comprising:
a housing having a loading hole;
a door configured to open and close the loading hole;
a washing tub inside the housing, shaped like a cylinder, spinnable around a spinning axis, and positioned so that laundry is receivable into the washing tub through the loading hole when the loading hole is opened by the door, wherein the washing tub includes a locking hole including a first edge, a second edge, and a third edge, with the second edge and the third edge being adjacent to opposite ends of the first edge so that the second edge and the third edge face each other; and
a lifter including a locking member that includes an erect portion erectly extending from a bottom of the lifter, and an end portion bent from the erect portion and having an inclined portion extending from a bottom of the end portion,
wherein the locking member is configured to be insertable into the locking hole so that the end portion at least partially passes through the locking hole with the inclined portion inclined at an angle to a spinning axis direction of the spinning axis and facing the first edge, and the locking member is then movable so that the inclined portion contacts the first edge and then slides along the first edge so that the bottom of the end portion becomes in contact with an outer region of the washing tub forming the first edge, with the second edge and the third edge adjacent to opposite sides of the locking member, so that the lifter is thereby coupled to the washing tub and positioned inside the washing tub so as to be configured to lift laundry in the laundry tub based on spinning of the washing tub, with the second edge providing support to the locking member when the washing machine spins in a first direction and the third edge providing support to the locking member when the washing machine spins in a second direction opposite to the first direction.