Laundry machine having a flexible sealer

摘要

The present invention relates to a laundry machine for treating laundry. One embodied laundry machine may have an opening in the rear of the tub. A flexible material is connected between the drive assembly and the rear opening of the tub for sealing therebetween. The flexible material allows the drive assembly to move or vibrate relatively to the tub. The flexible material may be referred to as a flexible sealer.

主权项

1. A laundry machine comprising:
a tub to hold water therein, and the tub having an opening formed at a back side of the tub; a drum rotatably provided in the tub; a shaft connected to the drum; a bearing housing to rotatably support the shaft; a tub back located in the opening formed at the back side of the tub and fastened to a first side of the bearing housing; a suspension unit attached to the bearing housing to reduce vibration of the drum; a motor fastened to a second side of the bearing housing to rotate the shaft; and a flexible sealer including a tub connection portion connected watertightly to the opening of the tub, a tub back connection portion connected watertightly to the tub back, and a flexible portion connecting between the tub connection portion and the tub back connection portion for allowing the tub back to move relatively to the tub, wherein the tub back has a center portion, a rim extending axially backward from the center portion, a seating portion extending radially from the rim, and a first rib positioned on the rim between the seating section and the center portion extending radially from the rim so that a first groove is formed between the seating section and the first rib, and the tub back connection portion has a second rib and a third rib so that a second groove is formed between the second and third ribs and a projection adjacent to the third rib and extending radially, wherein the first rib is positioned in the second groove, and the third rib and the projection is positioned in the first groove when the tub connection portion is fastened to the tub back, wherein the flexible portion is more flexible than the tub connection portion or the tub back connection portion, and the flexible portion includes a plurality of straight portions inclined with respect to a straight line normal to a rotational axis of the shaft, and a curved portion connected to the plurality of straight portions, and the flexible portion has a flat portion to avoid an interference with the suspension unit.