Power transmission apparatus of a washing machine

摘要

A clothes washing machine includes a spin-drying tub and an oscillatory pulsator disposed in the tub. A first shaft arrangement transmits a driving force from an electric motor to the pulsator during a wash cycle. A second shaft arrangement, coaxial with the first shaft arrangement, is connected to the tub. An electromagnetic clutch selectively couples and uncouples the second shaft arrangement relative to the first shaft arrangement. The clutch includes a pair of discs connected to the respective shaft arrangements for common rotation therewith. One of the discs is connected by splines to its associated shaft arrangement and is movable axially toward and away from the other disc by a magnetic attraction produced by an electromagnet carried by one of the discs. When brought axially together, the discs transmit drive from the first shaft arrangement to the second shaft arrangement for driving the tub and pulsator together during a spinning cycle.