Patent ID: 7216516
Filing Date: 2007-05-15
Classification: D06F,F16D

Abstract:
1. An automatic washing appliance, comprising: a wash basket; a wash plate disposed in said wash basket; and a wobble joint mounting said wash plate for wobbling action within said wash basket, including an inner race supported against tilting movement and having a part-spherical surface with a center of curvature disposed on a longitudinal axis of said joint, and outer race fixed to said wash plate and having a part-spherical surface disposed in mating engagement with said part-spherical surface of said inner race, and an anti-rotation structure acting between said races to secure said races against relative rotational movement and cooperating with said part spherical surfaces to restrict said races to two degrees of freedom of tilting movement about respective tilt axes disposed perpendicular to said longitudinal axis of said joint and to one another to enable said outer race and said wash plate to wobble relative to said inner race and said wash basket with said anti-rotation structure including a groove formed in said part-spherical surface of one of said races and at least one associated retainer carried by the other of said races and movable along said groove along one of said tilt axes, and said other of said races including a socket along said one of said tilt axes with said retainer rotatably coupled to said socket for allowing rotation of said retainer relative to said races and for restraining axial movement of said retainer relative to said other of said races during an operation of said automatic washing appliance.