Patent ID: 6968632

Claim:
A drum hatch engaging mechanism for a laundry appliance including a cabinet and a drum rotatable in said cabinet, said mechanism comprising: a drum hatch engaging member, a connection between said drum hatch engaging member and said cabinet, said connection providing for movement of said drum hatch engaging member from a first (non engagement) position to a second (engagement) position, an actuator to move said drum hatch engaging member between said first position and said second position, a catch member, a connection between said catch member and a sliding hatch of said drum, said connection providing for movement of said catch member between a first position adjacent the skin of said drum to a second position further displaced from the rotation axis of said drum than said first position, a ramped abutment on said drum hatch engaging member adapted to engage and lift said catch member from said first position to said second position by movement of said catch member toward said abutment in an opening rotation of said drum, a closing abutment on said drum hatch engaging member, circumferentially facing said ramped abutment, to butt against said catch member in a closing rotation of said drum, a catch member support surface on said drum, said support surface tracking the circumference of said drum skin at a level to cooperate with said drum hatch engaging member (in its second position) to entrap said catch member in its second position, from a point immediately after first engagement of said ramped abutment through the remainder of an opening rotation of said drum.