Patent ID: 7454928

Claim:
A washing machine comprising: a cabinet having a base; a tub; a support frame connected to said tub; and a plurality of isolation damper units for resiliently coupling said support frame to said base of said cabinet, each of said isolation damper units having a casing adapted for connection to said cabinet base, an attachment component having a first segment adapted for connection to said support frame and a second segment extending into said casing, and an isolator retained in said casing and having an aperture engaging said second segment of said attachment component, wherein said casing includes a first case segment adapted for connection to said cabinet base, a second case segment and an outer rim segment interconnecting said first and second case segments to define an internal chamber within said casing, and wherein said isolator is retained within said chamber such that its aperture generally surrounds said second segment of said attachment component, wherein said isolator has a first end surface engaging said first case segment, a second end surface engaging said second case segment and an outer surface engaging said rim segment, whereby said first and second case segments cooperate to exert an axially directed compressive load on said isolator while said rim segment exerts a radially-directed compressive load on said isolator, wherein said second segment of said attachment component includes a plurality of outwardly extending projections adapted to engage said aperture in said isolator, and wherein said isolator is made of a resilient material such that said projections exert a compressive load on said isolator.