Patent ID: 8701448

Claim:
A washing machine, comprising: a tub mounted inside of a housing, the tub having an opening through which laundry is inserted and removed; a drum rotatably mounted inside of the tub and having an opening through which the laundry is loaded and unloaded, an edge of the opening of the drum being spaced away from an inner surface of the tub by a gap extending in an axial direction of the drum; a drive assembly including a shaft that connects to the drum, a bearing housing that rotatably supports the shaft, and a motor fixed to a rear side of the bearing housing and directly connected to the shaft to rotate the shaft; a foreign matter shield attached to the tub, the foreign matter shield including a first rib that extends in the axial direction of the drum to partially cover the gap between the tub and the edge of the opening of the drum and prevent foreign matter larger than a gap between the drum and the first rib from entering a space between the tub and the edge of the opening of the drum, and a second rib that extends from an outer circumferential surface of the first rib in a radial direction of the tub in an inner space of the tub; a suspension assembly attached to the bearing housing that flexibly supports and reduces vibrations of the drum and the drive assembly; and an elastic material connected between the tub and the bearing housing that prevents water inside the tub from leaking toward the drive assembly and allows the drive assembly to move relative to the tub.