Patent ID: 7454930

Claim:
A drum-type washing machine, including a motor having a stator and a rotor for rotating a drum to perform washing and dewatering, the drum-type washing machine comprising: an outer housing fixed to the stator of the motor; a gear shaft, extending from a center of the rotor of the motor, for transferring a rotational force of the motor; a drum shaft, extending from a center of the drum, for receiving the rotational force of the motor; a gear-reduction device, interposed between and coupled respectively to said gear shaft and said drum shaft, that reduces a rotational speed of said gear shaft and transfers the reduced rotational speed to said drum shaft, said gear-reduction device having an outer surface enabling rotation with respect to said outer housing; a first set of bearings that supports said gear-reduction device in said outer housing, at least one of said first set of bearings enabling rotation in a first direction while checking rotation in a second direction; and a second set of bearings that supports said gear shaft and drum shaft in said gear-reduction device, at least one of said second set of bearings enabling rotation in the second direction while checking rotation in the first direction.