Patent ID: 8047025

Claim:
A tub for a residential clothes washing machine, the tub comprising: a tub front section; and a tub rear section, wherein the tub front section and the tub rear section together form an interior space in which a rotatable drum can be disposed, each of the tub front section and the tub rear section having a peripheral edge formed of a plastic material, the tub front section and the tub rear section are joined to one another via two fusion weld beads, with the peripheral edge of the tub front section being secured to the tub rear section by a first one of the fusion weld beads at a first discrete joining line and the peripheral edge of the tub rear section being secured to the tub front section by a second one of the fusion weld beads at a second discrete joining line spaced from the first discrete joining line, and the peripheral edges of the tub front section and the tub rear section form at least one chamber along at least part of the fusion weld beads, the chamber being separate from the interior space.