Drum-type washing machine and bearing housing structure thereof

Abstract

A drum type washing machine including a tub installed in a cabinet is disclosed. The drum type washing machine includes a drum performing washing, a motor rotating the drum, bearing housings having bearings to support a rotation shaft, a suspension connected to the bearing housings and the cabinet to mitigate vibration generated during rotation of the drum, a bracket installed to the bearing housings to form the rear side of the tub, and a gasket installed between the bracket and the tub to seal the tub and to prevent vibration from being transmitted from the bracket to the tub. Volumes of the tub and the drum can be easily increased without increasing the volume of the cabinet. Even when the volume of the washing machine is changed, only one of the tub and the bearing housings, which is not applicable to the drum type washing machine having the changed washing capacity, is selectively replaced. Thus parts can commonly used in various drum type washing machine having different volume.

1 . A drum type washing machine, comprising:
 a cabinet;   a tub positioned in the cabinet and having a front end that is fixed to and extends back from a front wall of the cabinet;   a drum rotatably installed in the tub;   a plate connected to a rear end of the tub so as to enclose an interior of the tub;   a bearing housing fastened to the plate and housing at least one bearing therein;   a rotational shaft having a first end connected to a motor and a second end connected to the drum, wherein the rotational shaft passes through the bearing housing and the plate; and   a suspension device coupled between the bearing housing and the cabinet, the suspension device comprising:
 at least one first damper bracket coupled to the bearing housing and at least one corresponding first damper coupled between the at least one first damper bracket and the cabinet so as to absorb axial vibration of the tub; and 
 at least one second damper bracket coupled to the bearing housing and at least one corresponding second damper coupled between the at least one second damper bracket and the cabinet so as to absorb radial vibration of the tub.