Laundry treating appliance with tub and structural support

Abstract

A laundry treating appliance for treating laundry according to an automatic cycle of operation and including a cabinet defining an interior, an imperforate tub located within the interior and having a peripheral wall with an upper portion and a bottom end closed by a base, and a structural support provided within the interior adjacent at least a portion of the imperforate tub.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A laundry treating appliance for treating laundry according to an automatic cycle of operation, comprising:
 a cabinet defining an interior;   a tub located within the interior and having a peripheral wall with an upper portion and a bottom end closed by a base;   a structural support provided within the interior under at least a portion of the tub; and   a suspension mounting the structural support to the cabinet.   
     
     
         2 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1  wherein the suspension comprises a plurality of suspension rods coupling the structural support to an upper portion of the cabinet. 
     
     
         3 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1  wherein the structural support has four arms and the suspension mounts each arm to a corner of the cabinet. 
     
     
         4 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1  wherein the suspension couples the structural support to a lower portion of the cabinet. 
     
     
         5 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1  wherein the portion of the base of the tub mounted to the structural support is formed from one of polypropylene or aluminum. 
     
     
         6 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1  wherein the base of the tub further comprises a central portion that mounts to the structural support. 
     
     
         7 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 6  wherein the central portion is formed from one of polypropylene or aluminum. 
     
     
         8 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 6  wherein the central portion is co-molded or insert molded with the flexible portion of the base. 
     
     
         9 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1  wherein at least a portion of the base of the tub is formed from a flexible material and such flexible portion is configured to move downwards to bear against the structural support when liquid is located within the tub 
     
     
         10 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 9  wherein the flexible portion of the base is formed from a PP-EPDM thermoplastic vulcanisate (TPV) or rubber. 
     
     
         11 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 9  wherein the flexible portion of the base is corrugated. 
     
     
         12 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1  wherein the structural support is a drive plate. 
     
     
         13 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 12  wherein the suspension operably couples to the drive plate such that an attachment diameter is defined wherein the attachment diameter is substantially similar to a diameter of the tub. 
     
     
         14 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 1 , further comprising a wash basket located within the tub, and defining a treating chamber for receiving the laundry, with the wash basket being rotatable about a vertical axis of rotation. 
     
     
         15 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 14  wherein the tub is free of ribbing. 
     
     
         16 . A laundry treating appliance for treating laundry according to an automatic cycle of operation, comprising:
 a cabinet defining an interior;   a tub located within the interior and having a peripheral wall with an upper portion and a bottom end closed by a base;   a structural support provided within the interior beneath the tub; and   a suspension system coupling the structural support to the cabinet; and   wherein at least a portion of the base of the tub is formed from a flexible material and such flexible portion is configured to move downwards under a weight of liquid located therein.   
     
     
         17 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 16  wherein the flexible portion of the tub has substantially the same flexibility as a sidewall of the tub. 
     
     
         18 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 16  wherein the flexible portion of the tub is configured to move downwards under the weight of the liquid to bear against the structural support. 
     
     
         19 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 16  wherein the structural support comprises a plate or a set of arms. 
     
     
         20 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 16  wherein the suspension system comprises a plurality of suspension rods coupling the plate or the set of arms to the cabinet. 
     
     
         21 . A laundry treating appliance for treating laundry according to an automatic cycle of operation, comprising:
 a cabinet defining an interior; and   a tub located within the interior and having a peripheral wall with an upper portion and a bottom end closed by a base; and   a structural support separate from the tub and provided within the interior adjacent a base of the tub and where the structural support is mounted to the cabinet via a suspension system.   
     
     
         22 . The laundry treating appliance of  claim 21  wherein at least a portion of the base is configured to move between a retracted position when the tub is empty and an expanded position, which is below the retracted position, when the tub contains liquid and when the at least a portion of the base is in the retracted position the at least a portion of the base does not bear on the structural support.