Laundry basket with removable agitation means

Claim 2

A clothes basket for a vertical axis laundry apparatus, said basket having a bottom wall and a surrounding upstanding side wall defining a basket interior, wherein the improvement comprises: agitation means comprising first agitator vane means affixed to the bottom of said basket within its interior, said agitation means having a hub portion disposed about the rotational axis of said basket; and an agitator extension comprising second agitator vane means, said extension being removably affixed to the hub portion of said agitation means.

Claim 3

A clothes basket according to claim 1, including keyed means for removably attaching the agitator extension to the hub portion of the agitation means.

Claim 4

A clothes basket according to claim 1, wherein the hub portion has a stub portion extending axially above the agitator vane of the hub portion for telescopically receiving a portion of the agitator extension as it is removably attached thereto.

Claim 5

A clothes basket according to claim 3, wherein said stub portion has means for keying the agitator extension thereto and has means enabling the securing of the agitator extension thereto.

Claim 6

A clothes basket according to claim 4, wherein said second agitator vane means forms a continuous extension of said first agitator vane means.

Claim 7

A clothes receptacle for a vertical axis laundry apparatus comprising: a bottom wall; an upstanding side wall surrounding said bottom wall to define a receptacle interior; agitator means affixed to said receptacle about its interior, said means comprising at least one agitator vane affixed to the bottom of said receptacle; and an agitator extension comprising at least one agitator vane, said extension being removably affixed to said receptacle and disposed about the rotational axis of said receptacle.

Claim 8

A clothes receptacle for a vertical axis laundry apparatus comprising: a bottom wall; an upstanding side wall surrounding said bottom wall to define a receptacle interior; agitator means affixed to said receptacle about its interior, said means comprising at least one agitator vane affixed to the bottom of said receptacle; and an agitator extension comprising at least one agitator vane, said extension being removably affixed to said receptacle and disposed about the rotational axis of said receptacle.

Claim 9

A receptacle according to claim 6, including keyed hub means for keying the agitator extension to the receptacle, said hub further having means for keying said receptacle to a drive shaft.

Claim 10

A receptacle according to claim 7, wherein the agitator extension is a hollow member and is removably secured to the hub by a fastening means extending therealong for engaging the drive shaft.

Claim 11

A receptacle according to claim 6, wherein the bottom wall and agitation means are an integral molded plastic unit.

Claim 12

In a vertical axis automatic washing apparatus having a drive shaft of a drive means connected to an upstanding basket mounted for movement in an outer imperforate tub, the upstanding basket having a perforated bottom and a surrounding perforated side wall terminating in an upper periphery defining an open top, and agitation means disposed in the basket, the improvement comprising the agitation means having an axially disposed hub portion affiXed to the bottom wall and extending into the basket therefrom, at least one agitator vane extending outwardly from said hub portion along said bottom wall toward the side wall, an agitator extension having at least one outwardly extending vane, said hub portion having means for removably mounting said agitator extension axially on said hub portion, said means for removably mounting including means keying said extension to the hub portion so that said agitator extension both rotates and oscillates with said basket, whereby a configuration of the agitator means can be selectively varied by removing said extension and by replacing the agitator extension with one having a different configuration.

Claim 13

In a vertical axis automatic washing apparatus having a drive shaft of a drive means connected to an upstanding basket mounted for movement in an outer imperforate tub, the upstanding basket having a perforated bottom and a surrounding perforated side wall terminating in an upper periphery defining an open top, and agitation means disposed in the basket, the improvement comprising the agitation means having an axially disposed hub portion affiXed to the bottom wall and extending into the basket therefrom, at least one agitator vane extending outwardly from said hub portion along said bottom wall toward the side wall, an agitator extension having at least one outwardly extending vane, said hub portion having means for removably mounting said agitator extension axially on said hub portion, said means for removably mounting including means keying said extension to the hub portion so that said agitator extension both rotates and oscillates with said basket, whereby a configuration of the agitator means can be selectively varied by removing said extension and by replacing the agitator extension with one having a different configuration.

Claim 14

In a vertical axis automatic washing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said hub portion includes an axially extending stub for receiving an end of the drive shaft of the apparatus and telescopically receiving one end of the agitator extension.

Claim 15

In a vertical axis automatic washing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said means for removably mounting the agitator extension includes fastening means extending axially through the agitator extension and an end of said stub, said fastening means having means coacting with said means on the end of the drive shaft to hold said agitator extension on said stub.