SE544171C2 - Laundry washing machine comprising a flexible rotatable drum - Google Patents

Abstract

A laundry washing machine contains a rotatable drum (210) configured to hold laundry (240) during washing thereof. The rotatable drum (210), in turn, contains at least one flexible body (215) configured to alter its volume in response to a fluid medium (F) being fed into or extracted out from an interior of the at least one flexible body (215). As a result, the at least one flexible body (215) varies a volume available for washing fluids (W) and the laundry (240) in the rotatable drum (210). At least one pressure generator (260) forces the washing liquids (W) to pass through the laundry (240) while the at least one flexible body (215; 315; 415a, 415b, 415c; 515a, 515b, 515c; 615) causes the laundry (240) to be kneaded against an inside surface of the rotatable drum (210), and the rotatable drum (210) is stationary.

Description

Laundry Washing Machine Comprising a Flexible RotatableDrum TECHNICAL FIELD The invention relates generally to automatic washing of laundry.ln particular, the present invention concerns a laundry washingmachine for washing clothes and other textile items, the dirti-ness of which may vary over a very broad range.

BACKGROUND Today, numerous types of laundry washing machines are knownthat are highly efficient in terms of mechanically removing dirtparticles and similar undesired fragments from clothes. Virtuallyevery one of these machines operate according to a principlewhere a cylindrical drum rotates and thus causes pieces of laun-dry to tumble and be tossed around together with detergents.The cylindrical drum may either be arranged with its rotationaxis oriented horizontally or vertically. This, of course, affectshow gravity interacts with the movements of the pieces of laun-dry inside the drum. ln general, however, the washing functiona-lity is the same in both cases, namely mechanical action in theform of turning, shaking and rubbing fabric surfaces against oneother and against the walls of the drum until the dirt particleshave been removed, and can subsequently be conveyed outfrom the drum via openings in the drum wall.

Such mechanical treatment typically accomplishes good washingresults, especially if the laundry is relatively dirty. However, the-se results come at a price, for example in terms of high waterconsumption, severe wear on the clothing and water pollutiondue to microfibers being torn away in the washing process. Thedrum-based laundry washing machines are also fairly noisy andcause vibrations.

Therefore, in recent years, alternative types of washing machi-nes have been presented. For instance, WO 2018/222125 des-cribes a washing machine that has a main part and a flexiblewashing compartment in which the washing of the laundry takesplace. The flexible washing compartment has a sealable openingfor receiving the laundry to be washed. The washing machinefurther has an inlet for supplying washing water into the flexiblewashing compartment and an outlet for disposal of washing wa-ter from the flexible washing compartment. A mechanical pres-sure device is arranged at the flexible washing compartment toprovide mechanical lifting pressure on the outside of a part ofthe flexible washing compartment, such that the laundry is sub-jected to mechanical action to assist washing.

WO 2019/004896 shows a washing machine that includes one ormore flexible washing compartments that each contains a parti-cular washing zone, in which a flow of washing water typicallycontaining detergents and/or stain removers, is arranged tooscillate through a stacked layer of laundry. Consequently, pro-gressive washing is obtained essentially of the whole content ofthe stacked laundry.

The latter two solutions above tackle the problems of high waterconsumption, severe wear on the clothing and microfiber relatedwater pollution. However, at least in some cases when the laun-dry is very dirty, these solutions may be inferior to the drum-ba-sed mechanical laundry washing machines with respect to clea-ning efficiency.

SUMMARY lt is therefore an object of the present invention to offer an auto-matic laundry washing solution that attains a good cleaning re-sult regardless of how dirty the laundry is, and at the same time,avoids unnecessary use of water, minimizes the amount of mic-rofibers being emitted into the sewage as well as prevents ex-cessive wear on the clothes.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a laundrywashing machine containing a rotatable drum configured to holdlaundry during washing thereof. The rotatable drum includes atleast one flexible body configured to alter its volume in responseto a fluid medium being fed into or extracted out from an interiorof the at least one flexible body. As a result, a volume availablefor washing fluids and the laundry in the rotatable drum varies.The laundry washing machine also contains at least one pres-sure generator, which is configured to force the washing liquidsto pass through the laundry while the at least one flexible bodycauses the laundry to be kneaded against an inside surface ofthe rotatable drum while the rotatable drum is held stationary.The laundry washing machine contains a rotatinq shaft that dri- ves the rotatable drum. The rotatinq shaft has a passaqe confi- gured to feed the fluid medium into and extract the fluid medium out from the at least one flexible body. Thus, the at least one flexible body can be controlled to alter its shape and volume in an efficient and convenient manner via pump mechanisms outsi- de the rotatable drum also during rotation thereof.

This laundry washing machine is advantageous because it canoperate according to a very broad range of washing programsincluding everything from extremely mild programs, where clea-ning fluids are gently driven through stationary pieces of laundryto intense programs involving highly agitating washing actions,where for example the laundry is subjected to quick movementsand high temperatures. Thus, a tailored washing program can beemployed for each degree of laundry dirtiness.

Furthermore, the proposed combination of the rotatable drumand the at least one flexible body enables entirely new washingactions, such as wherein pieces of laundry are turned and knea-ded repeatedly in an alternating process. Thereby, washing li-quids can be systematically passed through different combina-tions of layers of fabric, which accomplishes a very efficientcleaning. Since such a process means that the laundry is pres-sed in more angles than in conventional laundry machines, this also leads to less wrinkles and creases in the cleaned laundry.

According to another embodiment of the invention, at least oneof the at least one flexible body is non-axially arranged relativeto the rotating shaft in the rotatable drum. This design is advan-tageous inter a|ia because it enables agitators of different sha-pes and sizes to be formed in the rotatable drum. Depending onthe size and shape of the agitators, the agitators can assist incausing the laundry to be tossed and tumbled in various ways inthe rotatable drum.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the at least oneflexible body is configured to receive the fluid medium so as toexpand its/their volume to create at least one delimited spacefor washing fluids and the laundry inside the rotatable drum.This is suitable for washing of few or smaller pieces of laundrysince it requires less water.

According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the atleast one flexible body is configured to receive the fluid mediumso as to expand its/their volume until the laundry is at least tem-porarily fixated against an inside surface of the rotatable drum.Consequently, _ l _ _ l l _ l _ l l. _ l the rotatab- le drum is configured to execute washing actions involving rota-tion of the rotatable drum while the at least one flexible bodycauses the laundry to be kneaded against an inside surface of the rotatable drum by pulsating the fluid medium to be fed intoand out from the interior of the at least one flexible body. Thisresults in repeated expansion and contraction of the at least oneflexible body. Thereby, the laundry can be kneaded and rubbedwhile washing liquids are passed there though, thus providingefficient washing of delicate clothing that is severely soiled.

According to still another embodiment of the invention, the atleast one flexible body contains one central flexible body that isarranged symmetrically around the rotating shaft in the rotatabledrum. The central flexible body is configured to expand in an ex-pansion direction away from the fluid-medium passage. The ex-pansion direction is here parallel, or at least essentially parallel,to a symmetry axis of the rotatable drum. This accomplishes areduced drum volume between the central flexible body and thedrum door, which is suitable for washing small amounts of laun-dry with efficient use of water. Alternatively, or additionally, thelaundry may be kneaded/rubbed against a rigid surface, e.g. thedrum door, as described above by repeated expansion and con-traction of the central flexible body.

Preferably, the rotatable drum contains a set of openings confi-gured to allow the washing fluids to be discharged into a recei-ving chamber surrounding the rotatable drum. According to oneembodiment of the invention, the set of openings include firstand second zones; where, in the first zone, a ratio between atotal opening area and a total non-opening area is higher thanthe ratio between the total opening area and the total non-ope-ning area in the second zone. The first zone is located closer tothe fluid-medium passage than the second zone. Hence, also ifthe at least one flexible body has been expanded so that thewashing volume is reduced, the washing liquids can exit effi-ciently from the rotatable drum.

When the central flexible body has been expanded to less thana maximal volume, an exterior side surface of the central flexiblebody is exposed to the washing fluids. According to one embodi- ment of the invention, the exterior side surface contains at leastone fluid conveying pattern, which is configured to transport thewashing fluids from the exterior side surface towards the set ofopenings the rotatable drum. This further improves the emissionof washing liquids from the rotatable drum in emptying phases ofa washing program.

According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the rotat-able drum is configured to execute washing actions involvingrotation of the rotatable drum intended to cause the laundry the-rein to tumble. As a result, conventional drum-based laundrywashing can be effected.

Further advantages, beneficial features and applications of thepresent invention will be apparent from the following descriptionand the dependent claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention is now to be explained more closely by means ofpreferred embodiments, which are disclosed as examples, andwith reference to the attached drawings.

Figure 1 shows a highly schematic perspective view of alaundry washing machine according to one embo- diment of the invention; show cross-section views of a rotatable drum anda receiving chamber according to a first embodi-ment of the invention; Figures 2a-c Figure 3 shows a cross-section view of the rotatable drumand the receiving chamber according to a secondembodiment of the invention; Figures 4a-b show front views of the rotatable drum and the re- ceiving chamber according to a third embodimentof the invention; Figures 5a-b show front views of the rotatable drum and the re- ceiving chamber according to a fourth embodi-ment of the invention; and show front views of the rotatable drum and the re-ceiving chamber according to a fifth embodimentof the invention.

Figures 6a-b DETAILED DESCRIPTION Figure 1 shows a highly schematic perspective view of a laundrywashing machine 100 according to one embodiment of the in-vention. The laundry washing machine 100 has a drum door 125that provides access to a rotatable drum 210 for holding laundryto be washed.

Figure 2a shows cross-section view of the rotatable drum 210and a surrounding receiving chamber 220 according to a firstembodiment of the invention. The rotatable drum 210 contains atleast one flexible body, which here is exemplified by a centralflexible body 215 configured to alter its volume in response to afluid medium F being fed into or extracted out from an interior ofthe central flexible body 215. As a result, a volume available forwashing fluids W and the laundry 240 in the rotatable drum 210varies. The fluid medium F may be represented by any type ofgas, preferably air, and/or any type of liquid, preferably water.The washing fluids W typically contain water and various typesof detergents, softeners and/or rinsing substances. The drumdoor 125 is surrounded by a watertight seal 227 to the receivingchamber 220 so that the washing fluids W remain inside the ro-tatable drum 210 and the surrounding receiving chamber 220until being emptied via a pipe 270 controlled by an associatedvalve (not shown), and possibly a pump (not shown).

A rotating shaft 230 drives the rotatable drum 210 inside the re-ceiving chamber 220. Preferably, the rotating shaft 230 includesa passage 235 that is configured to feed the fluid medium F intothe central flexible body 215, and extract the fluid medium F outthere from. This arrangement is beneficial because it allows the central flexible body 215 to be controlled to alter its shape andvolume in an efficient and convenient manner via a pump mec-hanism (not shown) outside the rotatable drum 210 regardless ofwhether the drum 210 rotates or is stationary.

The main purpose of the rotatable drum 210 is to execute was-hing actions involving rotation of the rotatable drum 210 to cau-se the laundry 240 therein to tumble and be rearranged.

According to embodiments of the invention, the rotatable drum210 may also execute washing actions involving rotation of therotatable drum 210 while the at least one flexible body thereincauses the laundry 240 to be kneaded against an inside surfaceof the rotatable drum 210. ln Figure 2b, we see a cross-section view of the rotatable drum210 and the surrounding receiving chamber 220 according to thefirst embodiment of the invention when the central flexible body215 has attained a maximal volume, i.e. has expanded all theway up against the drum door 225. Specifically, in this embodi-ment, the central flexible body 215 is configured to expand in anexpansion direction Dexp away from the passage 235. The ex-pansion direction Dexp is parallel to, or at least essentially paral-lel to, a symmetry axis A of the rotatable drum 210. Preferably,the central flexible body 215 covers the full diameter of the rota-table drum 210 so that it fills essentially the entire volume of therotatable drum 210 when maximally expanded. Namely, this pro-vides a highest degree of freedom as how to vary the volumeavailable for the washing fluids W and the laundry 240 in therotatable drum 210. Such a design of the central flexible body215 also renders it possible to fixate pieces of laundry 240against an inside surface of the rotatable drum 210 as illustratedin Figure 2c. Consequently, the laundry 240 can be held statio-nary either during an entire washing program, or during one ormore periods thereof. lt is often beneficial if the laundry washingmachine 100 operates in an alternating manner, wherein, in onephase, the rotatable drum 210 is controlled to rotate a few revo- lutions to turn around the pieces of laundry while the centralflexible body 215 is contracted, and in another phase, the cen-tral flexible body 215 is expanded to knead the pieces of laundrywhile the rotatable drum 210 is stationary. Thereby, the washingliquids W can be systematically passed through different combi-nations of layers of fabric in the laundry 240. This, in turn, ac-complishes a very efficient cleaning. Moreover, such a processmeans that the laundry 240 is pressed in a large number ofangles, which leads to relatively few wrinkles and creases in thecleaned laundry 240.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the laundry was-hing machine 100 contains at least one pressure generator,schematically indicated by reference number 260 in Figure 2c,which is configured to force the washing liquids W to passthrough the laundry 240 while the at least one flexible body,exemplified by the central flexible body 215 in Figures 2a to 2c,causes the laundry 240 to be fixated against an inside surface ofthe rotatable drum 210, for instance the drum door 225, and therotatable drum 210 is stationary. ln Figure 2c, the at least one pressure generator is symbolizedby reference number 260. ln an actual implementation, the atleast one pressure generator is typically represented by one ormore pumps, for example a first pump configured to create a va-cuum pressure for extracting the washing liquids W from the ro-tatable drum 210 by suction, and/or a second pump configuredto create an overpressure for pushing the washing liquids W intothe rotatable drum 210. Further, it is advantageous if thesepumps operate in cooperation with a pump system for handlingthe fluid medium F. For example, the first pump may be assistedby one or more flexible bodies being expanded, and the secondpump may be assisted by one or more flexible bodies being con-tracted.

Preferably, the laundry washing machine 100 contains a reser-voir tank (not shown), which is configured to temporarily store washing liquids W that have been forced through the laundry240 and been emptied from the rotatable drum 210. Thus, bothwater and detergents can be economized.

Moreover, alternatively, or additionally, the rotatable drum 210may execute washing actions that involve rotating the rotatabledrum 210 while the central flexible body 215 causes the laundry240 to be kneaded against an inside surface of the rotatabledrum, e.g. the drum door 225. This kneading is effected by pul-sating the fluid medium F so that it is repeatedly fed into and outfrom the interior of the central flexible body 215. Thereby, thecentral flexible body 215 expands and contracts in a cyclic man-ner that causes the laundry 240 to be kneaded and rubbed whilethe washing liquids W are passed there though, thus providingefficient washing of delicate clothing being severely soiled. Ana-logous the expansion direction Dexp, the central flexible body215 contracts towards the fluid-medium passage 235 in parallelwith, or at least essentially in parallel with, the symmetry axis Aof the rotatable drum 210.

Naturally, the pressure generator 260 may also be configured toforce the washing liquids W to pass through the laundry 240while the central flexible body 215 causes the laundry 240 to bekneaded against an inside surface of the rotatable drum 210,and while the rotatable drum 210 is either stationary or rotates.Generally, if the laundry 240 is severely soiled by dirt and/orparticles, more rotation and kneading is necessary to attain asatisfying washing result; and if the laundry 240 contains delica-te fabrics, it is advantageous to reduce such mechanical actionsand instead force the washing liquids W through the laundry 240in multiple passes.

For convenient discharge of the washing fluids W from the rota-table drum 210, it preferably contains a set of openings 213 con-figured to allow the washing fluids W to be discharged into thereceiving chamber 220 that surrounds the rotatable drum 210. 11 Further preferably, the set of openings 213 contains first andsecond zones 211 and 212 respectively. ln the first zone 211 aratio between a total opening area and a total non-opening areais higher than the ratio between the total opening area and thetotal non-opening area in the second zone 212. lt is advanta-geous if all the openings have a relatively small diameter, forexample of equal size as shown in Figure 2a, and the density ofopenings is higher in the first zone 211 than in the second zone212. However, alternatively, the openings may instead be largerin the in the first zone 211 than in the second zone 212, and/orthe shape of the openings may vary. Moreover, the set of ope-nings 213 in the rotatable drum 210 may contain one or morezones in addition to the first and second zones of openings 211and 212. ln any case, the first zone 211 is located closer to thefluid-medium passage 235 than the second zone 212. Thismeans that also if the central flexible body 215 has been expan-ded so that the washing volume in the rotatable drum 210 is re-duced, the washing liquids W can exit efficiently from the rotat-able drum 210.

Figure 3 shows a cross-section view of the rotatable drum 210and the receiving chamber 220 according to a second embodi-ment of the invention. Also here, the at least one flexible body isrepresented by a central flexible body 315 that is arranged sym-metrically around the rotating shaft 230 in the rotatable drum210, which central flexible body 315 is configured to expand andcontract in expansion and contraction directions Dexp and Doomrespectively being parallel to the symmetry axis A of the rota-table drum 210, or at least essentially parallel to the symmetryaxis A. An exterior side surface of the central flexible body 315is exposed to the washing fluids W when the central flexiblebody 315 has been expanded to less than its maximal volume.The exterior side surface contains a number of fluid conveyingpatterns 317a, 317b, 317c, 317d, 317e, 317f and 317g confi-gured to transport the washing fluids W from the exterior sidesurface towards the set of openings in the rotatable drum 210. 12 This facilitates the emission of the washing liquids W from therotatable drum 210 in phases of a washing program when theamount of washing liquids W is to be reduced. For furtherenhanced discharge efficiency, the central flexible body 315, orany multiple non-axial counterparts thereto, can be arrangedwith an angle to the rotatable drum 210 so that the exterior sidesurface leans towards the set of openings 213 in the contractedstate.

Figure 4a shows a front view of the rotatable drum 210 and thereceiving chamber 220 as seen from the drum door 225 accor-ding to a third embodiment of the invention. Here, a number offlexible bodies 415a, 415b and 415c respectively are arrangednon-axially relative to the rotating shaft 230 in the rotatabledrum 210.

The fluid-medium passage 235 is comprised in the rotating shaft230, so that the fluid medium F can be fed into and extractedout from flexible bodies 415a, 415b and 415c in an efficientmanner regardless of whether the drum 210 rotates or is statio-nary. Specifically, a set of conduits 401, 402 and 403 intercon-nects the fluid-medium passage 235 and the flexible bodies415a, 415b and 415c via openings 411, 412 and 413 respecti-vely in a short side of the rotatable drum 210 located opposite tothe drum door 225.

Analogous to what has been described above, the flexible bo-dies 415a, 415b and 415c are configured to receive the fluid me-dium F, so as to expand their volumes, and thus reduce the vo-lume available for the washing fluids W and the laundry 240 inthe rotatable drum 210. The flexible bodies 415a, 415b and 415cmay also create delimited spaces for the washing fluids W andthe laundry 240 inside the rotatable drum 210 as illustrated inFigure 4b. ln Figure 4b, we see the flexible bodies 415a, 415b and 415c ina respective maximally expanded states, where they connect 13 with the rotating shaft 230 in the center of the rotatable drum210. Consequently, the flexible bodies 415a, 415b and 415ccreate delimited spaces for the washing fluids W and the laundry240 inside the rotatable drum 210. For example, here, a piece oflaundry 240 is held in a such a delimited space between theflexible bodies 415b and 415c.

Figures 5a and 5b show front views of the rotatable drum 210and the receiving chamber 220 as seen from the drum door 225according to a fourth embodiment of the invention, which essen-tially constitutes a design being structurally opposite to the de-sign shown in Figures 4a and 4b. ln Figures 5a and 5b a numberof flexible bodies 515a, 515b and 515c respectively are likewisearranged non-axially relative to the rotating shaft 230 in the ro-tatable drum 210. Here, however, the flexible bodies 515a, 515band 515c are directly connected to the rotating shaft 230 andthe fluid-medium passage 235 comprised therein. Hence, in thisembodiment, the flexible bodies 515a, 515b and 515c are confi-gured to receive the fluid medium F, so as to expand their vo-lumes towards the side wall of the rotatable drum 210, and thusreduce the volume available for the washing fluids W and thelaundry 240 in the rotatable drum 210.

Figures 6a and 6b show front views of the rotatable drum 210and receiving chamber 220 as seen from the drum door 225 ac-cording to a fifth embodiment of the invention. Here, one flexiblebody 615 is arranged non-axially relative to the rotating shaft230 in the rotatable drum 210. Analogous to the third embodi-ment described above, the one flexible body 615 is connected tothe fluid-medium passage 235 comprised in the rotating shaft230 via a conduit 601. ln a deflated state, as illustrated in Figu-re 6a, the flexible body 615 is smoothed out along essentiallyhalf the interior side wall of the rotatable drum 210. ln an maxi-mally expanded state, as illustrated in Figure 6b, the flexible bo-dy 615 occupies almost the entire volume inside the rotatabledrum 210. As a result, depending on how much the flexible body615 is expanded various amounts of laundry 240 can be knea- 14 ded and/or fixated against the side wall of the rotatable drum210 when rotating or being stationary.

The term “comprises/comprising” when used in this specificationis taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, stepsor components. However, the term does not preclude the presen-ce or addition of one or more additional features, integers, stepsor components or groups thereof.

The invention is not restricted to the described embodiments inthe figures; however it may be varied freely within the scope ofthe claims.

Claims (9)

1. Claims 1. A laundry washing machine (100), comprising: a rotatable drum (210) configured to hold laundry (240) du-ring washing thereof, the rotatable drum (210) comprising atleast one flexible body (215; 315; 415a, 415b, 415c; 515a, 515b,515c; 615) configured to alter its volume in response to a fluidmedium (F) being fed into or extracted out from an interior of theat least one flexible body, and as a result, varying a volume av-ailable for washing fluids (W) and the laundry (240) in the rotat-able drum (210),characterized in that the washing machine (100) comprises: at least one pressure generator (260) configured to forcethe washing liquids (W) to pass through the laundry (240) whilethe at least one flexible body (215; 315; 415a, 415b, 415c; 515a,515b, 515c; 615) causes the laundry (240) to be kneadedagainst an inside surface of the rotatable drum (210), and therotatable drum (210) is stationary, a pump mechanism confiqured to cause the laundry (240)to be kneaded aqainst an inside surface of the rotatable drum(210) by repeatedly feedinq the fluid medium (F) into the at leastone flexible bodv (215; 315; 415a, 415b, 415c; 515a, 515b,515c; 615) and extractinq the fluid medium (F) out therefrom ina repeatedly pulsatinq manner such that the at least one flexiblebodv (215; 315; 415a, 415b, 415c; 515a, 515b, 515c; 615) ex-pands and contracts in a cyclic manner, and a rotatinq shaft (230) confiqured to drive the rotatabledrum (210), which rotatinq shaft (230) comprises a passage(235) confiqured to feed the fluid medium (F) into and extractthe fluid medium (F) out from the at least one flexible body (215;315; 415a, 415b, 415c; 515a, 515b, 515c; 615). 3

2. The laundry washing machine (100) according to claim 21,wherein at least one of the at least one flexible body (415a,415b, 415c; 515a, 515b, 515c; 615) is non-axially arranged rela-tive to the rotating shaft (230) in the rotatable drum (210). 4

3. The laundry washing machine (100) according to any oneof the preceding claims, wherein the at least one flexible body(215; 315; 415a, 415b, 415c; 515a, 515b, 515c; 615) is configu-red to receive the fluid medium (F) so as to expand its/their vo-lume until the laundry (240) is fixated against an inside surfaceof the rotatable drum (210). äí. The laundry washing machine (100) according to claim 21,wherein the at least one flexible body comprises one centralflexible body (215, 315) arranged symmetrically around the rota-ting shaft (230) in the rotatable drum (210), the central flexiblebody (215, 315) being configured to expand in an expansion di-rection (Dexp) away from the passage (235), which expansion di-rection (Dexp) is parallel to a symmetry axis (A) of the rotatabledrum (210). 55. The laundry washing machine (100) according to claim äí,wherein the rotatable drum (210) comprises a set of openingsconfigured to allow the washing fluids (W) to be discharged intoa receiving chamber (220) surrounding the rotatable drum (210). IQ. The laundry washing machine (100) according to claim 55,wherein: the set of openings (213) comprises first and secondzones (211; 212); in the first zone (211) a ratio between a totalopening area and a total non-opening area is higher than theratio between the total opening area and the total non-openingarea in the second zone (212); and the first zone (211) is loca-ted closer to the passage (235) than the second zone (212). 81. The laundry washing machine (100) according to any oneof the claims ê-eel 5 or 6, wherein an exterior side surface ofthe central flexible body (315) is exposed to the washing fluids(W) when the central flexible body (315) has been expanded toless than a maximal volume, the exterior side surface compri-sing at least one fluid conveying pattern (317a, 317b, 317c,317d, 317e, 317f, 317g) configured to transport the washingfluids (W) from the exterior side surface towards the set of ope-nings the rotatable drum (210). 9§. The laundry washing machine (100) according to any oneof the claims 1 to 3, wherein the at least one flexible body (215;315; 415a, 415b, 415c; 515a, 515b, 515c; 615) is configured toreceive the fluid medium (F) so as to expand its/their volume tocreate at least one delimited space for washing fluids (W) andthe laundry (240) inside the rotatable drum (210). 400. The laundry washing machine (100) according to any oneof the preceding claims, wherein the rotatable drum (210) isconfigured to execute washing actions comprising rotation of therotatable drum (210) to cause the laundry (240) therein to tumb-