Patent Application
20190191959
Contemporary automatic dishwashers for use in a typical household include a tub and at least one rack or basket for supporting soiled dishes within the tub. At least an upper rack and a lower rack for holding dishes to be cleaned are typically provided within the treating chamber. A silverware basket for holding utensils, silverware, etc. is also usually provided and normally removably mounts to the door or within the lower rack.
A spraying system can be provided for recirculating liquid throughout the tub to remove soils from the dishes. The spraying system can include various sprayers, including one or more rotatable tube wash systems. Powering and driving the rotation in a tube wash manifold can be a significant contributor to the cost and complexity of the wash system within a dishwasher.
An aspect of the present disclosure relates to a dishwasher for treating dishes according to a cycle of operation, the dishwasher comprising a tub at least partially defining a treating chamber, a manifold operably coupled to the tub and having a manifold body forming a fluid passage, a sprayer having a body, a portion of which is rotatably housed within the manifold, the body defining an inlet, multiple nozzles collectively forming an outlet, and rotatable about an axis of rotation, and a bushing including a flange section defining a first end and a barrel section at least a portion of which includes a spherical contour and wherein an inlet of the body of the sprayer is received within the barrel section and the flange section is received within the fluid passage of the manifold body and the spherical contour is configured to create a sealing interface with the manifold.
Another aspect of the present disclosure relates to a dishwasher for treating dishes according to a cycle of operation, the dishwasher comprising a tub at least partially defining a treating chamber, a manifold operably coupled to the tub and having a manifold body with an outside surface and an inside surface forming a fluid passage, an opening extends through the outside surface to the fluid passage, a bushing having a barrel section at least a portion of which includes a spherical contour and wherein the spherical contour is configured to abut the opening in the manifold, and a tube sprayer having an inlet at a first end with the first end located within the barrel section of the bushing and operably coupled and the tube sprayer having multiple nozzles collectively forming an outlet, and configured to be rotatable with the bushing about a centered axis of rotation within the opening in the manifold, wherein the spherical contour is further configured to enable continued rotation of the bushing and the tube sprayer along an axis of rotation different from the centered axis of rotation.
In the drawings:
A closure element, such as a door assembly 18, can be movably mounted to the dishwasher 10 for movement between opened and closed positions to selectively open and close the treating chamber access opening defined by the open face of the tub 14. Thus, the door assembly 18 provides accessibility to the treating chamber 16 for the loading and unloading of dishes or other washable items. It should be appreciated that the door assembly 18 can be secured to the lower front edge of the chassis 12 or to the lower front edge of the tub 14 via a hinge assembly (not shown) configured to pivot the door assembly 18. When the door assembly 18 is closed, user access to the treating chamber 16 can be prevented, whereas user access to the treating chamber 16 can be permitted when the door assembly 18 is open. Alternatively, the closure element can be slidable relative to the chassis 12, such as in a drawer-type dishwasher, wherein the access opening for the treating chamber 16 is formed by an open-top tub. Other configurations of the closure element relative to the chassis 12 and the tub 14 are also within the scope of the invention.
Dish holders, illustrated in the form of upper, middle, and lower dish racks 20, 22, 24, can be located within the treating chamber 16 and receive dishes for treatment, such as washing. The upper, middle, and lower racks 20, 22, 24 are typically mounted for slidable movement in and out of the treating chamber 16 for ease of loading and unloading. Other dish holders can be provided, such as a silverware basket, separate from or integral with any of the upper, middle, and lower racks 20, 22, 24. As used in this description, the term “dish(es)” is intended to be generic to any item, single or plural, that may be treated in the dishwasher 10, including, without limitation, dishes, plates, pots, bowls, pans, glassware, and silverware. While the dishwasher 10 is illustrated herein as having three dish racks 20, 22, 24, it will be understood that any suitable number and configuration of dish racks is also within the scope of the invention.
A spray system can be provided for spraying liquid in the treating chamber 16 and can be provided, for example, in the form of rotatable sprayers, illustrated herein as an upper rotatable sprayer 26, an upper middle rotatable sprayer 32, a lower middle rotatable sprayer 28, and a lower rotatable sprayer 30. The upper rotatable sprayer 26, the upper middle rotatable sprayer 32, and the lower middle rotatable sprayer 28 are located, respectively, above the upper rack assembly 20, above the middle rack assembly 22, and above the lower rack assembly 24. The lower rotatable sprayer 30 is located beneath the lower rack assembly 24. By example, the illustrated rotatable sprayers 26, 28, 30, 32 are adapted to mate or dock with a manifold 80. The manifold 80 can be mounted one a rear wall 15 of the tub 14, such as to a liquid supply conduit 42, or in any other suitable location.
It will be further understood that the rotatable sprayers 26, 28, 30, 32, while illustrated as being positioned beneath a central region of the dish racks 20, 22, 24, can also be provided adjacent the opposing walls of the tub 14. Further, at least two of the rotatable sprayers 26, 28, 30, 32 can be adjacent different ones of the at least two opposing walls of the tub 14, even being provided in such a configuration that the at least two rotatable sprayers 26, 28, 30, 32 are provided adjacent opposing side walls as well as adjacent to the bottom of the same dish rack 20, 22, 24. It will also be understood that each of the levels of rotatable sprayers 26, 28, 30, 32 can comprise multiple rotatable sprayers 26, 28, 30, 32 provided in parallel with one another and spread out horizontally across the width of the manifold 80, which can extend generally from one side wall to another side wall of the tub 14.
A recirculation system can be provided for recirculating liquid from the treating chamber 16 to the spray system. The recirculation system can include a sump 34 and a pump assembly 36. The sump 34 collects the liquid sprayed in the treating chamber 16 and can be formed by a sloped or recess portion of a bottom wall of the tub 14. The pump assembly 36 can include both a drain pump 38 and a recirculation pump 40. The drain pump 38 can draw liquid from the sump 34 and pump the liquid out of the dishwasher 10 to a household drain line (not shown). The recirculation pump 40 can draw liquid from the sump 34, and the liquid can be simultaneously or selectively pumped through a liquid supply conduit 42, into the manifold 80, and then distributed to each of the rotatable sprayers 26, 28, 30, 32 for selective spraying. The liquid supply conduit 42 and manifold 80 extend along a wall of the tub 14 and fluidly connect the pump assembly 36 to the at least one rotatable sprayer 26, 28, 30, 32.
While not shown, a liquid supply system can include a water supply conduit coupled with a household water supply for supplying water to the treating chamber 16. A heating system including a heater 44 can be located, for example, within the sump 34 for heating the liquid contained in the sump 34.
A control system including a controller 46 can also be included in the dishwasher 10, which can be operably coupled with various components of the dishwasher 10 to implement a cycle of operation. The controller 46 can be located within the door assembly 18 as illustrated, or it can alternatively be located somewhere within the chassis 12. The controller 46 can also be operably coupled with a control panel or user interface 48 for receiving user-selected inputs and communicating information to the user. The user interface 48 can include operational controls such as dials, lights, switches, and displays enabling a user to input commands, such as a cycle of operation, to the controller 46 and receive information.
As illustrated schematically in
The dishwasher 10 can include all of the above exemplary systems, a selection of the above exemplary systems, and/or other systems not listed above as desired. Further, some of the systems can be combined with other systems and/or can share components with other systems. Examples of other systems that the dishwasher can further include are a dispensing system that supplies one or more treating agents or chemistries to the treating chamber 16 and an air supply system that may provide air, which can be heated or not heated, to the treating chamber 16, such as for drying and/or cooling the dishes. An exemplary air supply system is set forth in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/959,673, filed Dec. 3, 2010, and published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0138106 on Jun. 7, 2012, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
The dish rack 22 can be equipped with the set of rotatable sprayers 28 adapted to provide treating liquid to dish items placed on the dish rack 22. Each of the set of rotatable sprayers 28 can be selectively rotatable about an axis of rotation 63. In an exemplary embodiment, the rotatable sprayer 28 includes a body in the form of a rod that has a longitudinal axis, which is the axis about which the rotatable sprayer 28 is selectively rotatable.
Rotation of the rotatable sprayer 28 can be driven by a single drive mechanism that is coupled directly to the rotatable sprayer 28.
It will also be understood that rotations of a plurality of rotatable sprayers 26, 28, 30, 32 can be driven concurrently by a single unified drive mechanism that can control the rotation of multiple rotatable sprayers 26, 28, 30, 32 by the use of, for example, a series of gears that connects the rotatable sprayers 26, 28, 30, 32 and drives them all to rotate in parallel. The mechanism or actuator for driving the rotation of the rotatable sprayers 26, 28, 30, 32, either in series or individually, can be any suitable driving mechanism, non-limiting examples of which include an electric or hydraulic motor selectively operable to directly drive rotation of one or more rotatable sprayers 26, 28, 30, 32 or a gear assembly, which could be provided in the form of a worm gear assembly, spur gears, etc.
The dish rack 22 can be provided with an attachment mechanism 62 (See
The rotatable sprayer 28 can be fixedly mounted to the dish rack 22 by the attachment mechanism 62 for movement therewith when the dish rack 22 is slid relative to the tub 14, or the rotatable sprayer 28 can be fixedly mounted to the manifold 80 so as to retain its position relative to the manifold 80 upon movement of the dish rack 20. In the former case, the rotatable sprayer 28 can dock with the manifold 80, when the dish rack 22 is slid to its most rearward position in the tub 14 to establish fluid communication with the liquid supply and/or recirculation systems. By way of non-limiting example, the manifold 80 can be adapted to selectively mate or dock with the liquid supply conduit 42. The manifold 80 can include a body formed from, among other things, a number of housing portions 118, 118a, 118b, and 118c, to from one or more fluid passage 82 (
The rotatable sprayer 28 has been illustrated in the form of a rod or tube sprayer.
The rotatable turbine 104 includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced buckets 108, which are at least partially defined by a plurality of curved vanes 110. The buckets 108 are positioned radially outward of and circumferentially surrounding a runner. The buckets 108 have a curved bottom and no sides, such that fluid is able to flow freely out of the buckets 108 to the sides. The rotatable turbine 104 can be operably coupled to a drive shaft 120, drive gear 122, which can in turn operate any number of gear trains 124 and 136 to rotate any number of components including the rotatable sprayer(s) 28. An exemplary turbine and gear train is set forth in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/075,552, filed Mar. 21, 2016, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The quantity of vanes 110 and buckets 108 that make up the rotatable turbine 104 can be any number that is suitable to the mechanical constraints and performance requirements of the hydraulic drive 100. The diameter of the rotatable turbine 104 can be any suitable size that is within the spatial limits of the system clearance of the dishwasher 10.
By way of non-limiting example, a drive gear 122 can be further operably coupled to a gear train 124 that serves to couple the rotatable turbine 104 to the rotatable sprayer 28. In an exemplary embodiment, the gear train 124 is a gear reducing gear train 124 comprising a plurality of reduction gears. The reduction gears can be any suitable type of gears that allow for efficient energy transfer, including, but not limited to, compound spur gears. The teeth of the reduction gears can be undercut to allow for a spacing tolerance between adjacent reduction gears. The gear train 124 can be further operably coupled to an output gear 128, which is operably coupled with a toothed ring 146 (better seen in
It will be understood that a number of separate or integral housing portions 118 can be included as portions of the manifold 80 or attached to the manifold 80. Any number of shafts, bushings, or toothed gears may extend through such housings to allow the hydraulic drive 100 to operate to contain the liquid within the fluid passage created by the manifold to transfer the liquid to the rotatable sprayer(s) 28. The housing portion 118b and housing portion 118c can be combined to be collectively thought of as a single unit housing, which can be a gear box structure. In the exemplary embodiment illustrated herein, the rotatable turbine 104 is located outside of the gearbox although this need not be the case.
During operation of the hydraulic drive 100, wash liquid is supplied to the rotatable sprayer(s) 28 from the liquid supply conduit 42 via the manifold 80, along a flow path indicated by the arrow 148. As the wash liquid flows through the manifold 80 toward the rotatable sprayer(s) 28, a portion of the wash liquid flows in an alternate flow path, through a nozzle (not shown) and over the rotatable turbine 104. The wash liquid can be allowed to flow freely over the rotatable turbine 104 from the manifold 80, or it can flow through at least one nozzle (not shown) that serves to emit the wash liquid directly onto the rotatable turbine 104, and, more specifically, onto the buckets 108 of the rotatable turbine 104. The nozzle (not shown) can have an inlet fluidly coupled to the manifold 80 and an outlet oriented to direct a spray of wash liquid onto the rotatable turbine 104. The force from the wash liquid being emitted onto the rotatable turbine 104 causes the rotatable turbine 104 to rotate.
As the rotatable turbine 104 rotates, the drive shaft 120 and, in turn, the drive gear 122 also rotate at the same rate of rotation as the rotatable turbine 104. The drive gear 122 then transfers the energy and motion from the rotatable turbine 104 to the gear train 124 which comprises a plurality of reduction gears. As the rotation from the rotatable turbine 104 travels through the gear train 124, the rate of rotation of the reduction gears becomes reduced relative to the rate of rotation of the rotatable turbine 104. The reduction gears are further operably coupled to transfer rotation to the output gear 128. The output gear 128 then transfers rotation to the rotatable sprayer 28 by way of the mechanical coupling of the toothed outer portion 140 of the output gear 128 with the toothed ring 146 that is provided about the bushing 160. The operable coupling of the output gear 128 with the bushing 160 and thus the rotatable sprayer 28 allows rotation of the rotatable sprayer 28 to be affected via the mechanical coupling with the rotatable turbine 104.
The final rate of rotation at the rotatable sprayer(s) 28 can be, by non-limiting example, between the range of 1 and 10 revolutions per minute, which is reduced from the rotational speed of the rotatable turbine 104. It is contemplated herein that there could be provided a hydraulic drive 100 coupled with each rotatable sprayer 26, 28, 30, 32 within the dishwasher 10. It will be further understood that there can also be fewer hydraulic drives 100 than rotatable sprayers 26, 28, 30, 32, including only a single hydraulic drive 100. In the case that there are fewer hydraulic drives 100 than rotatable sprayers 26, 28, 30, 32, an additional series of gears can be provided within the manifold 80 of the dishwasher 10 that serves to couple more than one rotatable sprayer 26, 28, 30, 32 to a single hydraulic drive 100.
Referring now to the operational fluid coupling of the liquid supply conduit 42 to the rotatable sprayer 28, wash liquid flows through the liquid supply conduit 42 to the manifold 80 and eventually at least a portion of the wash liquid flows over the rotatable turbine 104 in the direction indicated by water flow arrow 132. The flow of the wash liquid over the turbine 104 in the direction of the water flow arrow 132 causes the rotation of the rotatable turbine 104 in a same direction as indicated by the flow arrow 132. As the wash liquid flows over the rotatable turbine 104 in the direction of the water flow arrow 132, the wash liquid will then flow out of the rotatable turbine 104 as the rotatable turbine 104 completes a rotation. The wash liquid flowing off of the rotatable turbine 104 is directed into the treating chamber 16 of the tub 14 for recirculation.
The portion of the wash liquid that does not exit the manifold 80 to flow over the rotatable turbine 104 will continue to flow through the manifold 80 along the flow paths indicated by the arrows 148. The flow path indicated by the arrows 148 within the manifold 80 are fluidly coupled to the inlets 102 of the rotatable sprayers 28. In this way, a portion of the wash liquid flows over the rotatable turbine 104 to cause rotation of the rotatable turbine 104, and, in turn, rotation of the rotatable sprayer 28 by way of the gearbox, while the remaining portion of the wash liquid within the manifold 80 flows into the rotatable sprayer 28 to be expelled from the nozzles 64 and be used to wash the dishes within the dishwasher 10.
As described above, in hydraulically driven rotatable systems the water pressure within the liquid spray system can be utilized to drive the rotatable sprayer(s) 26, 28, 30, 32 and provide pressurized spray(s) to clean the dish(es). In simple terms, the less torque that is needed by the system to rotate the sprayer(s) the more pressure that is available to spray the dishes. One problem that can be encountered by the liquid spray system is that the tube forming the rotatable sprayer(S) 28 can be bowed, loaded, moved, or have at least a portion otherwise offset from its typical axis of rotation 63, which is usually aligned with the same center line of the bushing 160. When this occurs the bushing 160 can bind with the manifold 80. When this occurs the rotation of the rotatable sprayer 28 can stall or additional torque can be necessary to keep the rotatable sprayer 28 rotating.
Aspects of the disclosure include a bushing that reduces friction, binding, and drag while still providing sealing between the manifold 80 and rotatable sprayer 28. More specifically,
As illustrated more clearly in
The barrel section 165 is located about the inlet 102 of the rotatable sprayer 28. The tube body of the rotatable sprayer 28 can include a channel 128 or other catch to retain the protrusions 166a on the set of fingers 166. The barrel section 165 is located within the opening 87 such that the bushing 160 is rotatable therein. The spherical section 170 abuts the wall 85 and acts to for a sealing interface that creates a fluid tight seal or at the very least forms a tortious path for water to find its way from the fluid passage 82 into the tub 14. When the liquid spray system is pressurized with liquid the spherical section 170 will be pushed against the wall 85. This creates a good seal. Further, the bushing 160 can pivot as shown in
When the bushing 160 is pivoted a portion of the gasket 174 can be compressed and a portion of the gear 164 can be brought closer to the manifold 80. The recessing of the opening 87 from the outside surface 84 by a predetermined gap, such as 0.6 mm, ensures that when the bushing 160 is pivoted no contact occurs between the components. Minimizing the touching surface area of the components in turn minimizes the friction and drag. This in turn does not put increases torque demands on the system. The aspects of the disclosure allow for the bushing to move to a greater angle without binding and this allows the components to achieve a larger angle and maintain a tight gap to the manifold to creating a better sealing interface or more torturous path.
In a traditional dishwasher, spray assemblies can be a significant contributor to space constraints. Using a rotatable sprayer in the form of a spray tube rather than a spray arm reduces the height of the spray assemblies and allows for more usable space in the dish racks. However, the drive system for the rotating spray tubes can be a significant contributor to cost and complexity of the dishwasher. Aspects of the present disclosure provide similar or improved performance to contemporary appliances by using the wash liquid itself to drive the rotation of the rotatable sprayers, eliminating the need for an electric motor or other actuator. The hydraulic drive described herein allows for compression of the water delivery device while exhibiting maximal efficiency. The invention of the present disclosure is also modular, allowing it to be placed on any tube wash manifold inside a dishwasher, or, even further, on any wash system component that needs to rotate.
To the extent not already described, the different features and structures of the various embodiments can be used in combination with each other as desired. That one feature may not be illustrated in all of the embodiments is not meant to be construed that it cannot be, but is done for brevity of description. Thus, the various features of the different embodiments can be mixed and matched as desired to form new embodiments, whether or not the new embodiments are expressly described. All combinations or permutations of features described herein are covered by this disclosure.
While the invention has been specifically described in connection with certain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that this is by way of illustration and not of limitation. Reasonable variation and modification are possible within the scope of the forgoing disclosure and drawings without departing from the spirit of the invention which is defined in the appended claims.
