Patent Application
20070039634
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of dishwashers and, more particularly, to a dispenser for releasing detergent and/or rinse aid into a wash chamber of a drawer-type dishwasher.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In general, dishwashers having one or more pull-out drawers are known in the art. In some cases, the dishwasher will include an upper, pull-out drawer forming a washing chamber for washing smaller objects such as glassware, utensils, small plates and the like, and a lower conventional-type dishwasher. In other cases, the dishwasher will include upper and lower pull-out washing chamber defining drawers, or simply include a single pull-out type washing chamber. Regardless of the design, the dishwasher is typically provided with a dispenser for releasing detergent and/or rinse aid into the washing chamber during a washing operation.
In a conventional dishwasher, a dispenser for detergent and rinse aid will be typically located on a door assembly. At the start of a washing operation, the door assembly is shifted to an open, substantially horizontal position, the dispenser loaded and, after loading dishes, the door assembly is closed and a washing operation is initiated. During the washing operation, a mechanism opens the dispenser to allow detergent to fall into the dishwasher. However, unlike conventional dishwashers, drawer-type dishwashers do not include a door assembly that allows loading of detergent in a horizontal orientation and dispensing in a vertical orientation.
A detergent dispenser for a drawer-type dishwasher is typically mounted to or formed in a front wall of the drawer. One dispenser design includes a pull-out chamber that, once open, is loaded with detergent. With this design, after the dispenser is loaded, the chamber is pivoted back into a receptacle formed in the front wall of the drawer. At a predetermined point of the washing operation, a jet of water is directed into the dispenser from a nozzle formed in the receptacle. The detergent is then washed through an opening formed in a bottom of the receptacle and into the drawer. While effective, this design requires tubing for creating the jet of water to be formed into the drawer during manufacturing, thereby raising the overall cost and complexity of the appliance.
Other designs utilize simple tilt-out chambers that are filled with detergent and later washed out by jets of water or disposable containers that are supported on side walls of the drawers. For instance, a single or multi-use disposable container, coupled to an actuation mechanism, can be used to dispense a prescribed amount of detergent at a predetermined point in the washing operation. Once the container is depleted, a new container must be positioned in the drawer. While this method is also effective, consumers are faced with limited choices. Not all manufacturers of detergent have developed detergent containers of this type.
Regardless of the known prior art, there still exists a need for an effective dispenser for a drawer-type dishwasher. More specifically, there exists a need for a dispenser for releasing detergent and/or rinse aid wherein the dispenser is mounted to a wall of a drawer-type dishwasher wash chamber without requiring special plumbing to wash the detergent into the wash chamber.
The present invention is directed to a dispenser for a drawer-type dishwasher. The dispenser is mounted to one of front and opposing side walls of a wash tub or basin slidably supported in an outer body of the dishwasher. In accordance with the invention, the dispenser includes a main body portion, a first reservoir, a second reservoir and an actuator for releasing wash aid from respective ones of the first and second reservoirs into the wash tub. The first reservoir includes a first opening for loading wash aid and a second opening for releasing the wash aid. More specifically, the first opening is exposed at a top portion of the reservoir, while the second opening leads to an outlet formed on one of a front section and a bottom section of the main body portion.
The second reservoir includes a first opening exposed at a top portion of the reservoir and a second opening arranged on one of the front section and the bottom section of the main body portion. In accordance with a preferred form of the invention, the second reservoir includes first and second lids that selectively cover the first and second openings respectively. Preferably, the lids are pivotally mounted relative to the main body portion and are shiftable between open and closed positions.
The first lid is shifted to the open position to allow a consumer to load a wash aid, such as detergent, into the second reservoir. Once the detergent is loaded into the reservoir, the first lid is shifted to the closed position. At this point, the wash tub can be shifted into the outer body, and a washing operation initiated. At predetermined times during the washing operation, the actuator releases wash aid from the first reservoir and opens the second lid to release detergent from the second reservoir. At the termination of the wash operation, the second lid can be shifted to the closed position which, in the most preferred form of the invention, causes the first lid to automatically shift to the open position.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views.
With initial reference to
In the embodiment shown, upper washing unit or drawer 16 is shown to include a front wall 20, rear wall (not shown), bottom wall 22 and opposing side walls 23 and 24 that collectively define a wash tub or basin 28. In a manner known in the art, basin 28 is provided with a dish rack 30 for supporting various objects, such as dishware, glassware, and the like, that are exposed to a washing operation. In a manner also known in the art, upper drawer 16 is slidingly supported within an outer body 4 through a pair of extensible support guides, one of which is indicated at 33. In addition, it should be understood that, although not shown, each drawer 16, 18 is provided with a corresponding lid member that selectively seals a respective basin 28. In any event, the above description is provided for the sake of completeness and to enable a better understanding of the drawings. The present invention is particularly directed to a dispenser, such as indicated at 43, for selectively storing and subsequently releasing detergent and/or rinse aid for a washing operation.
Referring to
Second reservoir 66 includes a first opening 84 (
In addition to manual actuator 94, dispenser 43 is provided with an automatic actuating system 100 arranged on rear section 61. Automatic actuating system 100 selectively opens second lid 92 during a wash operation. Preferably, automatic actuating system 100 is actually hidden when dispenser 43 is mounted to a wall of tub 28 to protect the various components from exposure to washing fluid. Towards that end, a plurality of mounting lugs 105-108 (
As best shown in
In the detergent release position, charging lever 127 is fully extended, resulting in rinse aid cup 135 being charged or filled with a predetermined amount of rinse aid. At this point, it should be understood that the dispenser of the present invention could be employed to dispense only from second reservoir 66. That is, pin 130 could be manually shifted in a slot (not labeled) so that lever 120 does not engage with charging lever 127 but simply acts upon door release lever 145. In any case, as lever 120 moves towards the detergent release position, second end 124 contacts a post member 140 extending from detergent door lever 128. Continued movement of lever 120 causes detergent door lever 128 to rotate a door release lever 145 against a force applied by a torsion spring 147. Once door release lever 128 reaches a predetermined degree of rotation, second door 92 automatically opens to enable detergent to be released into basin 28.
After the detergent has been released into basin 28 and a washing portion of the dishwashing operation is completed, dishwasher 2 enters one or more rinse cycles. During the rinse cycle(s), clean, soap free water is directed onto the dishware to wash away any remaining detergent or soil particles. During at least one rinse cycle, if so desired, rinse aid is dispensed into basin 28. More specifically, during a rinse cycle, wax motor 116 is de-energized causing plunger 118 to retract, allowing return spring 137 to pull charging lever 127 to the home position of
Although described with reference to a preferred embodiment of the invention, it should be readily understood that various changes and/or modifications can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit thereof. For instance, while the dispenser is shown to release detergent and/or rinse aid from a front portion, openings for this purpose could also be formed on side or even bottom portions of the dispenser. In general, the invention is only intended to be limited by the scope of the following claims.
