Patent Application
20220257086
Dishwashing appliances are used in many applications to clean dishes, silverware, cutlery, cups, glasses, pots, and pans, etc. A conventional dishwashing appliance usually has a single cavity and a bottom-hinged door. However, the bottom-hinged door design may bring issues in certain situations. For example, a standard bottom-hinged door of a single cavity dishwashing appliance may block a walkway, extend into a kitchen island, or be too cumbersome to open in a tiny kitchen space.
Therefore, there remains a need in the art to improve the existing dishwashing appliances.
The present disclosure is directed to an apparatus of a single cavity dishwashing appliance with one or more drawers. Each drawer may have a sealing face and be able to be extracted individually from the single cavity. The bottom of the drawer may be open to improve the washing performance. As this open drawer bottom design may pose an obstacle of drips of washing fluid potentially falling onto the floor and/or the dishwashing appliance, one or more convertible drip shields may be provided to collect the dripping washing fluid in a first position when the drawer is pulled out from the single cavity. When the drawer is pushed back into the single cavity, the convertible drip shield may shift to a second position, and the drawer bottom may stay open during the dishwashing operation.
In some embodiments, a dishwashing appliance may comprise a cabinet defining a singular cavity therein, a spray system having one or more spray arms within the cavity, one or more drawers mounted within the cavity, and one or more drip shields below the open bottom of the one or more drawers. The one or more drawers may have an open bottom and be moveable between a closed position and an open position. The one or more drip shield may be moveable between a first position and a second position.
In some embodiments, a kitchen appliance may comprise a cabinet defining a singular cavity therein, one or more drawers moveable mounted within the cavity, and one or more drip shields below the open bottom of the one or more drawers. The one or more drawers may have an open bottom and be moveable between a closed position and an open position. The one or more drip shield may be moveable between a first position and a second position.
In some embodiments, a dishwashing appliance may comprise a cabinet defining a singular cavity therein, a spray system having one or more spray arms within the cavity, and one or more drawers mounted within the cavity. The one or more drawers may have an open bottom to allow washing fluid from the spray system to spray therethrough and be moveable between a closed position and an open position.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. All of the above-outlined features are to be understood as exemplary only, and many more features and objectives of the various embodiments may be gleaned from the disclosure herein. Therefore, no limiting interpretation of this summary is to be understood without further review of the entire specification, claims, and drawings included herewith. A more extensive presentation of features, details, utilities, and advantages of the present disclosure is provided in the following written description of various embodiments of the disclosure, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and defined in the appended claims.
In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. Also, the drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the disclosure
It is to be understood that a drawer type single cavity dishwashing appliance is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The described embodiments are capable of other configurations and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising,” or “having” and variations thereof is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof, as well as additional items. Unless limited otherwise, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” and “mounted,” and variations thereof herein, are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. In addition, the terms “connected” and “coupled” and variations thereof are not restricted to direct physical or mechanical connections or couplings.
The embodiments discussed hereinafter will, for convenience only, focus on the implementation of the hereinafter-described techniques within a residential type dishwashing appliance. However, it will be appreciated that the herein-described techniques may also be used in connection with other types of kitchen appliances in some embodiments. For example, the herein-described techniques may be used in a commercial dishwashing application or a cooking appliance (e.g., an oven) in some embodiments. Moreover, at least some of the herein-described techniques (e.g., a convertible drip shield) may be used in connection with other different dishwashing appliance configurations, including dishwashing appliances utilizing hinged doors.
Turning now to the drawings, wherein like numbers denote like parts throughout the several views,
In some embodiments, one or more dishwashing racks 106 may be provided within the interior drawer space of the drawer 102. It should be understood that the rack 106 may be in any feasible configurations suitable for holding dishes, pans, glasses, cups, utensils, or other washable items that may be treated in the cavity 104 without detracting from the disclosure. For example, in some embodiments as shown here, the rack 106 may include a plurality of tines to help support the washable items. It should be also understood that other particular support apparatus other than the rack 106 may be provided within the drawer 102 for supporting the washable items to be washed during dishwashing operation.
In some embodiments, the drawer 102 may include a side track having a roller mounted thereon so that the drawer 102 may be slid inwardly and outwardly from a closed position to an open position, and vice versa, in a conventional manner. The closed position may be a position when the dishwashing appliance 100 is in operation, and the open position may be a different position to dry, load, and/or unload the washable items. In some embodiments, the closed position may correspond to the one or more drawers 102 respectively being entirely within the cavity 104 and the sealing surface 113 contacting the cabinet 101, and the open position may correspond to a position different from the closed position when at least a portion of the drawer 102 is outside of the cavity 104. The drawer 102 may travel in a substantially horizontal plane into and/or out of the cavity 104 between the open position and the closed position. It should be understood that the substantially linear movement of the drawer 102 may also be in a variety of angles in one or both the directions into and/or out of the cavity 104 between the open position and the closed position. In some embodiments, a door handle (not shown) may be provided on the front surface 105 of the drawer front 103 for grasping by a user to move the drawer 102 in and out of the cavity 104 between the open position and the closed position.
The dishwashing appliance 100 may have various drawer configurations. In some embodiments, the one or more drawers 102 may be arranged in a side-by-side and/or a stacked configuration to increase compartmentalization, with the advantage of being separate drawers for different kinds of washable items such as silverware, glasses, and plates, etc. For example, as shown by the specific dishwashing appliance 100 in
During the dishwashing operation, washing fluid may be sprayed onto the washable items situated in the drawer 102, and a spray system may be provided for supplying the washing fluid within the cavity 104. The spray system may include one or more washing fluid sprayers, which are illustrated in the form of one or more spray arm assemblies 108 as best shown in
The one or more spray arm assemblies 108 may be supplied by respective conduits, along with a main supply 111 interconnected with a pump driven by a motor (not shown) located in a lower compartment 109. Finally, the dishwashing appliance 100 may be provided with a drain/sump portion (not shown) located in the lower compartment 109 for removing residual washing fluid from the cavity 104. It should be understood that the arrangement and/or the configuration of the one or more spray arm assemblies 108 is not limited to the present disclosure as the description here merely serves for illustration. For example, the dishwashing appliance 100 may alternatively include various combinations of wall-mounted sprayers, rack-mounted sprayers, oscillating sprayers, fixed sprayers, rotating sprayers, and focused sprayers, etc.
In some embodiments, a control panel 110 may be provided to control the dishwashing appliance 100, and the location of the control panel 110 may vary. In some embodiments, the control panel 110, or portions thereof, may be on the outer surface of the dishwashing appliance 100. For example, as shown in
In general, it should be understood that some features described above do not constitute limitations of the present disclosure, but rather have only been described for the sake of completeness. Instead, the present disclosure is particularly directed to a drawer-type single cavity dishwashing appliance configuration along with convertible drip shields. As described above, the bottom of the drawer 102 may comprise an open configuration during the dishwashing operation to ensure that the washable items are exposed to jets of washing fluid. While effective at establishing a more efficient distribution of washing fluid, however, the open bottom of the drawer 102 may be prone to leak or drip washing fluid onto the floor or onto the internal components of the dishwashing appliance 100 when the drawer 102 is in the open position. Washing fluid dripping may cause consumers maintenance issues, operation failures, or even safety issues. Thus, one or more drip shields 112 may be needed to prevent washing fluid from dripping onto the floor or onto the internal components of the dishwashing appliance 100 when the drawer 102 is in the open position for unloading/loading washable items. Generally, the drip shield 112 may be positioned below the open bottom of the drawer 102 to collect drips of washing fluid, and may be convertible between a first position and a second position along with the movement of the drawer 102 simultaneously or independently. When the drip shield 112 is in the first position, the drip shield 112 may be configured to allow washing fluid from the spray arm assembly 108 to spray through the open bottom of the drawer 102 when the drawer 102 is in the closed position during the dishwashing operation. When the drip shield 112 is in the second position, the drip shield 112 may be configured to collect drips of washing fluid dripping through the open bottom of the drawer 102 when the drawer 102 is in the open position.
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some other embodiments as best shown in
Besides collecting drips of washing fluid from the open bottom of the drawer 102, the retractable drip shield 112 as described above may also facilitate a user to retract the drawer 102 to the closed position with reduced assistance. The retraction force applied on the retractable drip shield 112 by the roller 114 (e.g., the torsion spring force) may transfer to the drawer 102, or portions thereof, by fixing the free end of the retractable drip shield 112 onto the drawer 102, and drive/urge the drawer 102 back towards the closed position. For example, when the drawer 102 is in the closed position, the retraction mechanism (e.g., a torsion spring) within the roller 114 for retracting the retractable drip shield 112 may be in a rest/un-tensioned state, or a less tensioned state compared with the state when the drawer 102 is in the open position. That is, the roller 114 may be biased toward a closed position. When the user progressively forces the drawer 102 from the closed position to the open position in a direction away from the cavity 104, the retraction force stored within the retraction mechanism within the roller 114 may increase as the opening force works against the retraction force. Accordingly, the retraction force obtained through pulling out the drawer 102 from the closed position to the open position may facilitate the return/retraction of the drawer 102 back towards the closed position in the cavity 104. In some embodiments, the drawer 102 may be releasably secured/locked temporarily in the open position (e.g., through a switch, a button, and a handle, etc.) In such embodiments, the drawer 102 may automatically return back towards the closed position in the cavity 104 when the drawer 102 is released by the user for the closed position. For example, the drawer 102 may be pulled out by the user and locked at the open position for loading/unloading washable items. When the loading/unloading is done and upon release, the drawer 102 may automatically retract back into the cavity 104 under the retraction force through the retractable drip shield 112. In some embodiments, the user may manually increase the spring/retraction force by positioning the drawer 102 towards different open positions (e.g., different distances away from the cavity 104).
In some embodiments, the drip shield 112 may be a telescoping shield, with a first end of the telescoping drip shield 112 secured to the cabinet 101 and/or interior of the cavity 104, and a second end of the telescoping drip shield 112 secured to the drawer 102 to allow the telescoping drip shield 112 to extend from the first position to the second position simultaneously with the drawer 102 sliding from the closed position to the open position, and to retract from the second position to the first position simultaneously with the drawer 102 sliding from the open position to the closed position. For example, the telescoping drip shield 112 may be configured with a series of interlocking plates with a telescoping housing.
In some embodiments, one or more linkage mechanisms between the drawers 102 may be provided to allow multiple drawers 102 to move together. For example, in some embodiments as shown in
In those embodiments that the drip shield 112 below the bottom drawer 102C is retractable as described above, the location of the roller 114 may be adjusted depending on whether the drain/sump portion of the dishwashing appliance 100 is moved with the bottom drawer 102C or not. For example, if the drain/sump portion of the dishwashing appliance 100 is moved with the bottom drawer 102C, the roller 114 may be located at the bottom back of the middle drawer 102B. If the drain/sump portion of the dishwashing appliance 100 remains in the cavity 104 regardless of the movement of the bottom drawer 102C, the roller 114 may be located at the bottom front of the cavity 104. It should be understood that when the bottom drawer 102C is slid from the closed position to the open position by the user, the middle drawer 102B may remain in its position. It should be also understood that when the link 118 is not provided between the middle drawer 102B and the bottom drawer 102C as shown in
In some embodiments, as shown in
In some embodiments, one or more side shields 120 may be provided at one or more sides of the drawer 102 as shown in the
It should be understood that the operation of the convertible drip shield 112 (e.g., the louver configuration, the moving partition configuration, etc.), the splash shield 120, and the toe panel 122 may be activated by a driving mechanism (e.g., a motor) or manually by the user. It should also be understood that the drip shield 112 may be a variety of constructions, shapes, sizes, quantities, and positions but still accomplish the same intent. The drip shield 112 depicted in the accompanying figures may include additional components and that some of the components described in those figures may be removed and/or modified without departing from scopes of the elements disclosed herein. The elements depicted in the figures may not be drawn to scale and thus, the elements may have different sizes and/or configurations other than as shown in the figures.
While several inventive embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the inventive teachings is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific inventive embodiments described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, inventive embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventive embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the inventive scope of the present disclosure.
All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.
The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.”
The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.
As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of” or “exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e. “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of.” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.
As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.
It should also be understood that, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, in any methods claimed herein that include more than one step or act, the order of the steps or acts of the method is not necessarily limited to the order in which the steps or acts of the method are recited.
In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of” shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures, Section 2111.03. It should be understood that certain expressions and reference signs used in the claims pursuant to Rule 6.2(b) of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (“PCT”) do not limit the scope.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 17039129 | Sep 2020 | US |
| Child | 17739782 | US |
