Patent Application
20180142405
Laundry treating appliances, such as clothes washers, refreshers, and non-aqueous systems, may have a configuration based on a rotating basket that defines a treating chamber in which laundry items are placed for treating. A laundry treating appliance can contain two or more wash systems, with a dispenser comprising multiple treating chemistry chambers and/or a bulk dispenser for either or both wash systems. Such dispensing systems in multiple wash system appliances have historically used separate water supply systems, which are located externally of the appliance, which can become entangled. Also, most household water supplies have a single hot and cold supply, which is sufficient only for one of the wash systems, requiring the home owner to modify their water supply system.
A clothes washer can comprise a single cabinet defining an interior, and also having a top opening providing access to the interior and a front opening providing access to the interior, a lid pivotally mounted to the cabinet to pivot between opened and closed positions to selectively open and close the top opening, a drawer slidably mounted to the cabinet to extend from and retract into the interior through the front opening between opened and closed positions, a first vertical axis wash system located within the interior above the drawer, a second vertical axis wash system located within the drawer, a first dispenser located within the interior and fluidly coupled to the first vertical axis wash system, a second dispenser located within the interior and fluidly coupled to the second vertical axis wash system, a water distribution system comprising a distribution header located within the interior and having a supply inlet extending to an exterior of the cabinet, at least one first distribution outlet directly fluidly coupling the distribution header to the first dispenser, and at least one second distribution outlet directly fluidly coupling the distribution header to the second dispenser.
In the drawings:
A first laundry wash system 40 can comprise a first basket 42 defining a first laundry treating chamber 44, and a second laundry wash system 50 can comprise a second basket 52 defining a second laundry treating chamber 54, wherein the top lid 20 can provide access to the first wash system 40 and the drawer 30 can provide access to the second wash system 50. Each basket 42, 52 can be positioned within the interior 18 and constructed to rotate about a vertical axis such that the rotation axis of the first basket 42 is in registry with the rotation axis of the second basket 52 when the drawer 30 is in a closed position. In addition, a drawer lid 32 may be mounted to the drawer 30 for movement between open and closed positions to selectively open and close the top of the second basket 52. The drawer lid 32 may be attached by any method that allows selective access to the second basket 52; for example, a pivoting mechanism or a sliding mechanism may be used.
The first basket 42 and second basket 52 can be sized so that they fit within the standard size cabinet. To accomplish this, at least the basket 42 is shorter in height than a traditional basket when there is only one basket within the standard size cabinet. While at least the first basket 42 is shorter in height, the second basket can also be shorter in height. As the first basket is contemplated to be the primary basket, it is expected to have a greater height than the second basket. It is contemplated that the diameter of the first basket 42 will be larger than or equal to the diameter of the second basket 52, thus, the taller first basket 42 is contemplated to be greater in volume than the second basket 52. As long as the first basket 42 is the primary basket, it is contemplated that the first basket 42 will have a greater volume than the second basket 52 regardless of their diameters. The volume of the first basket 42 is contemplated to be less than 4.5 cubic feet and the volume of the second basket 52 is contemplated to be less than 1.5 cubic feet, with the total cumulative cubic feet of both the first and second baskets 42, 52 is contemplated to be less than 5 cubic feet.
Turning to
The first dispenser 110 can comprise multiple first treating chemistry chambers 110A, 110B, 110C. Further, the first distribution outlet 100 can comprise multiple first distribution outlets illustrated as distribution branches 100A, 100B, 100C, where each branch can be fluidly coupled to one of the first treating chemistry chambers 110A, 110B, 110C as shown. In addition, the second dispenser 220 can also comprise multiple second treating chemistry chambers 220A, 220B and the second distribution outlet 200 can be divided into at least two distribution branches 200A, 200B wherein a different branch 200A, 200B can supply a different one of the second treating chemistry chambers 220A, 220B as shown.
The clothes washer 10 can further comprise a valve array 300 comprising a first set of valves 301 for each of the first distribution outlet branches 100A, 100B, 100C, a second valve 302 for the second distribution outlet 200, and at least a third valve 303 downstream of the second valve 302 wherein the third valve 303 may comprise a set of valves 303A, 303B to control the liquid flow between the branches 200A, 200B of the second distribution outlet 200.
In addition to the first and second dispensers 110, 220, the clothes washer 10 can further comprise a bulk dispensing reservoir 400 having a first dispensing branch 401 fluidly coupled to the first dispenser 110 and a second dispensing branch 402 fluidly coupled to the second dispenser 220. Further, a first pump 411 can be fluidly coupled to the first branch 401 and a second pump 412 can be fluidly coupled to the second branch 402.
An alternate view of the water distribution and dispensing systems is illustrated in
A second embodiment of the invention is shown in
It can therefore be appreciated that treating chemistry from each chamber in the first dispenser 110 can be selectively delivered to the first wash system 40 (
To the extent not already described, the different features and structures of the various embodiments may 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 may be mixed and matched as desired to form new embodiments, whether or not the new embodiments are expressly described.
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.
It should be appreciated that the invention is not limited in that any number greater than or equal to one, for example two treating chemistry chambers and two distribution outlets, or three chemistry chambers and three distribution outlets, can be contemplated for any dispenser or distribution outlet described herein.
Non-limiting examples of treating chemistries that may be dispensed by the dispensing system during a cycle of operation include one or more of the following: water, enzymes, fragrances, stiffness/sizing agents, wrinkle releasers/reducers, softeners, antistatic or electrostatic agents, stain repellants, water repellants, energy reduction/extraction aids, antibacterial agents, medicinal agents, vitamins, moisturizers, shrinkage inhibitors, and color fidelity agents, and combinations thereof.
This written description uses examples to disclose embodiments of the invention, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice embodiments of the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and can include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended to be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements that do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if they include equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differences from the literal languages of the claims.
