Claims
- 1. An intake manifold for a pot and pan washing machine, said intake manifold comprising:
an inlet adapted for associating with a pump; at least one intake surface, said surface including a plurality of voids, said voids being arranged such that a void concentration increases as a distance from said inlet increases.
- 2. The intake manifold as claimed in claim 1 wherein said inlet is located in a wall of the pot and pan washing machine and said at least one intake surface is positioned to cover said inlet.
- 3. The intake manifold as claimed in claim 2 wherein said at least one intake surface comprises a first surface and wherein said intake manifold further comprises a second surface, said intake manifold being positioned along a wall of the pot and pan washing machine and within a portion of a jet stream, one of said first and second surfaces extending in an inward direction generally originating from the wall along which said intake manifold is positioned at a predetermined downward angle that corresponds to a predetermined angle of the jet stream.
- 4. The intake manifold as claimed in claim 3 wherein the wall in which said inlet is located and the wall along which said intake manifold is positioned are two separate walls of the pot and pan washing machine.
- 5. The intake manifold as claimed in claim 2 wherein said at least one intake surface extends in a direction generally perpendicular to the wall in which said inlet is located.
- 6. The intake manifold as claimed in claim 1 further comprising at least a minimum void concentration near said inlet to eliminate swirling.
- 7. The intake manifold as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a maximum void concentration within a predetermined area of said surface.
- 8. The intake manifold as claimed in claim 7 wherein said maximum void concentration within a predetermined area of said surface increases as said distance from said inlet increases.
- 9. The intake manifold as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a maximum void size for any one of said plurality of voids.
- 10. A method of balancing the suction along an intake manifold of a pot and pan washing machine, the method comprising the steps of:
associating an intake surface with a suction source; providing a plurality of voids in said intake surface; and increasing a concentration of said plurality of voids in said intake surface as a distance from said suction source increases.
- 11. A pot and pan washing machine comprising:
a wash tank; a pump for circulating fluid within said wash tank; at least one jet nozzle associated with an outlet of said pump for directing a jet stream in said wash tank; and an intake manifold including an inlet associated with said pump for withdrawing fluid from within said wash tank into said pump, said intake manifold including at least one intake surface including a plurality of voids extending from within said wash tank through said intake surface and into said intake manifold, said voids being arranged such that a void concentration increases as a distance from said inlet increases.
- 12. The pot and pan washing machine as claimed in claim 11 wherein said wash tank comprises a bottom wall, two side walls and two end walls extending upwardly from said bottom wall, said side walls being longer than said end walls.
- 13. The pot and pan washing machine as claimed in claim 12 wherein said inlet is located in one of said walls.
- 14. The pot and pan washing machine as claimed in claim 13 wherein said inlet is located in one of said end walls and said intake manifold extends along one of said side walls.
- 15. A method of washing utensils or other wares in a pot and pan washing machine, the pot and pan washing machine including a plurality of nozzles each supplying a jet stream of water within the washing machine, each jet stream deflecting from at least one wall of the washing machine to provide a washing action, said method comprising the steps of:
isolating a portion of the washing machine; and capturing at least a substantial portion of the jet stream from at least one of the plurality of nozzles within said isolated portion of the washing machine while at least substantially maintaining the jet stream deflection of the washing machine to provide a washing action within said isolated portion of the washing machine.
- 16. The method as claimed in claim 15 wherein said isolating step includes the step of placing at least one divider within said washing machine between two of said nozzles.
- 17. The method as claimed in claim 16 wherein said at least one divider is removable.
- 18. The method as claimed in claim 17 wherein said washing machine includes a channel for receiving said divider.
- 19. A pot and pan washing machine comprising:
a wash tank including a bottom wall, two side walls and two end walls extending upwardly from said bottom wall, said side walls being longer than said end walls; a plurality of jets positioned along one of said side walls; and a divider positioned between two of said jets.
- 20. The pot and pan washing machine as claimed in claim 19 wherein said plurality of jets are evenly spaced apart from one another.
- 21. The pot and pan washing machine as claimed in claim 19 wherein said divider is repositionable.
- 22. The pot and pan washing machine as claimed in claim 21 wherein said wash tank further comprises a channel for receiving said divider.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/947,984 filed Sep. 6, 2001 and a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/947,985 filed Sep. 6, 2001, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09947485 |
Sep 2001 |
US |
Child |
10724486 |
Nov 2003 |
US |
Continuation in Parts (2)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09947484 |
Sep 2001 |
US |
Child |
10744666 |
Dec 2003 |
US |
Parent |
10724486 |
Nov 2003 |
US |
Child |
10744666 |
Dec 2003 |
US |