The present invention relates to washing appliances and more particularly, though not solely, to wash systems within washing appliances that recirculate wash liquid during a washing cycle. In particular, the wash system of the invention is suitable for use in a dishwasher or clothes washing machine.
The wash system of our currently available Dishdrawer™ drawer-type dishwasher, as disclosed for example in WO9312706A or WO9833426A (the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference), includes a wash pump that is centrally located in the base of the wash tub. The wash pump draws wash liquid in radially beneath a large stainless steel “coarse” filter plate covering much of the base of the wash tub. The coarse filter plate has an annular region of perforations near its outer edge through which recirculating wash liquid passes to the underside of the coarse filter plate, then radially inwardly toward the wash pump over an annular heating plate surrounding the wash pump. The heated wash liquid then flows into the wash pump inlet and then upwardly through a central aperture in the coarse filter plate out of the wash pump via an impeller mounted within a spray arm. Soil or other particles too large to pass through the perforations in the coarse filter plate are washed into a drain sump located beneath an opening in the coarse filter plate and which is provided with a removable “fine” mesh filter strainer for capturing the large particles. The entire wash system is designed so that vertical height utilisation is minimised—an overarching constraint of drawer-type dishwashers.
The above-described wash system, while performing satisfactorily, could be improved. For example, the large stainless steel plate is relatively expensive. Also, the annular heating element surrounds the motor so inevitably restricts access thereto. Further, the heating element may be a thick-film heater element printed onto an annular enamel-coated steel base with the thick-film element itself on the side of the enamel base not in contact with the wash liquid. Such a heating element is therefore relatively expensive and its reliability could be improved. Also, because the entire volume beneath the coarse filter plate forms a part of the water flow passage from wash tub to wash pump, and is filled with wash liquid during a normal washing cycle, the volume of washing liquid required for a wash cycle and its associated energy requirement is relatively high. Still further, only a small percentage of the wash liquid actively passes through the fine filter mesh during the wash phase of a wash programme. As a result, recirculating wash liquid avoids the fine filter mesh so that cleaning performance could be improved.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a washing appliance which will go at least some way towards overcoming the above disadvantages, or which will at least provide the public with a useful choice.
The invention consists in a washing appliance comprising:
The invention consists in the foregoing and also envisages constructions of which the following gives examples only. In particular, the invention is mainly described with reference to its implementation in a dishwashing machine, however one skilled in the art will appreciate that at least some aspects of the wash system of the invention is equally suitable for incorporation in other types of washing machines where wash liquid is recirculated. For example, at least some aspects of the wash system according to the a present invention could be directly incorporated into a laundry washing machine, particularly one where space is restricted such as in a low height drawer-type laundry washer (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,618,887B, for example).
Preferred forms of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
Overview of Washing Appliance
With reference to the drawings and in particular
The appliance 100 includes a wash tub 101 (which incorporates all wash system components) having a base 102 and either one continuous side wall or separate, connected side walls surrounding or enclosing a wash chamber or wash space 104. As can be seen in
With reference now also to
Flexible electrical wiring and plumbing 111 couples the wash tub 101 to the relevant terminations within cabinet 106 in a manner enabling the aforementioned withdrawal and retraction of the wash tub from/into the cabinet while also enabling power and clean water to be provided to the wash tub, soiled water to be removed from the wash tub and optionally, control signals to be relayed to/from the appliance.
A lid (not shown, but see WO9833426A for various suitable examples) is provided to close the open top of the wash tub when the tub is retracted within cabinet 106. The lid is arranged to seal against the upper rim of the wash tub when in a closed position with the wash tub within the cabinet. The lid is arranged to be retained within the cabinet out of the user's view when the wash tub is opened and may be mounted via a camming arrangement utilising cam followers and camming surfaces which interact in such a way that the lid opens and closes at appropriate positions of the wash tub path into and out of the cabinet. The cam followers and camming surfaces may be provided on either the outside of the wash tub side walls and on the adjacent inner side walls of the cabinet, respectively, or vice versa. Alternatively, the lid may be raised and lowered by motor actuators mounted within the cabinet.
A user interface unit 112 to enable a user to activate various functions or wash programmes of the dishwasher may be mounted in the cabinet 106, in the wash tub 101 (such as on the upper surface of front panel 105 as shown) or may be provided for mounting (wired or wirelessly) remotely from the cabinet/wash tub (such as in a benchtop or wall in a kitchen). User interaction could also be provided additionally or alternatively by way of a remote-control unit (not shown), such as by way of an application programme executed on a user's personal computing device, such as a smart-phone or tablet computer. User input from the user interface unit is provided to a dishwasher controller 113 provided in the cabinet or wash tub and which may be programmed to generate, in response to user-input instructions, electronic control signals for various machine components such as display(s), motor(s), heating element(s) and valve(s) during cycles of machine operation such as pre-wash, washing, rinsing and drying.
In
Because an appliance 100 such as that described above is designed to be suitable for installation beneath a kitchen countertop or benchtop, its maximum vertical height is effectively pre-determined by standard kitchen countertop/benchtop installation heights which are typically between 850 and 900 mm above floor level. As such, the above-described dishwasher is usually constructed with a vertical height dimension approximately half that of conventional under countertop/benchtop kitchen appliances such as front-loading domestic dishwashers or laundry washing machines. In this form it can be used alone or as one of a number, more usually one of a pair of such dishwashers. For example, two such dishwashers may be stacked one above the other under a countertop and the two dishwashers may share a common cabinet. The two dishwashers may be completely independent and independently operated washing appliances or may co-operate, such as by sharing, for example, componentry (such as an electronic controller or user interface) or wash liquid. Alternatively, a single such dishwasher may be mounted beneath a countertop, directly adjacent the underside of the countertop with a cupboard or drawer positioned in the space beneath the dishwasher. Because of the reduced height dimension a dishwasher according to the invention could also be bench-mounted. In order for a consumer to fit larger items in such a reduced-height dishwasher it will be apparent that it is necessary to minimise the vertical height of the wash system to thereby maximise the height of the available wash space 104.
Wash System
It will be appreciated from the above general description that it is desirable to minimise the vertical height taken up by the appliance wash system while obtaining acceptable cleaning, water and energy usage performance at a reasonable cost. The exemplary wash system described below aims to achieve performance improvements in these areas.
The present wash system may include drain pump 107, wash pump 108, heating device 109 and filtration system 110 located in a lower portion of the wash tub 101, generally below or within base 114 (although during washing, the drain pump is not ordinarily an essential wash system component). As will be appreciated, various individual components of the wash system are connected together by conduits to enable the flow of wash liquid therebetween in a water-tight fashion. In the embodiment herein described, the wash tub 101 is preferably moulded from a plastics material such that the side wall(s) 103 are formed separately from base 102 and the tub is formed with a hole into which base 102 is inserted and sealed during assembly. Alternatively, base 102 could be integrally formed with the side wall(s) 103.
Base insert 301 may have a first section 302 on its upper face that is substantially planar and forms a part of the inner surface of the wash tub. In the embodiment shown, the first section 302 extends over a circumferential extent of about 180° of the base insert. When installed in the wash tub and in use in a washing appliance the first section 302 should preferably be inclined slightly from horizontal to encourage wash liquid and soil to flow or migrate from the side opposite filter plate 203, down towards the filter plate. The remaining section 313 of base insert 301 is recessed below the surface of section 302 and incorporates a sump region 303 and surfaces which form, in combination with pump cap component 207, substantially “flat” or low-profile (that is having a low vertical height compared to their horizontal width) wash liquid conduits (explained in more detail below) which contain wash liquid flow paths 304, 305 via which wash liquid is drawn from the sump region 303 and travels to the inlet of wash pump 108.
Wash Pump and Drain Pump
The wash tub base insert 301 includes a first opening 306 which is preferably centrally-located and to the underside rim of which wash pump 108 is fitted and sealed. As mentioned previously, the wash pump may be the same as that described in our prior publication WO9833426A or WO9312706A. Such a pump is a combined wash pump and drain pump with separate wash 308 and drain (not shown) impellers mounted on a common shaft wherein the geometry of the impellers and the chambers in which they are rotated ensures that shaft rotation in a first direction effectively activates only the wash pump and shaft rotation in the opposite direction effectively activates only the drain pump. This design of pump is particularly space efficient. However, it is not essential that such a combined wash/drain pump be utilised and independent wash and drain pumps could alternatively be installed in or beneath wash tub base insert 301. A drain inlet 312 is provided in sump region 303 which is connected by a drain conduit to drain pump 108. When the drain pump impeller is activated, by rotation of the pump shaft in the appropriate direction, wash liquid is drawn through drain inlet 312 to the drain pump impeller and then, via a drain outlet conduit, to an external drain such as a kitchen drain pipe.
As shown in
Heating Device
As can be seen from
The wash tub base insert 301 also includes a second opening 310 provided for receiving heating device 109 therein. The heating device 109 preferably includes a flat circular heat conductive plate 311, such as a polished stainless steel plate, which sits flush with the surrounding surface of the third level planar region 316 of the wash tub base insert. An annular seal, such as a flexible radial seal with plural axially-spaced sealing ribs may be provided between the periphery of opening 310 and the perimeter of heater plate 311 so that washing liquid is unable to pass through opening 310. Means, such as a resistive heating element, are heat-conductively bonded to the underside of conductive plate 311 and suitable wiring and circuitry are provided to enable the heating means to be powered on and off at suitable times during cycles of the washing appliance to thereby control the temperature of plate 311 and, thereby, the temperature of the washing liquid flowing thereover.
One or more temperature sensor 307 or thermal limiter may be heat-conductively attached to the lower side of plate 311 to detect the temperature thereof and provide a temperature signal to dishwasher controller 113 or to a local heater power supply unit. In response to the temperature signal, power to the heating element may be modulated to maintain a suitable plate surface temperature. Alternatively, power to the heating element may be modulated or interrupted without temperature feedback to a controller but the temperature sensor or thermal limiter may be operable as a safety device in case the heater plate temperature exceeds a predefined upper limit. Exceeding of an upper temperature safety limit may occur, for example, if an air pocket develops in the flow of washing liquid over the heater plate, even when wash liquid is still passing over some of the heater plate surface. In such circumstances the heat removed from heater plate 311 by the washing liquid will be less than expected and its temperature will rise. It has been found that the aforementioned slight incline to the surface of region 316 and to heating device 109 results in any such air pocket migrating to the vertically-raised side of the heater plate. Accordingly, locating the one or more temperature sensor 307 at or near the underside of the inclined or raised edge of the heating device improves the detection of such situations and prevents overheating.
As indicated by the arrows in
Wash Liquid Conduit(s)
It will be appreciated that the above description refers to wash liquid in flow paths 304, 305 being drawn towards the wash pump inlet. This is possible because regions 314, 315, 316, 317 and 318 of base insert 301, together with their intermediate steps, form part of a wall of a wash liquid conduit fluidly connecting sump region 303 to inlet 309 of the wash pump. The remainder of the conduit wall is provided by surface features of the underside of pump cap component 207 or base insert 301. More particularly, two separate wash liquid conduits are preferably formed between sump region 303 and inlet 309. A first conduit includes regions 314, 316 and 318 as its lower wall and a second conduit includes regions 315, 317 and 318 as its lower wall. It will also be appreciated that heating plate 311 is located in and sealed to an opening in this first conduit such that the surface of heating plate 311, once installed, also forms part of the lower wall of the first conduit.
With reference now to
Region 618 may be provided with wash liquid flow directing vanes 602 to help ensure an even circumferential delivery of wash liquid about wash pump inlet 309. An opening 500, preferably a circular opening, in pump cap component 207 is provided to enable the wash pump impeller 308 to protrude therethrough and into the wash space. The top side of the rim of opening 500 may seat against an annular flange of wash pump 108. A further opening 501 is provided in pump cap component 207, aligned in its installed location within base insert 301 with sump region 303. The surface of pump cap component 207 surrounding opening 501 is drawn or curved downwardly about at least a substantial extent of opening 501 to form a funnel surface 502 which extends somewhat into sump region 303, beneath the surface of regions 314 and 315 of base insert 301, when pump cap component 207 is installed in the base insert.
It can also be seen in
It will also be appreciated that the shape of the above-described conduits are substantially “flat”—that is, having opposed substantially planar surfaces which are spaced apart by a height distance that is much less than the narrowest width of the conduit—along at least a portion of their length. Preferably, the flat shape of the conduit is provided along more than half of its length, more preferably along most of its length and even more preferably along its entire length. In transverse cross-section, when cut by a vertical plane, the shape of the conduits are generally substantially rectangular, elliptical or oblong with the upper and lower walls forming the opposed longer sides. The transverse cross-section of the conduits may be described as having substantially perpendicular width and height dimensions, the width dimension being much greater than the height dimension. Although the width of each conduit varies along its length between about 120 mm (the diameter of heating plate 311) to about 55 mm (at the sump region end), and the width of the annular section 318 is about 25 mm, the height of each conduit is substantially uniform, ranging between about 5 and about 8 mm. Along most of the length of each conduit, excluding annulus 318, the transverse cross-sectional width is at least about ten times the transverse cross-sectional height. The low height or profile of the conduits means that they beneficially minimise height utilisation within the wash tub. The low height of the conduits also means that the conduits hold a relatively low volume of wash liquid thereby minimising wash liquid held in the wash system during a cycle of the dishwasher so that water and energy (heating) efficiency are improved. The low volume of the conduits also means that for a given wash pump flow rate, wash liquid velocity through the conduits increases compared to conduits occupying a greater volume. This higher wash liquid flow rate is beneficial in the present design as it reduces or eliminates the occurrence of “soil baking” on the heating plate 311 which might otherwise occur when soil particles have a lower velocity across the surface of the heater plate and can become “baked on”. “Baked on” soil particles become permanently attached to the heating plate surface thereby reducing the efficiency with which the heating unit is able to provide heat to the wash liquid flow and also restricting the rate of flow of wash liquid through the conduit. The wash liquid velocity over the surface of heating plate 311 may be around 0.5 to 1.0 m/s with the surface temperature of the heating plate at about 10° C. above the temperature of the wash liquid.
The upper surface of pump cap component 207 may have formed therein flow control vanes 208, 209 to help direct the wash liquid in the wash space toward the filter plate with the aid of a slight incline of the wash liquid-contacting surface of the base insert (that is, first section 302) and pump cap component 207 from the side opposite the filter plate or sump region 303 (that is, the higher side is the top side in
It will therefore be appreciated that a contra-flow of wash liquid exists on either side of pump cap component 207, as illustrated by the arrows in
Of course, the same contra-flow arrangement exists on the opposite side of the base insert where a lower, clockwise flow passes along flow path 305 through the second conduit over region 315 then region 317, and region 318 to the inlet of the wash pump. Some wash liquid returning from the wash space of the wash tub back to the sump region does so in an anti-clockwise arc on substantially planar region 506 of the upper surface of pump cap component 207 on either side of vane 209 and then across/through filter plate 203 towards the drain filter. Of this wash liquid traveling in an anti-clockwise arc, that which passes through filter plate 203 then passes over a substantially planar surface 504 towards opening 501.
As mentioned above, it is not essential that both flow paths 304 and 305 are provided as the wash system will be effective with only a single flow path. However, it has been found that the above-described double-sided or symmetrical flow path arrangement is particularly beneficial. Firstly, two flow paths between sump region and wash pump effectively halves the volume of wash liquid and soil that each flow path needs to handle, allowing the height of the flow paths to be reduced. Secondly, as also mentioned previously, two flow paths providing returned wash liquid to the wash pump inlet can be arranged to more effectively utilise the entire area of the inlet, particularly in the present case where the inlet is an annular region. Thirdly, two separate flow paths of wash liquid and soil returning from the wash space to the sump region enable more effective utilisation of the entire area of the filter plate surface, particularly when the drain filter opening is centrally-located beneath the filter plate so that soil in the wash liquid is divided into two paths that approach the drain filter in opposite directions. Reducing the amount of soil in any particular liquid flow over the filter plate reduces the amount of soil that may be left in any particular area of the filter plate if the liquid flow over the filter plate is insufficient to wash it into the drain filter. A fourth benefit to a dual flow path design, which will become clearer with further explanation of the filtration system, is a more efficient utilisation of the surface area of microfilter 204 about its entire circumference.
It has been found that because the spray arm rotates in one direction, wash liquid returning to the sump region tends to be biased towards approaching the drain filter in the same circular direction, reducing the third of the above-mentioned beneficial effects. However, this effect may be mitigated by flow control vanes positioned appropriately on the internal surfaces of the wash tub, particularly on the curved regions surrounding base insert 301. For example, such flow control vanes may be arranged in a symmetrical fashion with those on the right hand side (the heater plate side) of the wash tub being aligned so as to urge wash liquid and soil flowing down the wash tub wall(s) to flow in a clockwise direction towards the drain filter and the vanes on the other side of the wash tub aligned to urge wash liquid and soil in an anti-clockwise direction.
Filtration System
With particular reference now to
Microfilter 204 is preferably a substantially cylindrical filter mesh 410 such as a stainless steel mesh arranged with its axis substantially perpendicular to the plane of filter plate 203. Microfilter 204 has much smaller holes in its mesh surface than the size of the holes in filter plate 203. The hole size in the microfilter mesh may be, for example, between about 0.3-about 0.5 mm in diameter. The filter mesh 410 is maintained in its cylindrical shape by a frame 411 which may extend about the top and bottom circular edges and also may include reinforcing beams extending between the top and bottom edges. An opening 412 is provided in the cylindrical wall of the microfilter opening 412 enables soil particles trapped within the drain filter, but which are not so large that they are trapped by the labyrinth filter, and which are too large to through the microfilter mesh, to exit the sump region via the drain pump inlet. Opening 412 is therefore arranged to be aligned with drain filter inlet 312 and to accomplish this, the frame 411 in the region defining the edges of opening 412 forms a substantially inverted “U” shape which is adapted to slide axially over a correspondingly-shaped drain inlet hood (see
Drain filter 205 includes plural, for example three, gripping projections 405 which a user may grasp in order to remove/rotate the drain filter, along with cap 206, filter plate 203 and microfilter 204 which together form a removable filtration system. The user may occasionally remove the filtration system for cleaning and for removing large soil particles trapped in the drain filter. Beneath the gripping projections 405, the drain filter includes a substantially cylindrical filter wall 406 containing a series of openings 407. Openings 407 may have dimensions of about 12 mm by about 7 mm, for example, through which large soil particles may progress from filter plate 203. Particles too large to pass through openings 407 will remain on filter plate 203. Large soil particles that pass through openings 407 may then encounter a labyrinth filter comprising, for example, at least one shelf 700 (see
Below shelf 700, a plurality of depending legs 408 (for example, three symmetrically-spaced depending legs) extend downwardly with mating cam surfaces extending laterally from their distal ends. The cam surfaces are removably lockable, by relative rotation for example, into or beneath protruding hook members 320 (the top part of one of which is just visible in
In
With reference now to
The dishwasher 800 includes a cabinet 801 and a door 802 which is openable by a user to allow access to the interior of the cabinet for loading dishes and cooking utensils for washing and to enable subsequent unloading via an opening 900 in the cabinet. The door 802 may be rotatable about a horizontal axis, as in the abovementioned US20130334940A, or it may be hinged to the cabinet 801 to enable the door to pivot and/or translate toward or away from the opening 900 in the cabinet. When in its closed position as shown in
As shown in
A heating plate 903, wash pump (not shown) and drain pump (not shown) are provided in tub base 902 in a similar manner to that previously described with respect to dishwashing appliance 100. Again, the wash and drain pumps may be provided as a combined pump unit. As was previously described, a sump region 904 is provided at a lower level of the tub base with a drain inlet 905. The sump region steps up to a second level substantially planar region 906 on either side of the sump and a further step is provided up to the upper level 907 of the tub base in which sealed openings are provided for the heating plate 903 and wash pump impeller 908. An elongated groove feature 909 is formed or moulded into the tub base to define the perimeter of a zone including sump 904, heating plate 907 and impeller 908. A further elongated groove feature 910 is provided in or on tub base 902 within the zone defined by groove feature 909 to divide the zone into separate areas as will be explained below.
As will be explained in more detail below, a pump cap component is positioned above tub base 902 and has features on its underside, such as an over-moulded elastomeric seal member or members, that contact and preferably compress within groove features 909 and 910 to form a seal or seals therewith. The pump cap component also preferably includes a seal around its perimeter to avoid soil-containing washing liquid from passing between it and the wash tub wall, bypassing the (still to be described) filtration system and potentially entering the sump region. As a result, as in the previous embodiment, the underside of the pump cap component and the upper side of tub base 902 within the zone inside member 909, form the upper and lower sides of low height or low profile, substantially flat and/or oblong conduits interconnecting the sump, heating plate and wash pump impeller. During a washing cycle, these substantially flat or oblong conduits form a bifurcated path for drawing and channelling filtered washing liquid from the sump region to the wash pump impeller, with at least one leg of the path passing over the heating plate to optionally warm the washing liquid, as shown by the arrows in
An exemplary pump cap component 1000 for dishwasher 800 is shown in
In the case of two spray arms the arms 1002 are preferably overlapped laterally (horizontally) as shown and to avoid collision they are offset axially (vertically). The spray arms may rotate in the same direction or be contra-rotating. The spray arms 1002 may be substantially hollow and designed to rotate in response to a substantially upwardly-directed flow of washing liquid into their hollow central hubs. The spray arms 1002 may be located on the pump cap component 1000 by pumped wash liquid outlet nozzle projections 1301 (see
The vertical offset of the spray arms may be provided by an annular spacer beneath one of the spray arms or, as is shown in
As mentioned above, preferably two spray arms are provided in dishwasher 800. In this way, improved coverage of the substantially rectangular “footprint” or base shape may be obtained compared to a single rotating spray arm which may not provide sufficient wash liquid spray to items of the wash load positioned near the shorter, furthest spaced sides of the wash tub base. In this situation, when a single wash pump is provided, it is necessary to distribute filtered and pumped wash liquid to two separate spray heads (and optionally, the further wash liquid outlet 1005). This could be achieved by the incorporation of additional ducting immediately below the spray arms and above the pump cap component, but this would:
In contrast to the earlier embodiment, the pump cap component 1001 of this further embodiment is preferably formed as a pump cap assembly. That is, pump cap assembly component 1000 is made of at least upper and lower parts fixed together, preferably bonded or permanently welded together, wherein the facing surfaces of the two parts are spaced apart at least in a region or regions to form flow paths or chambers that are components of the wash system. As will become apparent, in contrast to the previous embodiment and the system disclosed in WO9312706A where the wash pump casing or housing surrounding the wash pump impeller is within the spray arm itself, a wash pump casing or housing 1102/1401 in the embodiment of
As shown in
It will be appreciated from
Of course, when the filtration system 1003 is attached to the lower part 1100, the upper part 1300 is already in place over the lower part so that a shaped opening 1302 (see
As mentioned above, in common with the first embodiment, this further embodiment also includes substantially rectangular, elliptical or oblong (in transverse cross-section) wash liquid supply conduits providing liquid from the sump region 904 to the wash pump, providing the same benefits as previously discussed above in relation to the first embodiment. These low-height wash liquid supply conduits have a lower surface or wall provided by the upper surface of tub base 902 within the zone defined by elongated groove feature 909. The upper surface or wall of the low-height wash liquid supply conduits is provided by a zone of the underside of lower part 1100 of the pump cap assembly component (see
Within the zone surrounded by sealing member 1200 is a further elongated sealing member 1201 which may also be an elastomeric sealing member over-moulded or co-moulded with lower part 1100. When the pump cap assembly component is installed above the wash tub base 902, elongated groove feature and sealing member 1200 are aligned and in sealing contact to form first or laterally outer side walls of the low-height wash liquid supply conduits to the wash pump. Similarly, elongated groove feature 910 and sealing member 1201 are aligned and in sealing contact and thereby form opposed, second or laterally inner side walls of the low-height wash liquid supply conduits to the wash pump. Of course, the sealing members 1200 and/or 1201 could alternatively be provided on the upper surface of the wash tub base 902 and groove features 909 and/or 910 could be provided on the underside of pump cap assembly component 1000. Also, instead of groove features, ribs or ridges above the surrounding surface could alternatively be provided for sealing engagement with the sealing members. As shown by the arrows in
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Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 15550659 | US | |
Child | 17226601 | US |