U.S. patent number 3,665,943 [Application Number 04/808,242] was granted by the patent office on 1972-05-30 for dishwasher.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Whirlpool Corporation. Invention is credited to William T. Lampman, Charles H. Wade.
United States Patent |
3,665,943 |
Lampman , et al. |
May 30, 1972 |
DISHWASHER
Abstract
A dishwasher comprising a tub, a movable panel such as a door
providing access to the interior of the tub and having a front
surface facing the tub interior, a silverware basket having side
walls, a water pervious front wall on the side adjacent the tub
interior, a water pervious bottom wall and a water pervious back
wall, and fasteners for releasably mounting the basket on the front
surface so that the loaded basket may be easily attached, and at
the conclusion of the dishwashing operation the basket and the
silverware contained therein may be removed from the
dishwasher.
Inventors: |
Lampman; William T. (St.
Joseph, MI), Wade; Charles H. (Benton Harbor, MI) |
Assignee: |
Whirlpool Corporation
(N/A)
|
Family
ID: |
25198257 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/808,242 |
Filed: |
March 18, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
134/200; 220/553;
211/41.9; 134/58D; 206/373; 220/676 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L
15/502 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47L
15/50 (20060101); B08b 003/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;134/200,143,58D,58
;211/60,88,181,41 ;312/245,248 ;220/19,83 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Kee Chi; James
Claims
The embodiment of the invention in which an exclusive property or
privilege is claimed is defined as follows:
1. In a dishwasher having means defining a washing space provided
with a forwardly opening access opening and a door removably
closing said access opening, a silverware basket arranged to be
carried on said door to be exposed to said washing space when the
door is in closed position across said access opening, said basket
comprising: water-pervious wall means including a back wall and
peripheral walls projecting from said back wall and defining
therewith a three-sided receptacle having a front opening which
opens forwardly and a side opening which opens laterally, arranged
to receive silverware brought flatwise downwardly through said
front opening with said front opening uppermost; a water-pervious
front wall selectively disposable across said front opening
subsequent to the reception of said silverware in said receptacle;
and means for mounting said basket on said door to be disposed in
an upright position when said door is disposed to close said access
opening with said side opening uppermost to define a four-sided
upwardly opening receptacle exposed to said washing space and with
one of said peripheral walls defining the bottom of said upwardly
opening receptacle.
2. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein said back wall is provided
with a plurality of raised ribs integral with said basket
comprising spacer means for holding the basket back wall generally
away from said door to facilitate drainage of washing liquid.
3. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein said front wall has a bottom
and a top, and there are provided a hinge structure connecting the
bottom of said front wall to said receptacle for pivotal movement
of said front wall and a reinforcing metal strip along the top of
said front wall.
4. In a dishwasher having means defining a washing space provided
with a forwardly opening access opening and a door removably
closing said access opening, a silverware basket arranged to be
carried on said door to be exposed to said washing space when the
door is in closed position across said access opening, said basket
comprising: water-pervious wall means including a back wall and
peripheral walls projecting from said back wall and defining
therewith a three-sided receptacle having a front opening which
opens forwardly and side opening which opens laterally, arranged to
receive silverware brought flatwise downwardly through said front
opening with said front opening uppermost; a water-pervious front
wall selectively disposable across said front opening subsequent to
the reception of said silverware in said receptacle; and means for
mounting said basket on said door to be disposed in an upright
position with said side opening uppermost, when said door is
disposed to close said access opening, to define a four-sided
upwardly opening receptacle exposed to said washing space, said
front wall being provided with ribs extending toward said back wall
when the front wall is closed across said front opening, said ribs
being located adjacent the periphery of said front wall to prevent
the protruding of thin portions of said silverware from the basket
around the edges of said front wall.
5. The dishwasher of claim 4 wherein said front wall carries a
catch means for retaining said front wall releasably in closed
position.
6. The dishwasher of claim 3 wherein said font wall comprises a
flexible plastic member having a top edge opposite said hinge
structure, and said hinge structure comprises a plurality of pins
on said receptacle spaced from each other and having hinge portions
aligned and generally parallel to said back wall, and loop portions
receiving said hinge portions.
7. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein said peripheral wall defining
said receptacle bottom slopes forwardly and downwardly toward said
tub interior when said door is closed, and is provided with spaced
ribs having coplanar top edges.
8. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein said basket back wall extends
above said front wall, when said door is disposed to close said
access opening, and is provided with a plurality of vertical
partitions dividing the basket into a plurality of vertical
compartments, each said partition having means defining a plurality
of openings therein adjacent said back wall for the passage of
liquid between said compartments, one of said partitions extending
above said front wall and being provided with handle means above
said front wall.
9. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein said walls each comprises a
lattice of integral crossed sets of spaced strips some of which are
arranged generally horizontally, and said dishwasher is provided
with a source of projected washing liquid and horizontal strips of
the front and peripheral walls have tapered sharp edges facing said
source to facilitate entry of said liquid between said strips.
10. A dishwasher, comprising: a tub; a normally closed movable
panel providing access to the interior of said tub and having a
front surface facing said tub interior; a silverware basket having
side walls defining a space for receiving silverware to be washed,
a water-pervious front wall, means mounting said front wall on said
basket to pivot downwardly and away from said panel to provide
access to said basket through one entire side of said space, a
water-pervious bottom wall and a water-pervious back wall, said
back wall having a plurality of raised ribs integral with said
basket comprising spacer means for holding the basket generally
away from said front surface to facilitate drainage of washing
liquid, said ribs extending rearwardly of said basket; and means
for releasably mounting said basket on said panel front surface.
Description
One of the features of this invention is to provide a dishwasher
having an improved removable silverware basket that is water
pervious so that the silverware contained therein can be easily
contacted by washing liquid during the washing operation, that is,
firmly fastened in position during the dishwashing but that can be
removed with the silverware contained therein from the dishwasher
at the conclusion of the washing operation.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent
from the following description taken in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings. Of the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dishwasher embodying the
invention with the front door in open position.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the silverware basket of the
dishwasher with the hingedly mounted front wall in closed
position.
FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but with the front wall in
downwardly open position.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along line
4--4 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along line
5--5 of FIG. 2.
FIG. 6 is a plan view of the basket partially in section and
partially broken away for clarity of illustration.
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the basket with
the hinged front wall in forward lowered position.
FIG. 8 is a detail fragmentary perspective view illustrating the
catch for retaining the hinged front wall in closed position.
FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along line
9--9 of FIG. 3.
The dishwasher illustrated in the accompanying drawings comprises a
customary enclosing cabinet 10 having a movable panel 11 in the
form of a front door normally closing an access opening 12 but
capable of being lowered to open position as shown in FIG. 1 about
side hinges 13.
The interior of the cabinet 10 is provided with the customary
spaced dish retaining racks 14 and a bottom rotatable spray arm 15
serving as a source of projected washing liquid for washing the
dishes in the customary manner.
The panel 11 has a front surface 16 facing the interior 17 of the
dishwasher tub 18 in which the racks 14 and spray arm 15 are
located. The front surface 16 of the panel 11 is recessed as
illustrated by the recess 19 in FIG. 4 and this recess contains a
dishwasher basket 20 releasably mounted therein.
The basket 20 is provided with side or end walls 21, a water
pervious front wall 22, a water pervious bottom wall 23 and a water
pervious back wall 24. The back wall 24 is provided with a
plurality of raised spacer means here embodied in spaced vertical
ribs 25 of which six are used in this embodiment for holding the
back of the basket away from the front surface 16 of the panel to
facilitate drainage of washing liquid at the back of the basket.
The openwork front, bottom and back also aids rapid and complete
drying of the contained silverware.
In the illustrated embodiment the side walls 21, bottom wall 23,
back wall 24 and spaced ribs 25 are all integral and made from a
molded rigid but flexible plastic. These walls each comprise a
lattice of integral crossed sets of spaced strips, some of which
are arranged generally horizontally. Thus in the bottom wall the
horizontal strips 26 cross at right angles to the other set of
strips 27. In this embodiment the set of cross strips 27 are
inclined forwardly and downwardly as illustrated most clearly in
FIGS. 4 and 5. The horizontal strips 26 have tapered sharp lower
edges 28 facing the source of projected washing liquid or rotatable
spray arm 15 to facilitate entry of this liquid through the
openings between the crossed strips.
The back wall 24 of the basket is provided with a plurality, here
shown as three, of horizontally aligned vertically extending
keyhole type openings 29 that are narrower at the top 30. These
openings are designed to receive plastic flanged buttons 31 that
are mounted on the front surface recess 19 so as to releasably
retain the basket within the recess during the dishwashing
operation. The locating of the basket in a recess 19 provides more
space in the racks 14.
The front wall 22 is hingedly attached at its lower edge 32 to the
forward edge 33 of the bottom wall 23 so that the front wall may be
opened forwardly and downwardly from the position shown in FIG. 2
to the position shown in FIG. 3 to facilitate loading the basket
with silverware before mounting it in the panel 11 in the manner
just described. In a similar manner, the basket may be loaded with
the front wall 22 in an opened position with the basket mounted on
panel 11. The hinge structure comprises a plurality of pins 34 that
are spaced from each other and that are aligned generally parallel
to the bottom wall forward edge 33 as shown most clearly in FIG. 7.
At the intersection of pins 34 and edge 33 fillets as at 65 may be
provided to strengthen the hinge structure. The hinge structure
also comprises loop portions 35 on the lower edge 32 of the front
wall 22 each of which receives a hinge portion of a pin 34 so as to
provide the hinging action. One of the end loop portions 35 is
engaged by a horizontal pin 36 that extends toward the other pins
34 to complete the hinge structure. This pin 36 has a supplemental
pin 37 adjacent to it and extending toward it but spaced to provide
a gap as shown in FIG. 7 so that this end loop portion 35 may be
snapped between the pins 36 and 37 in attaching or removing the
front wall 22.
The hinged front wall 22 like the other walls comprises a flexible
plastic member having a top edge 38 that is opposite the hinge
structure. This top edge being normally flexible is provided with
an enclosing reinforcing strip 39 which may be of thin sheet metal.
The reinforcing strip 39 serves two purposes in that it reinforces
the flexible top edge from end-to-end so that the weight of the
contained silverware cannot distort the front wall enough to permit
escape of pieces of silverware and also provides a decorative
appearance to the basket.
The front wall 22 is provided with raised side ribs 40 and 60 and a
bottom rib 41 that extend toward the back wall 24 when the front
wall is in closed position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4-6. As shown in
FIGS. 6, 7 and 9, ribs 40 and 41 are located adjacent and inwardly
of the side walls 21 and the bottom wall 23 and are used not only
to reinforce the basket at the areas of the walls but also to
inhibit thin bladed knives and the like extending from the basket
in the space between the front wall 22 and the side walls 21 and
bottom wall 23. Rib 60 is located adjacent and outwardly of the
side walls 21 to give additional dimensional stability between the
front wall 22 and the side walls 21.
The bottom wall 23 slopes forwardly and downwardly toward the tub
interior when the door 11 is closed as illustrated most clearly in
FIGS. 4 and 5. The bottom wall is provided with spaced ribs 42 each
having a flat generally horizontal upper surface 43 with these
surfaces being substantially coplanar. The ribs 42 are primarily
used to keep the silverware in the basket separated from each other
for more efficient washing. Each rib 42 has a notched stepped
forward end 44 (FIG. 5) to provide room for the bottom rib 41 when
the front wall 22 is in closed position.
The back wall 24 of the basket extends above the front wall 22 when
this front wall is closed and is provided with a plurality of
vertical partitions 45 and 46 that extend from the closed front
wall 22 to the rear wall 24 to divide the basket into side-by-side
separated compartments. The partition 46 is located centrally of
the basket and is provided adjacent its upper end with a large
opening 47 so that it also serves as a handle for transporting the
basket and its contents. The vertical partitions 45 and 46 are
provided with rear edge openings 48 and 49 so as to permit liquid
to pass from one compartment to another through the partitions. As
can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5 these openings 48 and 49 are elongated
in a generally horizontal direction so as to facilitate the passage
of this liquid.
The front wall 22 is provided with the above-described lattice of
integral plastic strips some of which 50 are arranged horizontally
and some of which 61 are arranged vertically. These strips 50 are
also provided with sharp forward edges 51 that are also facing the
source 15 of projected liquid to facilitate entry of this liquid
through the front wall 22 and onto the contained silverware.
In order to retain the front wall 22 in closed position there is
provided a spring catch 52. As disclosed most clearly in FIGS. 4, 5
and 8, this spring catch comprises a wire 53 having ends 54
retained in bosses 55 on the rear top of the front wall 22 and a
central section 56 above the metal reinforcing strip 29. The ends
54 held in the bosses 55 are on end shelves 57 that are integral
with the bosses so that the wire is held against clockwise movement
as viewed in FIGS. 4, 5 and 8. This serves to retain the wire in
catch notches 58 in the two partitions 45 on opposite sides of and
nearest to the central partition 46. This structure provides a
spring catch to hold the front wall 22 closed as shown most clearly
in FIGS. 4 and 5, yet permits releasing the catch by distorting the
spring 52 upwardly from its position in FIGS. 4 and 5. This can
easily be done by grasping the central handle portion 59 of the
spring catch.
Thus the invention is discussed above comprehends an improved
silverware basket structure for use in a dishwasher having a
washing space provided with a forwardly opening access opening 12
and a door 11 removably closing the access opening. The silverware
basket 20 is arranged to be carried on the door to be exposed to
the washing space when the door is in the closed position across
the access opening. The invention comprehends providing such a
basket having a water-pervious wall means including a back wall 24
and peripheral walls 21 and 23 projecting from the back wall and
defining therewith a three-sided receptacle as shown in FIG. 3
having a front opening which opens laterally toward the upper end
of the receptacle as shown in FIG. 3. Thus, in the arrangement of
FIG. 3 the basket is arranged to receive silverware brought
flatwise downwardly through the front opening with the basket
turned with the back 24 lowermost and thus with the front opening
uppermost. The water-pervious front wall 22 is selectively
disposable across the front opening as shown in FIG. 2 subsequent
to the reception of the silverware in the receptacle. Thus, when
the door 11 is swung upwardly to the closed position across the
access opening, the basket defines an upwardly opening receptacle
with the previously designated side opening now uppermost to define
the four-sided upwardly opening receptacle arrangement shown in
FIG. 2 which is then exposed to the washing space for washing the
silverware in the basket. In this arrangement the peripheral wall
23 defines the bottom of the upwardly opening receptacle.
* * * * *