U.S. patent number 3,903,911 [Application Number 05/417,777] was granted by the patent office on 1975-09-09 for dishwasher spray system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to General Electric Company. Invention is credited to Lauren W. Guth.
United States Patent |
3,903,911 |
Guth |
September 9, 1975 |
Dishwasher spray system
Abstract
There is disclosed a spray system for spraying water generally
vertically downwardly onto a silverware basket in a dishwasher. The
spray system is physically located in the dishwasher door in
association with a system for venting the wash chamber during the
dry cycle. The path of water movement passes through a vent guard.
The vent guard includes a one way baffle which acts to deflect
water emitting from the spray system toward the silverware
basket.
Inventors: |
Guth; Lauren W. (Louisville,
KY) |
Assignee: |
General Electric Company
(Louisville, KY)
|
Family
ID: |
23655353 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/417,777 |
Filed: |
November 21, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
134/148; 134/154;
134/200 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47L
15/488 (20130101); A47L 15/16 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47L
15/14 (20060101); A47L 15/16 (20060101); A47L
15/50 (20060101); A47L 15/48 (20060101); B08B
003/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;134/148,154,182,176,179,183,191,94,200
;312/138A,213,223,311,312 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hornsby; Harvey C.
Assistant Examiner: Niegowski; James A.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A dishwasher having a wash/rinse cycle and a dry cycle,
comprising
means providing a wash chamber including a door having an inner
apertured panel exposed to the wash chamber and an outer panel
providing therebetween a door compartment;
means including a pump for spraying liquid into the wash
chamber;
a silverware receiver in the wash chamber below the inner panel
aperture;
means for circulating air through the wash chamber and door
compartment during the dry cycle including the panel aperture, a
vent in the door compartment having an opening in fluid
communication with the panel aperture and a vent guard in the wash
chamber, said vent guard comprising a stationary segment having a
passage therethrough and means mounting said stationary segment to
said door, thereby masking the panel aperture; and
means for spraying liquid downwardly on the silverware receiver
during the wash/rinse cycle including a conduit residing at least
partially in said vent and having an opening defining a spray path
directed at the vent guard, the vent guard further including a
one-way baffle mounted on said stationary segment for movement
between positions opening and closing the passage for passing
liquid spray from the opening into the wash chamber toward the
silverware receiver and preventing liquid spray from passing from
the wash chamber past the vent guard, and means for delivering
pressurized liquid from the pump to the conduit.
2. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the conduit merges with the
stationary segment.
3. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the conduit opening is spaced
from the vent guard.
4. The dishwasher of claim 1 further comprising means mounting the
baffle for swinging movement between a generally vertical position
and an inclined position, the conduit opening being directed at the
baffle for swinging the baffle to an inclined position.
5. A dishwasher having a wash/rinse cycle and a dry cycle,
comprising
means providing a wash chamber including a door having an inner
apertured panel exposed to the wash chamber and an outer panel
providing therebetween a door compartment;
means including a pump for spraying liquid into the wash
chamber;
a silverware receiver in the wash chamber below the inner panel
aperture; and
means for spraying liquid downwardly on the silverware receiver
during the wash/rinse cycle including a conduit having an opening
defining a generally horizontal path of water movement through the
inner panel aperture, a baffle disposed across the path of water
movement, means mounting the baffle for swinging movement from a
generally vertical position toward an inclined position under
impact of water emitting from the opening for diverting the path of
water movement generally vertically toward the silverware receiver,
and means for delivering water from the pump to the conduit.
6. The dishwasher of claim 5 wherein the last mentioned spray means
comprises a stop for preventing swinging movement of the baffle
past the inclined position.
Description
Presently available dishwashers are commonly equipped with a
silverware basket which is designed to accommodate a large number
of vertically disposed knives, forks, spoons and kitchen
implements. Since such silverware is closely spaced in the basket,
food particles tend to accumulate or be trapped between adjacent
silverware pieces. Accordingly, a housewife may open the dishwasher
and find food particles lodged between silverware pieces. The
natural tendency is to close the dishwasher door and manipulate the
timer to rewash the load in the dishwasher. This is obviously
disconcerting as well as wasteful.
In accordance with this invention, there is provided a spray system
for directing a quantity of wash water downwardly into a silverware
basket in order to dislodge food particles trapped between adjacent
silverware pieces. Food particles so dislodged will fall into the
bottom of the dishwasher for removal along with a batch of water
circulated in the dishwasher.
The provision of a downward spray in a dishwasher is found in each
of U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,624,356; 2,704,084; 3,064,661 and
3,330,288.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved spray
system for dishwashers incorporating a downwardly directed spray
onto a silverware receiver.
In summary, this invention comprises a dishwasher including means
providing a wash chamber including a door having an inner apertured
panel exposed to the wash chamber and an outer panel providing
therebetween a door compartment; means including a pump for
spraying liquid into the wash chamber; a silverware receiver in the
wash chamber below an inner panel aperture; means for circulating
air through the wash chamber and door compartment during a dry
cycle including the panel aperture, a flow director in the door
compartment having an opening in fluid communication with the panel
aperture and a vent guard in the wash chamber adjacent the panel
aperture for preventing liquid entry into the door compartment; and
means for spraying liquid downwardly on the silverware receiver
during the wash or rinse cycle including a conduit having an
opening defining a spray path directed at the vent guard, the vent
guard including a one-way baffle for passing liquid spray from the
opening into the wash chamber and preventing liquid spray from
passing from the wash chamber past the vent guard, and means for
delivering pressurized liquid from the pump to the conduit.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a partial vertical cross sectional view of a dishwasher
equipped with a spray system of this invention;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the spray system of
this invention; and
FIG. 3 is a partial vertical cross sectional view, similar to FIG.
1, illustrating a different embodiment of the invention.
Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a dishwasher 10
comprising as major components a cabinet 12 including a door 14, a
tub 16 providing with the door 14 a wash chamber 18, an upper rack
20 and one or more lower racks 22, 24 for receiving articles to be
washed, means 26 for spraying washing liquid upwardly into the
chamber 18 for washing the articles, means 28 for spraying washing
liquid downwardly into a silverware basket or receiver 30 carried
by the lower rack 22, means 32 for drying the articles and a timer
mechanism 34 for controlling operation of the dishwasher 10 and
providing one or more wash/rinse cycles and a dry cycle.
The cabinet 12, door 14 and tub 16 may be of any suitable design.
The door 14 is conveniently movably mounted by a pivot pin 36
adjacent the lower end thereof and includes inner and outer panels
38, 40 spaced apart to provide a door compartment 42. The rack 20
is mounted by any suitable means, for example a guide-roller
arrangement 44 for movement into and at least partially out of the
wash chamber 18 for loading and unloading articles. The lowermost
rack 24 is supported by ledges 46 on the tub 16 and tracks (not
shown) provided by the inner door panel 38 to allow movement of the
rack 24 in and out of the wash chamber 18. The lower rack 22 is
supported, in the tub 16, by a ledge (not shown) therein. One or
more wheels 48 on the rack 22 are lowered during outward movement
of the rack 22 into load supported engagement with a rail 50
carried by the lowermost rack 24. Accordingly, the racks 22, 24 are
mounted for movement into and at least partially out of the tub 16
as disclosed more fully in copending application Ser. No. 320,618,
filed Jan. 2, 1973, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,769 and assigned to the
assignee of this invention. It is clear that any suitable means may
be employed to movably mount the rack 22.
The spray means 26 may be of any suitable type and conveniently
includes a spray arm 52 mounted for rotation about a central axis
(not shown) in fluid communication with a pump 54 driven by a
suitable motor 56. The pump 54 and motor 56 are conveniently sealed
against the tub bottom 58 by a boot 60 and annular clamping ring
62. A shield 64 may be provided for protecting the boot 60.
Operation of the motor 56 is controlled by the timer 34 in any
suitable manner.
The silverware basket 30 may be of any suitable type, e.g. plastic
mesh as illustrated in FIG. 1. Typically, the basket 30 has
internal dividers acting to hold silverware pieces generally
vertical. Since silverware pieces are closely spaced in the basket
30, the lodging of food particles therebetween can readily
occur.
The drying means 32 conveniently includes a resistive heating
element 66 as is now customary. Enerization of the heating element
66 is likewise controlled by the timer 34 in any convenient
manner.
The dishwasher 10 includes a vent system 68 for removing moisture
laden air from the wash chamber 18 during the dry cycle in order to
facilitate the evaporation of water from articles in the racks 20,
22, 24 thereby accelerating the drying process. The vent system 68
conveniently includes an air inlet 70 on the lower part of the door
14, an aperture 72 in the door panel 38 near the bottom of the wash
chamber 18, an aperture 74 in the door panel 38 near the upper end
of the wash chamber 18, a vent guard 76 for preventing liquid spray
from the arm 52 entering the door compartment 42, a flow director
or vent 78 in the door compartment 42 in fluid communication with
the aperture 74 and an outlet opening 80 through the outer door
panel 36.
During the drying cycle, the heating element 66 is energized
thereby heating air in the wash chamber 18. Heated air flows
convectionally upwardly through the wash chamber 18, through the
vent 78 and the outlet opening 80 to exhaust into the room in which
the dishwasher 10 is placed. Cool relatively dry replacement air
passes through the inlet 70 and the aperture 72 into the wash
chamber 18. The convectional current created by the heating element
66 continues until the wash chamber 18 cools off following
termination of the dry cycle. It will accordingly be seen that
there is provided means for circulating air through the wash
chamber 18 and the door compartment 42 during the dry cycle.
The downward spraying system 28 of this invention is physically
associated with the vent guard 76 and the vent 78 which have been
modified to accommodate the downward spraying system 28. The flow
director or vent 78 comprises an upwardly facing conduit 82 of
suitable cross sectional shape having an inlet 84 disposed below an
outlet 86 as dictated by convectional flow in the vent system 58.
Adjacent the inlet 84 is a reentrant groove 88 in the vent 78 for
receiving and substantially sealing a curled edge of the door panel
38 which provides the aperture 74. The vent 78 also provides an
opening 90 having a grommet 92 therein for sealing against a
flexible hose 94 leading from a fitting 96 on the pump 54 to a
spray conduit 98. The spray conduit 98 includes an inlet 100
secured to the hose 94 by a suitable clamp 102. The conduit 98
includes an outlet 104 and sidewalls 106 divergent there toward.
The sidewalls 106 accordingly define a path of water movement
108.
The vent guard 76 comprises a generally rectangular segment 110
fixed to the door panel 38 by suitable braces 112. The sidewalls
106 of the conduit 98 merge with the stationary segment 110 so that
the conduit 98, the stationary segment 110 and the braces 112 may
conveniently comprise a single piece of molded plastic. A door or
one-way baffle 114 is mounted on the segment 110 by a pivot
connection 116. The door 114 includes an extension 118 for abutting
the segment 110 and establishing a limit of movement in the
counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2.
Water passing through the conduit 98 impinges on the door 114
thereby swinging the door 114 in a counterclockwise direction
toward the position illustrated in FIG. 2. As water ceases to pass
through the conduit 98, the door 114 moves by gravity in a
clockwise direction to close the conduit outlet 104.
It will be apparent that the inclination of the baffle 114 in the
position illustrated in FIG. 2 has a substantial bearing on the
orientation of a spray path 120 emitting from the spray system 28.
As the baffle 114 is inclined further from the vertical, the spray
path 120 becomes broader while an axis 122 thereof becomes less
vertical. The width of the spray path 120 at its juncture with
articles in the silverware basket 30 preferably covers all or a
substantial part of the basket 30 with the axis 122 being as nearly
vertical as practicable. Accordingly, spray from the conduit 98
acts to dislodge food particles tending to be trapped between
adjacent pieces of silverware in the basket 30.
It is apparent that the provision of the spray means 28 does not
substantially affect operation of the vent system 68 since the
inlet 84 is of sufficient size to provide an adequate flow area. It
will be apparent that spray from the main spray arm 52 cannot enter
the vent 78 since the inlet 84 thereof is adequately masked by the
vent guard 76.
Referring to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a spray system 124
constituting another embodiment of this invention. As in the
embodiment of FIG. 1, the dishwasher door 126 provides inner and
outer door panels 128, 130 defining therebetween a door compartment
132 housing a timer 134 and a vent or flow director 136. The vent
136 is of the timer controlled type such as illustrated in U.S.
Pat. No. 3,092,122. For present purposes it will suffice to say
that the vent 136 is provided with a closure 138 operatively
connected to a control arm 140 of the timer 134. The timer 134 acts
during the dry cycle to open the closure 138 for allowing air to
circulate through the wash chamber.
As in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the inner door panel 128 provides
an aperture therethrough receiving an inlet 142 of the vent 136. A
vent guard 144 includes a stationary segment 146 secured to the
door 126 by suitable braces 148. The stationary segment 146
provides an opening or passage 150 therethrough closed by a
pivotally mounted door or baffle 152 which swings to the open
position illustrated in FIG. 3 upon delivery of water through a
spray conduit 154. The spray conduit 154 extends through a suitable
sealed opening in the vent 136 and connects to a hose 156 (not
shown) leading to the dishwasher pump (not shown).
As in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the orientation of the open
baffle 152 controls the direction and divergence of a spray path
158 directed toward the silverware basket. The open baffle 152 acts
to deflect the generally horizontal spray from the conduit 154 into
the generally vertical spray path 158.
A major distinction between the embodiments of FIGS. 1 and 3 is
that the spray conduit 154 terminates short of the vent guard 144.
It would seem that the embodiment of FIG. 3 would allow water entry
into the door compartment 132 from the main spray arm (not shown)
during concurrent operation of the main spray arm and the spray
system 124 since the baffle 152 is open. In fact, this does not
occur since the closure 138 is closed against the vent 136 when the
dishwasher is operating in the wash/rinse cycle. Accordingly, even
if water were to enter the vent 136 from the main spray arm, the
vertical extent of the vent 136 and the closure 138 act effectively
to prevent water entry into the door compartment 132.
The spray systems 28, 124 may be operated concurrently with the
main spray arm during the entire wash/rinse cycle or may be
operated intermittently, as by the timer controlling a valve in the
pump fitting 96.
It will accordingly be apparent that the baffles 114, 152 act to
deflect the horizontal or slightly inclined spray path of the
conduits 98, 154 into the nearly vertical spray paths 120, 158 in
order to dislodge food particles from between silverware pieces in
the basket 30. By associating the spray systems 28, 124 with the
vents 78, 136 respectively, no additional opening in the dishwasher
door is required. From FIG. 1 it will be seen that there are few
positions in a conventional dishwasher for mounting a spray conduit
for simple downward spraying into the basket 30.
* * * * *