Dishwasher

Details Dishwasher Dishwasher

2000-09-20

2001-09-25

Paschall, Mark (Department: 3742)

Electric heating

Heating devices

With current connection and/or disconnection means

C219S481000, C219S497000, C219S491000, C361S079000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06294767

ABSTRACT:

This invention relates to dishwashers and in particular but not solely to a dishwasher of the type disclosed in the applicant'international patent specification WO 93/12706.
PRIOR ART
The dishwasher of WO 93/12706 has a form generally indicated in
FIGS. 1 and 2
and installation options as shown in
FIGS. 4
to
6
. The dishwasher disclosed in WO 93/12706 differs from conventional dishwashers in that a wash chamber and associated wash system is slidably mounted in the form of a drawer within a cabinet and the chamber is withdrawn horizontally to allow loading through the open top of the chamber. When the chamber is retracted an associated lid sealably closes off the top of the chamber to contain wash liquid in operation. In WO 93/12706 the wash chamber lid is of unitary construction movably retained in the stop of the cabinet and engaged by the wash chamber on retraction to move down onto the top of the wash chamber using a parallelogram linkage and cam mechanism. In practice it has been found that other types of wash chamber covers may be satisfactory and may have better production economics.
Detergent dispensers are a necessary component of all dishwashers. Conventional dispensers retain a charge of detergent until an appropriate point in the wash cycle, at which time a detergent receptacle opens to release detergent into the wash chamber. Conventional dispensers have the disadvantage that considerable quantities of high pressure liquid need to enter the detergent receptacle to ensure it is properly flushed and where the receptacle uses a moving door to release the detergent, the opening of the door can be obstructed by the wash load.
In the previously mentioned WO 93/12706 a dishwasher drain pump was disclosed. While the drain pump there described operated satisfactorily, particles in the soiled wash water could be deposited in the gap between the motor rotor and well
106
.
In WO 93/12706 a dishwasher was disclosed having a cabinet containing single wash chamber and associated wash system. Because a sliding drawer type configuration exerts more forces on the cabinet than front loading machines portal frame members were proposed to increase the racking resistance of the cabinet. In WO 93/12706 it was envisaged that increased dishwashing capacity could be achieved by simply increasing the number of discrete dishwasher modules. Particular reference was made to mounting two modules under a kitchen bench one above the other. The height of each module was chosen to ensure that when two modules were mounted in the kitchen joinery one above they other they would fit within the bench height of typical household kitchens. In some circumstances an integral two wash tub dishwasher may be preferred—that is, a cabinet having two drawers instead of one. This however increases the problem of providing adequate resistance to racking forces exerted by the wash tubs since the ‘open’ fronted cabinet is then required to be approximately twice the height of a single drawer cabinet.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a dishwasher of the type described having an effective wash chamber closure sealing system.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a dishwasher detergent dispenser which at least goes some way towards overcoming the above-mentioned disadvantages.
Further objects of the invention are to provide:
a dishwasher with an improved drain pump,
a dishwasher cabinet for housing two wash chambers,
a dishwasher water management system, and
a heating element fault protection circuit.
In one aspect the present invention consists in a washing appliance comprising:
(a) a cabinet,
(b) a wash system slidably mounted within said cabinet in such a manner that it may be withdrawn horizontally out of said cabinet for access thereto, said wash system including:
(i) an open top wash chamber adapted to accommodate dishes within which wash liquid is circulated, said wash chamber having a top peripheral rim,
(ii) means for introducing and circulating wash liquid within said chamber,
(iii) means for evacuating wash liquid from said chamber,
(c) a wash chamber closure mounted in the top of said cabinet, which closure covers the open top of said wash chamber on retraction of the wash chamber into said cabinet,
(d) said closure having peripheral means which cooperate with said rim to prevent egress of wash liquid from the wash chamber when it is retracted into said cabinet, and said closure being retained in a substantially fixed vertical position in the top of said cabinet.
In a further aspect the invention consists in a washing appliance comprising:
(a) a cabinet,
(b) a wash system slidably mounted within said cabinet in such a manner that it may be withdrawn horizontally out of said cabinet for access thereto, said wash system including:
(i) an open stop wash chamber adapted to accommodate items to be washed and within which wash liquid is circulated, said wash chamber having a top peripheral rim,
(ii) means for introducing and circulating wash liquid within said chamber,
(iii) means for evacuating wash liquid from said chamber,
(c) a wash chamber closure mounted in the tope of said cabinet, which closure covers the open top of said wash chamber on retraction of the wash chamber into said cabinet,
(d) said closure being mounted in the top of said cabinet by mechanical means which permit it to move in a vertical direction only and said closure having peripheral means which cooperate with said rim to prevent egress of wash liquid from the wash chamber when it is lowered from a raised position; and
(e) means for raising said closure prior to withdrawal of the wash system from the cabinet and lowering said closure on retraction of said wash system into said cabinet.
In a further aspect the invention consists in a dishwasher, including a detergent dispenser mounted in one interior wall thereof and a controller which controls the sequence of operations executed by said dishwasher, said detergent dispenser comprising:
a receptacle located behind said wall and communicating with the dishwasher interior through a vent in said wall,
an open top container for holding a charge of detergent mounted within said chamber,
a water outlet nozzle positioned above the open top of said container, and a supply valve which supplies water to said nozzle,
said controller causing said valve to open at a predetermined time in said cycle to cause water to be discharged from said nozzle into said container to mix with an flush said detergent charge through said vent into the interior of said dishwasher.
In yet a further aspect the present invention consists in a washing appliance according to claim
13
where said lid is mounted in the top of said cabinet so as to lower when the wash chamber is retracted and raise when the wash chamber is withdrawn, the edge of said lid is provided with downward facing flanges and the rim of said wash chamber is provided with complementary upward facing flanges, the lid and rim flanges loosely inter-engaging when the lid is lowered to form a labyrinthic seal there between.
In yet a further aspect the present invention consists in a cabinet for a dishwasher having a box configuration with one open side and including a recessed kick plate along the bottom of the open side which cabinet provides resistance to racking forces applied parallel to the open side comprising:
a top, bottom, two side walls and a back wall of thin sheet material joined along their edges to leave a substantially rectangular front opening defined by the front edges of the top, bottom and two side walls,
the front edge of the bottom wall and the lowermost portions of the side walls being co-planar and recessed back from the front edges of the top wall and the upper portions of the side walls which lie in a second plane,
internally directed flanges on said front edges,
said flanges on the bottom and bottom side contiguous edges being rigidly joined at the two bottom corners and thereby configured as an inverted tapered beam portal frame with said two corners forming moment

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