SPACE EFFICIENT FLOW CONTROLLER FOR DISHWASHER
A flow controller for controlling water flow from a pump pumping water from a sump of a dish washer to a water conduit system of the dishwasher is provided. The flow controller comprises a plate with openings forming water outlets to the water conduit system, and a disc rotatably arranged in relation to the plate. The disc comprises openings arranged for allowing closing and opening of the water outlets in the plate during rotation of the disc. The disc comprises at least two annulus shaped portions. The at least two annulus shaped portions are located radially displaced, and the openings are formed in the at least two annulus shaped portions.
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The invention relates to a flow controller for a dishwasher. The present invention also relates to a dishwasher with a flow controller.
BACKGROUNDA dishwasher typically comprises a sump disposed below a wash tub. The sump is configured to collect water from the dish washer. In the dishwasher a number of nozzles are provided. The nozzles are typically provided on spray arms. Most dishwashers have at least an upper and a lower spray arm. The sump is connected to a circulating pump configured to pump water collected in the sump. The water pumped by the pump can be pumped via some distributing element that determines which nozzles are to spray water at a particular point in time. Thus, by configuring the distributing element in a particular way the water can be pumped by the circulating pump to be sprayed via a determined set of spray arms. Accordingly, it is possible to independently perform an intensive wash mode of spraying water only through one of the spray arms. The distributing element can for example be a motor driven rotating disc configured to open and close outlets to the different spray arms. Such a distributing element can be termed a flow controller.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 9,801,522 describes a rotating member driven by a motor to open and close holes for supplying water to spray nozzles.
There is a constant desire to improve various aspects of a flow controller. Hence there is a need for an improved flow controller.
SUMMARYIt is an object of the present invention to provide an improved flow controller.
This object and/or others are obtained by a device as set out in the appended claims.
In accordance with a first aspect of the invention a flow controller for controlling water flow from a pump pumping water from a sump of a dish washer to a water conduit system of the dishwasher is provided. The flow controller comprises a plate with openings forming water outlets to the water conduit system, and a disc rotatably arranged in relation to the plate. The disc comprises openings arranged for allowing closing and opening of the water outlets in the plate during rotation of the disc. The disc comprises at least two annulus shaped portions. The at least two annulus shaped portions are located radially displaced, and the openings are formed in the at least two annulus shaped portions. Hereby a space efficient configuration of openings in the disc can be obtained. This is because the open and closed portions of the disc that is used to open and close the water outlets are possible to locate such that a very limited amount of space is required even for a large number of water outlets in the plate. The annulus shaped portions are typically arranged concentrically and next to each other to allow for a space efficient configuration where the flow controller can be made small.
In accordance with one embodiment, the plate also comprises at least two annulus shaped portions corresponding two the at least two annulus shaped portions of the disc. By providing a matching structure in the plate, which plate typically can be circular as the rotating disc, the plate can contribute to keep the dimensions of the flow controller small. Thus, many water outlets can be opened and closed in a design that requires little space.
In accordance with one embodiment, the openings in the disc are shaped as annulus sectors and or the water outlets are shaped as annulus sectors. Hereby a high water flow can be obtained with a compact design. Thus, the openings providing water to the water conduit system can be relatively large and at the same time require a small amount of space. This is particularly advantageous when many water outlets are provided in the plate because otherwise the plate would need to be very large indeed.
In accordance with one embodiment, at least water outlet is connectable to a spray arm and wherein at least one water outlet is connectable to a water tank. Hereby a flow controller that is capable of distributing water to both spray arms, and potentially other water spray nozzles in the dishwasher and also to provide water to a water tank can be provided. Because the configuration of the flow controller can be small and can allow for many water outlets to be provided in the plate, it is possible to control water supply to other entities of the dishwasher via the flow controller. Hereby no separate valve for distributing water to for example a water tank is required.
The invention also extends to a dish washer comprising a flow controller according to the above. The dishwasher can comprise at least one spray arm and at least one water tank. At least one water outlet in the plate can be connected to the at least one spray arm and at least one water outlet in the plate can be connected to the water tank. Hereby no separate valve for distributing water to the water tank is required. Instead the all water supply can be controlled via the rotating disc in the flow controller and space and components can be saved within the dishwasher.
The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which certain embodiments of the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided by way of example so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. For example, like or similar components of different embodiments can be exchanged between different embodiments. Some components can be omitted from different embodiments. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description.
The tub 12 includes a sump 14 in which wash fluid or rinse fluid is collected, generally referred to as water, typically under the influence of gravity. The water may be pumped by a circulation pump 50 through a water conduit system 26 to one or more spray arms (e.g., lower spray arm 20 and/or middle spray arm 25) mounted in the interior of the tub 12 for spraying the wash fluid, under pressure, onto the dishes, utensils, and other dishware contained therein.
The dishwasher 10 may also comprise a controller 40 that may be in communication with one or more of the operational components of the dishwasher 10. For example, the controller 40 may be in communication with the circulation pump 50 and may be configured to selectively operate the circulation pump 50 to pump wash fluid to at least one spray arm and/or spray nozzle. In accordance with some embodiments the controller 40 can control a flow controller as will be described in more detail below. In some embodiments, the controller 40 may comprise a processor or other computing means such that operations can be performed in the dishwasher. Additionally, or alternatively, the controller 40 may comprise a memory for storage of data such as routines for operation of the dishwasher 10. In some embodiments, the controller 40 may be housed in the lower end 22 of the dishwasher 10.
In the wash tub, a plurality of spray arms 25 are configured to spray water received when pumped from the sump 14 via the water distribution system 26 onto the dishes. While only one spray arm is depicted in
The sump 14 is typically positioned at the center of the bottom of the wash tube, and act to collect washing water that is used for washing.
In
The flow controller 30 is controlled to distribute pressurized water to some desired configuration of water outlets 32 by opening and closing the different water outlets 32 in some desired configuration. This can be obtained by rotating a disc with openings in the flow controller. In
In
Further illustrated in
In
In
In
In the embodiment depicted in
The water outlets to a middle and to a top spray-arm can be placed at a second, intermediate, radius. The water outlets to the spray arm are preferably larger than the other water outlets to allow for a high water flow. Hence these outlets on the second radius can be large compared to the other water outlets. The water outlet to a bottom spray-arm and to other water outlets can be located at a third outmost radius. The water outlets on the largest radius can be smaller than the water outlets on the intermediate radius.
In accordance with some embodiments the flow controller 30 can be configured such that the water outlets 32 at the largest radius is provided with a water outlet that is half the angular width of the water outlets at a radius inside the largest radius, such as the intermediate radius in the example above.
In the exemplary embodiment of
Claims
1. A flow controller for controlling water flow from a pump pumping water from a sump of a dish washer to a water conduit system of the dishwasher, the flow controller comprising:
- a plate with openings forming water outlets to the water conduit system, and
- a disc rotatably arranged in relation to the plate, the disc comprising openings arranged for allowing closing and opening of the water outlets in the plate during rotation of the disc;
- wherein the disc comprises at least two annulus shaped portions, the at least two annulus shaped portions being located radially displaced, and wherein the openings are formed in said at least two annulus shaped portions.
2. The flow controller according to claim 1, wherein the plate also comprises at least two annulus shaped portions corresponding to the at least two annulus shaped portions of the disc.
3. The flow controller according to claim 1, wherein the openings in the disc are shaped as annulus sectors.
4. The flow controller according to claim 1, wherein the water outlets are shaped as annulus sectors.
5. The flow controller according to claim 1, wherein at least one water outlet is configured to be connected to a spray arm and wherein at least one water outlet is configured to be connected to a water tank.
6. A dishwasher comprising the flow controller according to claim 1.
7. The dishwasher according to claim 6, the dishwasher comprising at least one spray arm and at least one water tank, wherein at least one water outlet in the plate is connected to said at least one spray arm and wherein at least one water outlet in the plate is connected to said water tank.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 20, 2018
Publication Date: Jan 27, 2022
Applicant: Electrolux Appliances Aktiebolag (Stockholm)
Inventor: Anders Haegermarck (Trångsund)
Application Number: 17/312,720