APPLIANCE WITH LIQUID AND AIR PUMPS
A method and appliance utilize one or more sprayers that are coupled to both a liquid supply and an air supply through a common hydraulic circuit such that both liquid and pressurized air can be supplied to the one or more sprayers. A common motor may operate both an air pump and/or a water pump of the appliance. The air pump and/or water pump may supply fluid to one or more sprayers and/or other apparatuses within the appliance.
The present embodiments relate to a unitary water and air pump integrated into an appliance, and particularity, but not limited to, for a dishwasher.
Typical dishwashers use separate motors, one motor to rotate the water pump and another motor to rotate the air pump. In doing so resources such as time, energy, and water are generally wasted because two motors are needed to drive separately. Thus, there is a need to allow, but is not limited to, an appliance and method to drive an air pump and water pump independently or together from a single motor. Moreover, within a dishwasher the amount of water needed to wash the utensils may be reduced, the drying performance may increase, and/or washing performance by accelerating the water stream may increase.
SUMMARYIn some embodiments, the dishwasher may comprise a wash tub. In various embodiments, the dishwasher may include one or more sprayers disposed within the wash tub. In some embodiments, the dishwasher may include a liquid supply and an air supply having a single motor operating both the liquid supply and the air supply. Moreover, in some embodiments, the liquid supply may include a water pump driven by the single motor in fluid communication with the one or more sprayers and configured to supply a liquid to the one or more sprayers to spray the liquid onto utensils disposed within the wash tub. In some embodiments, the air supply may include an air pump driven by the single motor in fluid communication with the one or more sprayers and configured to supply pressurized air to the one or more sprayers to spray the pressurized air onto utensils disposed within the wash tub.
In various embodiments, the air pump and the water pump may be mounted on opposing ends of the single motor. In some embodiments, the air pump and the water pump may be mounted on one end of the single motor. Moreover, in some embodiments, the water pump may be positioned between the air pump and the single motor. In some embodiments, the single motor may include one or more clutches, wherein the one or more clutches operably engages at least one of the water pump and the air pump. In various embodiments, the air supply may further comprise at least one air compressor in fluid communication with the one or more sprayers. Moreover, in various embodiments, the dishwasher may further comprise a hydraulic circuit coupled between the liquid supply, the air supply, and the one or more sprayers. In some embodiments, the hydraulic circuit may include first and second check valves respectively configured to restrict back flow of liquid to the air supply and to restrict back flow of pressurized air to the liquid supply. In addition, in various embodiments, the hydraulic circuit may include a valve configured to selectively couple the one or more sprayers to each of the liquid supply and the air supply. In some embodiments, the one or more sprayers may include first and second sprayers, the dishwasher further comprising first and second valves respectively coupled to the first and second sprayers to control fluid flow to the first and second sprayers. In various embodiments, the dishwasher may further comprise a controller coupled to the liquid supply and the air supply. Moreover, in some embodiments, the controller may be configured to control the liquid supply, the air supply and/or the hydraulic circuit to selectively spray liquid or pressurized air through the one or more sprayers. In various embodiments, the controller may be configured to control the liquid supply, the air supply and/or the hydraulic circuit to spray liquid through the one or more sprayers during a wash operation of a wash cycle and to spray pressurized air through the one or more sprayers during a drying operation of the wash cycle. In some embodiments, the controller may be configured to control the liquid supply, the air supply and/or the hydraulic circuit to concurrently spray liquid and pressurized air through the one or more sprayers. Moreover, in some embodiments, the dishwasher may further comprise one or more additional sprayers disposed in the wash tub and coupled in fluid communication with only one of the liquid supply or the air supply. In various embodiments, the single motor may include one or more one-way bearings, wherein the one or more one-way bearings operably engages at least one of the water pump and the air pump. In some embodiments, the air pump may be positioned between the water pump and the single motor.
In addition, in some embodiments, the dishwasher may comprise a wash tub, a water pump, and/or an air pump. In various embodiments, the water pump and the air pump may be operated by a single motor. In some embodiments, the dishwasher may include one or more first sprayers disposed within the wash tub. Moreover, in various embodiments, the dishwasher may include one or more second sprayers disposed within the wash tub. In some embodiments, the water pump may be in fluid communication with the one or more first sprayers and configured to supply a liquid to the one or more first sprayers to spray the liquid onto utensils disposed within the wash tub. In various embodiments, the air pump may be in fluid communication with the one or more second sprayers and configured to supply pressurized air to the one or more second sprayers to spray the pressurized air onto utensils disposed within the wash tub. In addition, in some embodiments, the dishwasher may include a hydraulic circuit in fluid communication with the one or more first sprayers and/or the one or more second sprayers and configured to supply liquid and pressurized air from the air pump and/or the water pump operated by the single motor.
In various embodiments, the air pump may be in fluid communication with the one or more first sprayers. In some embodiments, the water pump may be in fluid communication with the one or more second sprayers. In addition, in various embodiments, the air pump and the water pump may be positioned on one end of the single motor. In some embodiments, the air pump and the water pump may be positioned on opposing ends of the single motor. Moreover, in some embodiments, the dishwasher may further comprise an air compressor in fluid communication with the air pump.
In some implementations, a method may comprise operating a single motor in communication with an air pump and a water pump. In various embodiments, the method may include supplying liquid with the water pump of the dishwasher to one or more sprayers disposed in a wash tub of the dishwasher to spray the liquid onto utensils disposed within the wash tub. In various embodiments, the method may include supplying pressurized air with the air pump of the dishwasher to the one or more sprayers to spray the pressurized air onto utensils disposed within the wash tub.
In some embodiments, the method of supplying the liquid and supplying the pressurized air may be performed concurrently. In various embodiments, the method of supplying the pressurized air may include injecting the pressurized air into the liquid supplied by the liquid supply. Moreover, in some embodiments, the method of supplying the liquid and supplying the pressurized air may be performed separately. In various embodiments, the method of supplying the liquid may be performed during a wash operation of a wash cycle and supplying the pressurized air may be performed during a drying operation of the wash cycle.
These and other advantages and features, which characterize the invention, are set forth in the claims annexed hereto and forming a further part hereof. However, for a better understanding of the invention, and of the advantages and objectives attained through its use, reference should be made to the Drawings, and to the accompanying descriptive matter, in which there is described example embodiments of the invention. This summary is merely provided to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed description, and is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in limiting the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In some embodiments consistent with the invention, one or more tubular spray elements may be discretely directed by one or more tubular spray element drives to spray a fluid such as a wash liquid and/or pressurized air into a wash tub of a dishwasher during a wash cycle. A tubular spray element, in this regard, may be considered to include an elongated body, which may be generally cylindrical in some embodiments but may also have other cross-sectional profiles in other embodiments, and which has one or more apertures disposed on an exterior surface thereof and in fluid communication with a fluid supply, e.g., through one or more internal passageways defined therein. A tubular spray element also has a longitudinal axis generally defined along its longest dimension and about which the tubular spray element rotates, and furthermore, a tubular spray element drive is coupled to the tubular spray element to discretely direct the tubular spray element to multiple rotational positions about the longitudinal axis. A tubular spray element may also have a cross-sectional profile that varies along the longitudinal axis, so it will be appreciated that a tubular spray element need not have a circular cross-sectional profile along its length as is illustrated in a number embodiments herein. In addition, the one or more apertures on the exterior surface of a tubular spray element may be arranged into nozzles in some embodiments, and may be fixed or movable (e.g., rotating, oscillating, etc.) with respect to other apertures on the tubular spray element. Further, the exterior surface of a tubular spray element may be defined on multiple components of a tubular spray element, i.e., the exterior surface need not be formed by a single integral component.
In one embodiment, for example, a separate brushed or brushless DC motor may be used to drive a gear mechanism to rotate a respective tubular spray element, and each tubular spray element may be mounted to a base including a valve to shut off the flow and/or control the flow, e.g., a valve similar to a shutter in a camera or an iris valve that can be controlled by rotation in either direction, and in some instances also including the DC motor.
As will become more apparent below, the combination of a DC motor and a control valve dedicated to a tubular spray element opens up additional factors that can be adjusted to improve a dishwasher's efficiency, control and performance. The variables that may be controlled include, for example, tubular spray element speed, direction, and/or activation. In some embodiments, for general washing settings, all tubular spray elements may be open and spraying wash liquid at low speeds. Tubular spray elements located near wash tub walls may be controlled to rotate in a way not to directly spray wash liquid on the sides of the wash tub thus reducing the noise generated by the wash operation. Tubular spray elements in the center of the wash tub, however, may be allowed to rotate in all directions, and may alternate directions occasionally. A power zone may be created in some embodiments proximate a silverware basket by closing some of the tubular spray elements except for one or more elements proximate the silverware basket, thereby increasing the fluid pressure for power washing in the active tubular spray elements. In addition, in some embodiments the tubular spray elements may be controlled to rotate in a relatively small (e.g., about 5-10 degree) arc to concentrate spray in a small area/zone. Further, to increase efficiency, the tubular spray elements may also be cycled on and off to reduce the amount of wash liquid needed. In addition, it will be appreciated that the flow rate and/or pressure of a fluid supply may also be varied in some embodiments in connection with cycling tubular spray elements on and off, or otherwise as may be desirable in connection with dispensing fluid with a tubular spray element.
Turning now to the drawings, wherein like numbers denote like parts throughout the several views,
In addition, consistent with some embodiments of the invention, dishwasher 10 may include one or more tubular spray elements (TSEs) 26 to direct a wash fluid onto utensils disposed in racks 18, 20. As will become more apparent below, tubular spray elements 26 are rotatable about respective longitudinal axes and are discretely directable by one or more tubular spray element drives (not shown in
The embodiments discussed hereinafter will focus on the implementation of the hereinafter-described techniques within a hinged-door dishwasher. However, it will be appreciated that the herein-described techniques may also be used in connection with other types of dishwashers in some embodiments. For example, the herein-described techniques may be used in commercial applications in some embodiments. Moreover, at least some of the herein-described techniques may be used in connection with other dishwasher configurations, including dishwashers utilizing sliding drawers or dish sink dishwashers, e.g., a dishwasher integrated into a sink.
Now turning to
As shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, pump 36 and air supply 38 collectively implement a fluid supply for dishwasher 100, providing both a source of wash fluid and pressurized air for use respectively during wash and drying operations of a wash cycle. A wash fluid may be considered to be a fluid, generally a liquid, incorporating at least water, and in some instances, additional components such as detergent, rinse aid, and other additives. During a rinse operation, for example, the wash fluid may include only water. A wash fluid may also include steam in some instances. Pressurized air is generally used in drying operations, and may or may not be heated and/or dehumidified prior to spraying into a wash tub. It will be appreciated, however, that pressurized air may not be used for drying purposes in some embodiments, so air supply 38 may be omitted in some instances. Moreover, in some instances, tubular spray elements may be used solely for spraying wash fluid or spraying pressurized air, with other sprayers or spray arms used for other purposes, so the invention is not limited to the use of tubular spray elements for spraying both wash fluid and pressurized air.
Controller 30 may also be coupled to a dispenser 44 to trigger the dispensing of detergent and/or rinse agent into the wash tub at appropriate points during a wash cycle. Additional sensors and actuators may also be used in some embodiments, including a temperature sensor 46 to determine a wash fluid temperature, a door switch 48 to determine when door 12 is latched, and a door lock 50 to prevent the door from being opened during a wash cycle. Moreover, controller 30 may be coupled to a user interface 52 including various input/output devices such as knobs, dials, sliders, switches, buttons, lights, textual and/or graphics displays, touch screen displays, speakers, image capture devices, microphones, etc. for receiving input from and communicating with a user. In some embodiments, controller 30 may also be coupled to one or more network interfaces 54, e.g., for interfacing with external devices via wired and/or wireless networks such as Ethernet, Bluetooth, NFC, cellular and other suitable networks. Additional components may also be interfaced with controller 30, as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill having the benefit of the instant disclosure. For example, one or more TSE drives 56 and/or one or more TSE valves 58 may be provided in some embodiments to discretely control one or more TSEs disposed in dishwasher 10, as will be discussed in greater detail below.
Moreover, in some embodiments, at least a portion of controller 30 may be implemented externally from a dishwasher, e.g., within a mobile device, a cloud computing environment, etc., such that at least a portion of the functionality described herein is implemented within the portion of the controller that is externally implemented. In some embodiments, controller 30 may operate under the control of an operating system and may execute or otherwise rely upon various computer software applications, components, programs, objects, modules, data structures, etc. In addition, controller 30 may also incorporate hardware logic to implement some or all of the functionality disclosed herein. Further, in some embodiments, the sequences of operations performed by controller 30 to implement the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented using program code including one or more instructions that are resident at various times in various memory and storage devices, and that, when read and executed by one or more hardware-based processors, perform the operations embodying desired functionality. Moreover, in some embodiments, such program code may be distributed as a program product in a variety of forms, and that the invention applies equally regardless of the particular type of computer readable media used to actually carry out the distribution, including, for example, non-transitory computer readable storage media. In addition, it will be appreciated that the various operations described herein may be combined, split, reordered, reversed, varied, omitted, parallelized and/or supplemented with other techniques known in the art, and therefore, the invention is not limited to the particular sequences of operations described herein.
Numerous variations and modifications to the dishwasher illustrated in
Now turning to
Moreover, as illustrated in
Tubular spray element 100 is in fluid communication with a fluid supply 106, e.g., through a port 108 of tubular spray element drive 102, to direct fluid from the fluid supply into the wash tub through the one or more apertures 104. Tubular spray element drive 102 is coupled to tubular spray element 100 and is configured to discretely direct the tubular spray element 100 to each of a plurality of rotational positions about longitudinal axis L. By “discretely directing,” what is meant is that tubular spray element drive 102 is capable of rotating tubular spray element 100 generally to a controlled rotational angle (or at least within a range of rotational angles) about longitudinal axis L. Thus, rather than uncontrollably rotating tubular spray element 100 or uncontrollably oscillating the tubular spray element between two fixed rotational positions, tubular spray element drive 102 is capable of intelligently focusing the spray from tubular spray element 100 between multiple rotational positions. It will also be appreciated that rotating a tubular spray element to a controlled rotational angle may refer to an absolute rotational angle (e.g., about 10 degrees from a home position) or may refer to a relative rotational angle (e.g., about 10 degrees from the current position).
Tubular spray element drive 102 is also illustrated with an electrical connection 110 for coupling to a controller 112, and a housing 114 is illustrated for housing various components in tubular spray element drive 102 that will be discussed in greater detail below. In the illustrated embodiment, tubular spray element drive 102 is configured as a base that supports, through a rotary coupling, an end of the tubular spray element and effectively places the tubular spray element in fluid communication with port 108.
By having an intelligent control provided by tubular spray element drive 102 and/or controller 112, spray patterns and cycle parameters may be increased and optimized for different situations. For instance, tubular spray elements near the center of a wash tub may be configured to rotate 360 degrees, while tubular spray elements located near wash tub walls may be limited to about 180 degrees of rotation to avoid spraying directly onto any of the walls of the wash tub, which can be a significant source of noise in a dishwasher. In another instance, it may be desirable to direct or focus a tubular spray element to a fixed rotational position or over a small range of rotational positions (e.g., about 5-10 degrees) to provide concentrated spray of liquid, steam and/or air, e.g., for cleaning silverware or baked on debris in a pan. In addition, in some instances the rotational velocity of a tubular spray element could be varied throughout rotation to provide longer durations in certain ranges of rotational positions and thus provide more concentrated washing in particular areas of a wash tub, while still maintaining rotation through 360 degrees. Control over a tubular spray element may include control over rotational position, speed or rate of rotation and/or direction of rotation in different embodiments of the invention.
In addition, an optional position sensor 122 may be disposed in tubular spray element drive 102 to determine a rotational position of tubular spray element 100 about axis L. Position sensor 122 may be an encoder or hall sensor in some embodiments, or may be implemented in other manners, e.g., integrated into a stepper motor, whereby the rotational position of the motor is used to determine the rotational position of the tubular spray element. Position sensor 122 may also sense only limited rotational positions about axis L (e.g., a home position, 30 or 45 degree increments, etc.). Further, in some embodiments, rotational position may be controlled using time and programming logic, e.g., relative to a home position, and in some instances without feedback from a motor or position sensor. Position sensor 122 may also be external to tubular spray element drive 102 in some embodiments.
An internal passage 124 in tubular spray element 100 is in fluid communication with an internal passage 126 leading to port 108 (not shown in
Turning to
In some embodiments, valve 140 may be actuated independent of rotation of tubular spray element 144, e.g., using an iris valve, butterfly valve, gate valve, plunger valve, piston valve, valve with a rotatable disc, ball valve, etc., and actuated by a solenoid, motor or other separate mechanism from the mechanism that rotates tubular spray element 144. In other embodiments, however, valve 140 may be actuated through rotation of tubular spray element 144. In some embodiments, for example, rotation of tubular spray element 144 to a predetermined rotational position may be close valve 140, e.g., where valve 140 includes an arcuate channel that permits fluid flow over only a range of rotational positions.
As another example, and as illustrated by valve 150 of
As yet another example, and as illustrated by valve 170 of
As yet another example, and as illustrated by valve 180 of
It should also be noted that with the generally U-shape of track 188, valve 180 may be configured in some embodiments to close through counter-rotation by a predetermined amount, yet still remain open when rotated in both directions. Specifically, valve 180 may be configured such that, the valve is open when pin 186 is disposed in either leg of the U-shaped track, but is closed when pin 186 is disposed in the central portion of the track having the shortest radial distance from the centerline of the valve. Valve 180 may be configured such that, when the tubular spray element is rotating in one direction and pin 186 is disposed at one end of track 188, the valve is fully open, and then when the tubular spray element is counter-rotated in an opposite direction a first predetermined amount (e.g., a predetermined number of degrees) the pin 186 travels along track 188 to the central portion to fully close the valve. Then, when the tubular spray element is counter-rotated in the opposite direction beyond the first predetermined about, the pin 186 continues to travel along track 188 to the opposite end, thereby reopening the valve such that the valve will remain open through continued rotation in the opposite direction.
Now turning to
Moreover, as illustrated by tubular spray element 200 of
In still other embodiments, a tubular spray element may be rack-mounted.
As an alternative, and as illustrated in
In some embodiments, tubular spray elements 258, 260 by themselves may provide sufficient washing action and coverage. In other embodiments, however, additional tubular spray elements, e.g., tubular spray elements 262 supported above upper rack 254 on one or both of the top and back walls of wash tub 252, may also be used. In addition, in some embodiments, additional spray arms and/or other sprayers may be used. It will also be appreciated that while 10 tubular spray elements are illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
In addition, drive 306 may directly drive a pair of tubular spray elements 332, 334 that run along a similar longitudinal axis and that respectively include drive gears 336, 338. Coupled at about 45 degree angles to tubular spray elements 332, 334 are tubular spray elements 340, 342, 344 and 346 that are mechanically connected to gears 336, 338 via respective mechanical couplings including gears 348, 350, 352 and 354 and fluidly connected through headers 356, 358.
It will be appreciated that the configuration illustrated in
Next turning to
It will be appreciated that each hub 408, 410 may include multiple tubular spray element drives, including one tubular spray element drive for rotating the tubular spray element 402, 404 about its longitudinal axis and one tubular spray element drive for rotating the tubular spray element 402, 404 about the transverse axis of rotation. In some embodiments, the two drives may also be interconnected and/or share common components (e.g., gears and/or motors). In other embodiments, tubular spray element drives for rotating about a longitudinal axis and/or rotating about a transverse axis of rotation may be separate from the hub 402, 404 and mechanically coupled in an appropriate manner that will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill having the benefit of the instant disclosure.
It will be appreciated that through the movement of tubular spray elements along paths A1, A2, substantially the entire cross-section of wash tub 406 may be covered, including the corners, thereby minimizing dead zones where insufficient spraying occurs. Furthermore, it will be appreciated that, in order to avoid collisions between tubular spray elements 402, 404, the tubular spray elements may be configured to rotate in different planes (e.g., at different elevations in the wash tub), or alternatively control of the position of each tubular spray element 402, 404 along paths A1, A2 may be coordinated to avoid collisions, even where the elements are in the same plane.
Now turning to
Now turning to
In some embodiments, deflectors may be integrated into a rack, e.g., into the wires thereof as illustrated by deflectors 446, or may be mounted to or otherwise supported by a rack. Further, in some embodiments deflectors may be mounted to a wall of the wash tub, as is the case with deflectors 448 and 450. In addition, while the deflectors illustrated in
It will be appreciated that a multitude of different cross-section profiles may be used in a deflector, and may be specifically configured for specific applications. Moreover, as illustrated by dishwasher 460 of
Next turning to
As illustrated by dishwasher 480 of
Alternatively, as illustrated by dishwasher 500 of
Each of tubular spray elements 508-516, or at least a subset of such tubular spray elements, is capable of being used to spray both wash fluid and pressurized air, either separately or in combination if so desired for a particular application. In order to support such dual use functionality, it may be desirable to include one or more valves intermediate the tubular spray elements and the pump and air supply of a dishwasher.
It will be appreciated that with the ability to shut off tubular spray elements individually as has been disclosed above, air pressure can generally be maintained at a higher level due to the reduction in volume required for drying by selectively shutting off some of the tubular spray elements. Otherwise, with all tubular spray elements active at the same time during a drying operation, the amount of air flow required may necessitate the use of a higher volume air pump or fan in the air supply in order to generate enough air movement to forcibly move pooled water on any utensils. Such concerns may not be as great during a wash operation due to the comparatively greater volume of wash liquid that can be sprayed during a wash operation. Thus, in some embodiments, it may be desirable to concurrently operate multiple tubular spray elements during a wash operation while sequentially operating those tubular spray elements during a drying operation.
Now turning to
As shown in
In some embodiments, controller 628 may control liquid supply 622, air supply 624, clutches 737, air compressor 740, one or motors (e.g. a single motor of the liquid/air supply), and/or hydraulic circuit 626 to selectively spray liquid or pressurized air through sprayers 620, i.e., to spray liquid from liquid supply 622 or spray pressurized air from air supply 624, but not both at the same time. It may be desirable, for example, as discussed above, to utilize a sprayer to spray liquid from liquid supply 622 in a wash operation of a wash cycle, while spraying pressurized air from air supply 624 during a drying operation of the wash cycle.
In addition, in some embodiments, controller 628 may control liquid supply 622, air supply 624 and/or hydraulic circuit 626 to concurrently spray both liquid and pressurized air through sprayers 620, i.e., to spray liquid from liquid supply 622 and spray pressurized air from air supply 624 at substantially the same time. Doing so may effectively aerate the wash liquid in some embodiments, and in some embodiments, doing so may reduce water consumption. Further, in some embodiments, doing so may enable the mechanical action of a sprayer to be varied or controlled.
The control by controller 628 may incorporate control over hydraulic circuit 626, e.g., by switching one or more valves on or off, changing a position of a mixing or variable valve, changing the routing of fluid between two different endpoints, etc. Controller 628 may also incorporate control over each of liquid supply 622 and air supply 624, e.g., by turning either supply 622, 624 on or off (e.g., disengaging or engaging one or more clutches, changing rotation of the one or more motor shafts, variable control of the one or more motors, motor on or off), by changing a pressure or flow rate of either supply 622, 624, or changing some other parameter of either supply 622, 624 (e.g., temperature, introduction of additives, pressure, etc., if so supported). It will also be appreciated that in some embodiments, e.g., where check valves are used as disclosed in
It may also be desirable in some embodiments when concurrently supplying liquid and pressurized air to dynamically vary a proportion of liquid and pressurized air supplied to the sprayers, e.g., to control a mechanical action of a sprayer. As illustrated in
Although a plurality of actuators may be used with the embodiments of the water supply and air supply, in some implementations, an appliance such as, but is not limited to, a dishwasher 700 may include the liquid supply 722 and the air supply 724 having a single actuator (e.g. motor). A single motor 730 may selectively operate the air and/or water supplied to the one or more sprayers 720 (e.g. same or different sprayers). The single motor 730 may operate the air pump 725 of the air supply and/or the water pump 723 of the water supply to selectively operate water (e.g. circulate water, recirculate water, and in some instances, additional components such as detergent, rinse aid, and other additives), air, or a combination thereof to the one or more sprayers. The single motor 730 may also be used with the water pump 723, or drive an additional water pump, to drain the contents of the wash tub during one or more dishwashing cycles. It should be understood that another water pump and motor may be used to drain the wash tub in some embodiments. It should be understood that the single motor of the air supply and water supply may be in fluid communication with a number of devices within the dishwasher or appliance not limited to one or more sprayers. For example, other devices or functions within the appliance or dishwasher may include drying structure, materials, additives, filters or the like within one or more chambers or air passageways, venting, cooling/heating, recirculating air/water, draining, etc. For example, the air may be conditioned by heating, cooling, and/or dehumidifying. In addition, for example, material may be used to condition the air such as, but is not limited to, Metal-organic framework, Zeolite, and Lithium chloride, etc. Moreover, for example, the single motor of the air supply and water supply may be used in a laundry application.
The water pump 723 and air pump 725 may have a variety of configurations or constructions with the single or common motor 730. In one embodiment as shown in
In some embodiments, the one or more air pumps 725 and the one or more water pumps 723 may be operated with the common motor 730 in a variety of methods and ways to operate individually or together. One or more clutches or couplings 737 may be used to activate or deactivate the air pump 725 and/or water pump 723. The one or more clutches 737 may be electronically and/or magnetically operated independently or together during one or more cycles. For example, as the embodiment shown in
In addition, in some embodiments, an air compressor 740 may be used within the dishwasher 700. The air compressor 740, if used, may be in fluid communication with the air supply, hydraulic circuit, and/or controller to pressurize the air supplied alone to one or more sprayers and/or when combined with the water to one or more sprayers. As shown in the one embodiment in
As shown in
In some embodiments, controller 728 may control liquid supply 722, air supply 724, clutches 737, air compressor 740, one or motors (e.g. a single motor 730 of the liquid/air supply), and/or hydraulic circuit 726 to selectively spray liquid or pressurized air through sprayers 720, i.e., to spray liquid from liquid supply 722 or spray pressurized air from air supply 724, but not both at the same time. Moreover, for example, different sprayers may spray air only, liquid only, or both liquid and air. It may be desirable, for example, as discussed above, to utilize a sprayer to spray liquid from liquid supply 722 in a wash operation of a wash cycle, while spraying pressurized air from air supply 724 during a drying operation of the wash cycle.
Various additional modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiments consistent with the invention. Therefore, the invention lies in the claims hereinafter appended.
Claims
1. A dishwasher comprising:
- a wash tub;
- one or more sprayers disposed within the wash tub;
- a liquid supply and an air supply having a single motor operating both the liquid supply and the air supply;
- the liquid supply includes a water pump driven by the single motor in fluid communication with the one or more sprayers and configured to supply a liquid to the one or more sprayers to spray the liquid onto utensils disposed within the wash tub; and
- the air supply includes an air pump driven by the single motor in fluid communication with the one or more sprayers and configured to supply pressurized air to the one or more sprayers to spray the pressurized air onto utensils disposed within the wash tub.
2. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the air pump and the water pump are mounted on opposing ends of the single motor.
3. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the air pump and the water pump are mounted on one end of the single motor.
4. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the water pump is positioned between the air pump and the single motor.
5. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the single motor includes one or more clutches, wherein the one or more clutches operably engages at least one of the water pump and the air pump.
6. The dishwasher of claim 1 the air supply further comprising at least one air compressor in fluid communication with the one or more sprayers.
7. The dishwasher of claim 1, further comprising a hydraulic circuit coupled between the liquid supply, the air supply, and the one or more sprayers.
8. The dishwasher of claim 7, wherein the hydraulic circuit includes first and second check valves respectively configured to restrict back flow of liquid to the air supply and to restrict back flow of pressurized air to the liquid supply.
9. The dishwasher of claim 7, wherein the hydraulic circuit includes a valve configured to selectively couple the one or more sprayers to each of the liquid supply and the air supply.
10. The dishwasher of claim 7, wherein the one or more sprayers includes first and second sprayers, the dishwasher further comprising first and second valves respectively coupled to the first and second sprayers to control fluid flow to the first and second sprayers.
11. The dishwasher of claim 7, further comprising a controller coupled to the liquid supply and the air supply.
12. The dishwasher of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to control the liquid supply, the air supply and/or the hydraulic circuit to selectively spray liquid or pressurized air through the one or more sprayers.
13. The dishwasher of claim 12, wherein the controller is configured to control the liquid supply, the air supply and/or the hydraulic circuit to spray liquid through the one or more sprayers during a wash operation of a wash cycle and to spray pressurized air through the one or more sprayers during a drying operation of the wash cycle.
14. The dishwasher of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to control the liquid supply, the air supply and/or the hydraulic circuit to concurrently spray liquid and pressurized air through the one or more sprayers.
15. The dishwasher of claim 1, further comprising one or more additional sprayers disposed in the wash tub and coupled in fluid communication with only one of the liquid supply or the air supply.
16. The dishwasher of claim 1, wherein the single motor includes one or more one-way bearings, wherein the one or more one-way bearings operably engages at least one of the water pump and the air pump.
17. The dishwasher of claim 1 wherein the air pump is positioned between the water pump and the single motor.
18. A dishwasher, comprising:
- a wash tub;
- a water pump;
- an air pump;
- wherein the water pump and the air pump is operated by a single motor;
- one or more first sprayers disposed within the wash tub;
- one or more second sprayers disposed within the wash tub;
- the water pump is in fluid communication with the one or more first sprayers and configured to supply a liquid to the one or more first sprayers to spray the liquid onto utensils disposed within the wash tub;
- the air pump is in fluid communication with the one or more second sprayers and configured to supply pressurized air to the one or more second sprayers to spray the pressurized air onto utensils disposed within the wash tub; and
- a hydraulic circuit in fluid communication with the one or more first sprayers and/or the one or more second sprayers and configured to supply liquid and pressurized air from the air pump and/or the water pump operated by the single motor.
19. The dishwasher of claim 18, wherein the air pump is in fluid communication with the one or more first sprayers.
20. The dishwasher of claim 18, wherein the water pump is in fluid communication with the one or more second sprayers.
21. The dishwasher of claim 18, wherein the air pump and the water pump are positioned on one end of the single motor.
22. The dishwasher of claim 18, wherein the air pump and the water pump are positioned on opposing ends of the single motor.
23. The dishwasher of claim 18 further comprising an air compressor in fluid communication with the air pump.
24. A method of operating a dishwasher, the method comprising:
- operating a single motor in communication with an air pump and a water pump;
- supplying liquid with the water pump of the dishwasher to one or more sprayers disposed in a wash tub of the dishwasher to spray the liquid onto utensils disposed within the wash tub; and
- supplying pressurized air with the air pump of the dishwasher to the one or more sprayers to spray the pressurized air onto utensils disposed within the wash tub.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein supplying the liquid and supplying the pressurized air are performed concurrently.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein supplying the pressurized air includes injecting the pressurized air into the liquid supplied by the liquid supply.
27. The method of claim 24, wherein supplying the liquid and supplying the pressurized air are performed separately.
28. The method of claim 24, wherein supplying the liquid is performed during a wash operation of a wash cycle and supplying the pressurized air is performed during a drying operation of the wash cycle.
Type: Application
Filed: Sep 12, 2018
Publication Date: Mar 12, 2020
Inventors: Robert M. Digman (Goshen, KY), Joel Boyer (Louisville, KY)
Application Number: 16/129,192