Reduced sound with a rotating filter for a dishwasher

• US 10,376,128 B2
• Filed: 07/06/2017
• Issued: 08/13/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Original Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Inventors: Geda, Jacquelyn R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Adhlakha, Rita P
• Application Number:
  US15/642,938
• Publication Number:
  US 20170296027A1
• Time in Patent Office: 768 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 15/4206 Tubular filters
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 15/4208 Arrangements to prevent clogging of the filters, e.g. self-cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 15/4219 Water recirculation A47L15/0078 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 15/4225 Arrangements or adaption of recirculation or discharge pumps

Abstract

A dishwasher with a tub at least partially defining a washing chamber, a liquid spraying system, a liquid recirculation system defining a recirculation flow path, and a liquid filtering system. The liquid filtering system includes a rotating filter disposed in the recirculation flow path to filter the liquid and a flow diverter wherein liquid passing through a gap between the flow diverter and the rotating filter applies a greater shear force on the surface than liquid in an absence of the flow diverter.

Claims

1. A pump and filter assembly, comprising:

an impeller adapted to recirculate liquid;

a housing defining an interior and exterior;

a rotating filter having an upstream surface and a downstream surface, the rotating filter located within the interior such that the liquid being pumped through the pump and filter assembly passes through the rotating filter from the upstream surface to the downstream surface to effect a filtering of the liquid as the liquid passes through the rotating filter;

a hollow shroud having a body at least partially enclosing the periphery of the rotating filter and having multiple access openings; and

multiple external flow diverters, with one of the multiple external flow diverters located within each of the access openings, spaced apart from the upstream surface of the rotating filter to define gaps between the multiple external flow diverters and the rotating filter and where the multiple external flow diverters are not transversely located around the rotating filter such that none of the multiple external flow diverters are located 180 degrees from another of the multiple external flow diverters;

wherein liquid passing through the gaps between the multiple external flow diverters and the rotating filter applies a greater shear force on the upstream surface than liquid in an absence of the multiple external flow diverters, and

wherein the access openings are not evenly spaced around the rotating filter.

2. The pump and filter assembly of claim 1 wherein an odd number of access openings are included in the hollow shroud.

3. The pump and filter assembly of claim 1, further comprising multiple internal flow diverters positioned within a hollow interior of the rotating filter and spaced apart from the downstream surface of the rotating filter.

4. The pump and filter assembly of claim 3 wherein the multiple internal flow diverters are not transversely located within the rotating filter.

5. The pump and filter assembly of claim 4 wherein the multiple internal flow diverters are not evenly spaced around the rotating filter.

6. The pump and filter assembly of claim 1 wherein at least a portion of each of the multiple external flow diverters is in a floating relative relationship with the rotating filter.

7. The pump and filter assembly of claim 1 wherein the hollow shroud includes two access openings that are unevenly spaced.

8. The pump and filter assembly of claim 1 wherein the rotating filter defines a hollow cone.

9. The pump and filter assembly of claim 1 wherein the impeller is operably coupled to the rotating filter to effect rotation of the rotating filter.