Dishwasher with discretely directable tubular spray elements
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A dishwasher, comprising:
- a wash tub;
a fluid supply configured to supply fluid to the wash tub;
a tubular spray element disposed in the wash tub and being rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof, the tubular spray element including one or more apertures extending through an exterior surface thereof, and the tubular spray element in fluid communication with the fluid supply to direct fluid from the fluid supply into the wash tub through the one or more apertures;
a tubular spray element drive coupled to the tubular spray element and configured to discretely direct the tubular spray element to each of a plurality of rotational positions about the longitudinal axis thereof; and
a controller coupled to the fluid supply and the tubular spray element drive, wherein the controller is configured to control the tubular spray element drive to focus the tubular spray element towards a predetermined area of the wash tub to provide concentrated washing or drying in the predetermined area.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method and dishwasher utilize one or more tubular spray elements that are both rotatable about longitudinal axes thereof and discretely directable by one or more tubular spray element drives between a plurality of rotational positions about the longitudinal axes thereof. Thus, through the provision of discretely directable tubular spray elements, fluid such as wash fluid and/or pressurized air may be focused in a wash tub, in many cases providing more efficient resource usage in the dishwasher.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A dishwasher, comprising:
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a wash tub; a fluid supply configured to supply fluid to the wash tub; a tubular spray element disposed in the wash tub and being rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof, the tubular spray element including one or more apertures extending through an exterior surface thereof, and the tubular spray element in fluid communication with the fluid supply to direct fluid from the fluid supply into the wash tub through the one or more apertures; a tubular spray element drive coupled to the tubular spray element and configured to discretely direct the tubular spray element to each of a plurality of rotational positions about the longitudinal axis thereof; and a controller coupled to the fluid supply and the tubular spray element drive, wherein the controller is configured to control the tubular spray element drive to focus the tubular spray element towards a predetermined area of the wash tub to provide concentrated washing or drying in the predetermined area. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A dishwasher, comprising:
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a wash tub; a fluid supply configured to supply fluid to the wash tub; a plurality of tubular spray elements disposed in the wash tub, each tubular spray element being rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof and including one or more apertures extending through an exterior surface thereof, and each tubular spray element in fluid communication with the fluid supply to direct fluid from the fluid supply into the wash tub through the one or more apertures thereof; a plurality of tubular spray element drives coupled to respective tubular spray elements from among the plurality of tubular spray elements and configured to discretely direct respective tubular spray elements to each of a plurality of rotational positions about the longitudinal axes thereof; and a controller coupled to the fluid supply and the plurality of tubular spray element drives and configured to supply fluid to the plurality of tubular spray elements and drive the plurality of tubular spray element drives during a wash cycle; wherein the fluid supply includes a pump and an air supply, wherein one or more tubular spray elements among the plurality of tubular spray elements are in fluid communication with the pump and the air supply, and wherein the controller is configured to drive the pump and one or more of the plurality of tubular spray element drives coupled to the one or more tubular spray elements during a wash operation of the wash cycle to wash utensils disposed in the wash tub with wash liquid supplied by the pump and drive the air supply and one or more of the plurality of tubular spray element drives coupled to the one or more tubular spray elements during a drying operation of the wash cycle to dry utensils disposed in the wash tub with pressurized air supplied by the air supply. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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28. A dishwasher, comprising:
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a wash tub; a fluid supply configured to supply fluid to the wash tub; a tubular spray element disposed in the wash tub and being rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof, the tubular spray element including one or more apertures extending through an exterior surface thereof, and the tubular spray element in fluid communication with the fluid supply to direct fluid from the fluid supply into the wash tub through the one or more apertures; a tubular spray element drive coupled to the tubular spray element and configured to discretely direct the tubular spray element to each of a plurality of rotational positions about the longitudinal axis thereof; and a controller coupled to the fluid supply and the tubular spray element drive, wherein the controller is configured to control the tubular spray element drive to avoid directing the tubular spray element towards a wall of the wash tub.
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29. A dishwasher, comprising:
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a wash tub; a fluid supply configured to supply fluid to the wash tub; a plurality of tubular spray elements disposed in the wash tub, each tubular spray element being rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof and including one or more apertures extending through an exterior surface thereof, and each tubular spray element in fluid communication with the fluid supply to direct fluid from the fluid supply into the wash tub through the one or more apertures thereof; a plurality of tubular spray element drives coupled to respective tubular spray elements from among the plurality of tubular spray elements and configured to discretely direct respective tubular spray elements to each of a plurality of rotational positions about the longitudinal axes thereof; and a controller coupled to the fluid supply and the plurality of tubular spray element drives and configured to supply fluid to the plurality of tubular spray elements and drive the plurality of tubular spray element drives during a wash cycle; wherein the fluid supply includes a pump and an air supply, wherein a first portion of the plurality of tubular spray elements is in fluid communication with the pump to wash utensils disposed in the wash tub with wash liquid supplied by the pump and a second portion of the plurality of tubular spray elements is in fluid communication with the air supply to dry utensils disposed in the wash tub with pressurized air supplied by the air supply, and wherein the controller is configured to drive the pump and one or more of the plurality of tubular spray element drives coupled to the first portion of the plurality of tubular spray elements during a wash operation of the wash cycle and drive the air supply and one or more of the plurality of tubular spray element drives coupled to the second portion of the plurality of tubular spray elements during a drying operation of the wash cycle.
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30. A dishwasher, comprising:
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a wash tub; a fluid supply configured to supply fluid to the wash tub; a tubular spray element disposed in the wash tub and being rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof, the tubular spray element including one or more apertures extending through an exterior surface thereof, and the tubular spray element in fluid communication with the fluid supply to direct fluid from the fluid supply into the wash tub through the one or more apertures; a tubular spray element drive coupled to the tubular spray element and configured to discretely direct the tubular spray element to each of a plurality of rotational positions about the longitudinal axis thereof; and a valve coupled between the tubular spray element and the fluid supply to control fluid flow to the tubular spray element, wherein the valve is dedicated to the tubular spray element, and wherein the valve is coupled to a rotary coupling that fluidly couples the tubular spray element to the fluid supply.
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31. A dishwasher, comprising:
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a wash tub; a fluid supply configured to supply fluid to the wash tub; a tubular spray element disposed in the wash tub and being rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof, the tubular spray element including one or more apertures extending through an exterior surface thereof, and the tubular spray element in fluid communication with the fluid supply to direct fluid from the fluid supply into the wash tub through the one or more apertures; a tubular spray element drive coupled to the tubular spray element and configured to discretely direct the tubular spray element to each of a plurality of rotational positions about the longitudinal axis thereof; and a valve coupled between the tubular spray element and the fluid supply to control fluid flow to the tubular spray element, wherein the valve is independently actuated from rotation of the tubular spray element.
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32. A dishwasher, comprising:
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a wash tub; a fluid supply configured to supply fluid to the wash tub; a tubular spray element disposed in the wash tub and being rotatable about a longitudinal axis thereof, the tubular spray element including one or more apertures extending through an exterior surface thereof, and the tubular spray element in fluid communication with the fluid supply to direct fluid from the fluid supply into the wash tub through the one or more apertures; a tubular spray element drive coupled to the tubular spray element and configured to discretely direct the tubular spray element to each of a plurality of rotational positions about the longitudinal axis thereof; and a valve coupled between the tubular spray element and the fluid supply to control fluid flow to the tubular spray element, wherein the valve is actuated through rotation of the tubular spray element.
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Specification