Dishwasher with dock detection
First Claim
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1. A dishwasher, comprising:
- a wash tub;
a pump configured to recirculate fluid within the wash tub;
a controller electrically coupled to the pump;
a port disposed on a wall of the wash tub and in fluid communication with the pump;
a rack disposed in the wash tub and configured to support a plurality of utensils to be washed, wherein the rack is configured to move between loading and washing positions along a horizontal direction;
a manifold coupled to the rack and including a fluid inlet in fluid communication with the pump and a docking port in fluid communication with the fluid inlet, wherein the fluid inlet of the manifold is configured to mate with the port disposed on the wall of the wash tub when the rack is moved to the washing position such that the manifold is in fluid communication with the pump when the rack is moved to the washing position;
a dock detector coupled to the docking port and configured to detect docking of a spray device connector to the docking port; and
first and second electrical conductors extending along the manifold between the fluid inlet and the docking port, the first and second electrical conductors electrically coupled to the dock detector to communicate an electrical signal between the dock detector and the controller to indicate when the spray device connector is docked to the docking port;
wherein the fluid inlet and the port disposed on the wall of the wash tub include cooperative electrical contacts, the electrical contacts of the port being electrically coupled to the controller and the electrical contacts of the fluid inlet being electrically coupled to the first and second electrical conductors.
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Abstract
A method and a dishwasher utilize a dock detection system to determine when a connector of a spray device is docked to a docking port provided on a manifold of the dishwasher. A dock detector is coupled to the docking port and is electrically coupled to a controller of the dishwasher through electrical conductors that extend along the manifold, thereby enabling a dishwasher controller to detect when spray devices are coupled to the manifold, e.g., to optimize a wash cycle to use a particular spray device docked to the docking port.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A dishwasher, comprising:
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a wash tub; a pump configured to recirculate fluid within the wash tub; a controller electrically coupled to the pump; a port disposed on a wall of the wash tub and in fluid communication with the pump; a rack disposed in the wash tub and configured to support a plurality of utensils to be washed, wherein the rack is configured to move between loading and washing positions along a horizontal direction; a manifold coupled to the rack and including a fluid inlet in fluid communication with the pump and a docking port in fluid communication with the fluid inlet, wherein the fluid inlet of the manifold is configured to mate with the port disposed on the wall of the wash tub when the rack is moved to the washing position such that the manifold is in fluid communication with the pump when the rack is moved to the washing position; a dock detector coupled to the docking port and configured to detect docking of a spray device connector to the docking port; and first and second electrical conductors extending along the manifold between the fluid inlet and the docking port, the first and second electrical conductors electrically coupled to the dock detector to communicate an electrical signal between the dock detector and the controller to indicate when the spray device connector is docked to the docking port; wherein the fluid inlet and the port disposed on the wall of the wash tub include cooperative electrical contacts, the electrical contacts of the port being electrically coupled to the controller and the electrical contacts of the fluid inlet being electrically coupled to the first and second electrical conductors. - 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)
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Specification