DISHWASHING SYSTEM AND IMPELLER DRIVEN MANIFOLD

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present specification generally relates to an inline fluid-driven impeller manifold for driving a gear system, and more specifically, to an impeller driven manifold for one or more oscillating spray tubes in a dishwashing system.

BACKGROUND

In conventional dishwashing machines, a common approach to distributing water and cleaning agents within the machine's internal volume involves the use of static spray arms or rotating spray bars. These devices typically extend horizontally across the machine and emit water jets upward and/or downward to clean the dishware. While functional, these conventional systems are often inefficient in terms of water usage and mechanical complexity. Specifically, many systems waste water through the use of external propellers or spray arms that require excessive water flow for movement, which does not contribute to the cleaning process. Additionally, these systems may fail to provide uniform water distribution, leading to inconsistent cleaning results. Accordingly, a need exists for a dishwashing system that provides consistent cleaning results without wasting water usage.

SUMMARY

The following disclosed system, components, and methods facilitate the efficient distribution of wash fluid within a dishwasher. The herein-described embodiments address the problems associated with the art by providing a system that does not waste water, is cost-efficient, and provides for the targeted, limited oscillatory motion of spray tubes within a dishwasher.

Embodiments disclosed herein include a dishwasher comprising: a housing defining a washtub; a plurality of racks disposed within the washtub; and a manifold in fluid communication with recirculation fluid within the washtub. The manifold further comprises an impeller positioned in fluid communication with an inlet of the manifold; a drive gear system mechanically coupled to the impeller via a drive shaft; a transmission shaft mechanically coupled to the drive gear system; and a spray tube coupled to the transmission shaft. The spray tube is fluidly coupled to the inlet of the manifold and is configured to oscillate to distribute fluid onto items positioned within the washtub.

Other embodiments include a dishwasher comprising: a housing defining a washtub; at least one dishware rack slidably disposed within the washtub from a loading position to a wash position; and at least one manifold coupled to a rear side of the at least one dishware rack. The manifold further comprises an inline impeller in fluid communication with a fluid inlet of the manifold and having an axis of rotation collinear with a fluid path of fluid entering the fluid inlet; a drive gear system mechanically coupled to the impeller via a drive shaft; a transmission shaft mechanically coupled to the drive gear system; and at least one spray tube in fluid communication with the fluid inlet. The at least one spray tube is mechanically coupled at one end to the transmission shaft via a drive oscillator and at the other end to a front side of the at least one dishware rack. The at least one spray tube is configured to oscillate to distribute fluid onto items positioned within the at least one dishware rack.

Other embodiments include a dishwasher comprising: a housing defining a washtub; at least one rack slidably disposed within the washtub; and at least one manifold coupled to a rear side of at least one rack and having a fluid inlet in fluid communication with recirculated fluid within the washtub. The manifold further comprises an impeller positioned in fluid communication with the fluid inlet and rotatable about an impeller axis that is collinear with a fluid path entering the fluid inlet; a drive gear system mechanically coupled to the impeller via a drive shaft that is also collinear with the fluid path entering the fluid inlet; a transmission shaft mechanically coupled to the drive gear system; at least one spray tube in fluid communication with the fluid inlet, the at least one spray tube having a first end and a second end, the first end mechanically coupled to the transmission shaft via a drive oscillator, the second end being coupled to the at least one rack so as to allow the at least one spray tube to rotate about its longitudinal axis; and a range-limiting component configured to limit the range of rotation of the at least one spray tube for targeted cleaning of dishware in the at least one rack.

These and additional features provided by the embodiments described herein will be more fully understood in view of the following detailed description, in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments set forth in the drawings are illustrative and exemplary in nature and not intended to limit the subject matter defined by the claims. The following detailed description of the illustrative embodiments can be understood when read in conjunction with the following drawings, where like structure is indicated with like reference numerals and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of dishwasher, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 1A is a front perspective view of upper rack 20 having been removed from the dishwasher for easier viewing;

FIG. 1B is a perspective partial cutaway view of the inside of a dishwasher with the lower rack and middle rack having been removed for easier viewing;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example control system for the dishwasher of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 depicts a rear perspective partial cutaway view of a manifold of the dishwasher of FIG. 1, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 3A depicts a rear perspective partial cutaway view of the manifold of FIG. 3 showing a sample fluid path, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein

FIG. 4 depicts a rear perspective partial cutaway view of a manifold of the dishwasher of FIG. 1, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 5 depicts a rear perspective view of a manifold of the dishwasher of FIG. 1, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein;

FIG. 6 depicts a rear partial cross-sectional view of a manifold of the dishwasher of FIG. 1, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic front view of an internal operating environment of the dishwasher of FIG. 1, according to one or more embodiments shown and described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As should be appreciated, in conventional dishwashing machines, a common approach to distributing water and cleaning agents within the machine's internal volume involves the use of static spray arms or rotating spray bars. These devices typically extend horizontally across the machine and emit water jets upward and/or downward to clean the dishware. While functional, these conventional systems are often inefficient in terms of water usage and mechanical complexity. Moreover, traditional dishwashers rely on external drives and motors to impart motion to the spray arms, adding to the complexity and potential mechanical failure points of the device. This often results in a bulky arrangement that can interfere with the placement and accommodation of dishware within the machine, as well as a need for more maintenance due to the increased number of moving parts.

The disclosed embodiments aim to remedy these issues by integrating one or more manifolds that utilize an inline impeller to convert water flow from the dishwasher's fluid recirculation system directly into rotary motion. This motion is then ultimately translated into the defined and limited oscillation of attached spray tubes, which are aligned to efficiently distribute water and cleaning agents in a desired direction or range of directions onto the dishware. As will be described, the configuration of the manifold and the spray tubes allows for the spray tubes to be positioned closer to the dishes, thereby enhancing the cleaning action through direct targeting of water jets while simultaneously reducing the overall water consumption.

Embodiments disclosed herein relate to inline impeller driven manifolds to convert fluid flow through the impeller to rotary or oscillatory motion to one or more spray tubes within a dishwashing device to provide high velocity liquids directed at desired locations. In particular, embodiments herein relate to impeller driven manifolds for oscillating spray tubes in a dishwashing machine. In the preferred embodiments depicted, the manifold is positioned at a back side of at least one rack within a dishwasher and a dock is provided on the rear wall of the dishwashing device and fluidly connected to a fluid supply. The manifold is configured to be removably coupled to the dock to receive fluid from the dock when the manifold is coupled to the dock. Alternatively, in other embodiments, the manifold of the present description can itself be located on a wall of the dishwashing machine, such as a rear wall. In such embodiments, the manifold is coupled to the fluid supply and there is no need for a dock with which to be removably coupled. Generally speaking, the manifold includes an impeller, a drive gear system coupled to the impeller via a drive shaft, an offset drive wheel on a transmission shaft coupled to the drive gear system, and a plurality of spray tubes coupled to the offset drive wheel and configured to oscillate when water passes through the manifold.

Preferably, the manifold is integrated into or mounted at the backside of one or more of the dishwasher racks, with the spray tubes coupled at or near the front side of each rack and configured to enable rotary or oscillatory motion of the spray tubes. This arrangement saves space and simplifies the internal design of the dishwasher; it is more efficient in water usage; it is more cost-efficient; and it also provides improved aesthetics over devices that utilize external mechanisms such as wall-mounted sprayers, rotary sprayers with external motors, drive systems using flow paths transverse to the axis of rotation of a paddle wheel turbine, and the like. The inline positioning of the impeller within the manifold harnesses the water flow from the recirculation system for mechanical motion without wasting water.

Additionally, the disclosed dishwasher is capable of achieving higher pressures and more efficient cleaning due to the optimized conversion of water flow into mechanical energy. The integration of the impeller and gear train into the manifold and the controlled oscillation of the spray tubes ensure a focused and powerful cleaning action, which translates to shorter cycle times and enhanced cleaning performance. Accordingly, the proposed dishwasher provides a more efficient, reliable, and compact solution for cleaning dishware.

Embodiments of dishwashing devices will now be described in additional detail herein. Turning now to the drawings, wherein like numbers denote like parts throughout the several views, FIG. 1 illustrates an example dish washing device in which the various technologies and techniques described herein may be implemented. The term “dishwasher” is used herein as a convenient term for the numerous types of dish washing devices contemplated, including but not limited to, commercial washers, residential washers (built-in, mobile, dish-sink, etc.), industrial washing devices, and the like. For convenience of description herein, “dishwasher” will be the referenced terminology and will be shown as a residential-type built-in dishwasher. As such, dishwasher 10 includes a front-mounted door 12 that provides access to a wash tub 16 housed within the cabinet or housing 14. Door 12 is generally hinged along a bottom edge and is pivotable between the opened position illustrated in FIG. 1 and a closed position (not shown). When door 12 is in the opened position, access is provided to one or more sliding racks. Obviously any number of racks can be utilized within dishwasher 10, depending on many factors, including the environment in which dishwasher 10 is to be employed, the purpose for which the dishwasher 10 is to be employed, and the size of dishwasher 10 to be used. For example, a small residential dishwasher 10 might have fewer racks than a large commercial version. Similarly, even standard-sized residential built-in dishwashers might have different numbers of racks, depending on style, price point, and user preference. Many residential dishwashers include only two racks. For case of reference, the figures depict a dishwasher 10 having three racks: a lower rack 18, a middle rack 19, and an upper rack 20, within which various dishware can be placed for washing. As used herein, the term “dishware” is intended to include all the various types of items that might be cleaned within dishwasher 10, including but not limited to pots, pans, lids, trays, plates, bowls, glassware, cups, serviceware, utensils, and so forth. Typically, lower rack 18 may be supported on rollers 22, while middle rack 19 (if included) and/or upper rack 20 may be supported on side rails 24, and each rack is movable between loading (extended) and washing (retracted) positions along a substantially horizontal direction.

In addition, consistent with some embodiments of the disclosure, dishwasher 10 may include one or more tubular spray elements (TSEs), or spray tubes 26, to direct a wash fluid in a desired direction or range of directions onto dishware disposed in any one or more of lower rack 18, middle rack 19, and/or upper rack 20. As will become more apparent below, spray tubes 26 are rotatable about respective longitudinal axes and are discretely directable by one or more manifolds 30 to control the direction or range of directions at which the wash fluid is sprayed by each of the spray tubes 26. In some embodiments, fluid may be dispensed solely through spray tubes 26, but the disclosure is not so limited. For example, in some embodiments various upper and/or lower rotating spray arms may also be provided to direct additional fluid onto utensils. Still other sprayers, including various combinations of wall-mounted sprayers, rack-mounted sprayers, oscillating sprayers, fixed sprayers, rotating sprayers, focused sprayers, etc., may also be combined with one or more spray tubes 26 in some embodiments.

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment wherein each rack (lower rack 18, middle rack 19, and upper rack 20) includes at least one manifold 30. It should be understood, however, that it is likely that not every rack will include a manifold 30 and spray tube 26. In fact, in some embodiments (e.g., FIG. 7), only one rack (e.g., upper rack 20) will include a manifold 30 and spray tube 26. FIG. 1A shows a sample rack (e.g., upper rack 20) having two manifolds 30, wherein each manifold 30 includes two spray tubes 26. FIG. 1B shows a sample upper rack 20 having two manifolds 30. As further depicted in FIG. 1A, each of the spray tubes 26 is shown mounted and/or otherwise fluidly coupled to a manifold 30, which may be configured to oscillate the spray tubes 26 during operation of the dishwasher 10, as will be described in additional detail herein with reference to FIGS. 3-7. In the embodiments shown, each manifold 30 is mounted at or near a back side of upper rack 20, while the spray tubes 26 extending from the manifold 30 may be secured at or near a front side of the upper rack 20. The manifold 30 is configured to removably couple to a dock 80, which is in fluid communication with the pump 106 via fluid conduit 82 (see FIG. 1B). The fluid conduit 82 and the dock 80 are mounted to an inside wall of the wash tub 16. The removable connection between the manifold 30 and the dock 80 can assume any number of male/female or female/male configurations that enable the manifold 30 and the dock 80 to be fluidly removably engaged. When the manifold 30 is engaged (docked) in the dock 80—that is, when the rack on which the manifold 30 is mounted has been pushed into wash position—an inlet 34 of the manifold 30 is coupled to the dock 80. As such, fluid is allowed to flow from the fluid conduit 82 through the manifold 30 and out the exit openings 27 of the spray tubes 26. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1B, the dock 80 is depicted as a female coupling having a receptacle 84 and a flange 86 that is tapered to encourage proper seating of inlet 34 into fluid communication with the dock 80. As mentioned, alternative embodiments are possible where the manifold 30 is not mounted to a rack at all, but rather could be mounted to a wall within the dishwasher 10, for example, to a rear wall. In such embodiments, the manifold 30 may optionally directly interface with the fluid conduit 82. In such embodiments, the manifold 30 and spray tubes 26 do not move with the racks, but rather stay stationarily mounted to the inside wall of the wash tub 16 while the racks move relative to the manifold 30 and spray tubes 26.

Control over dishwasher 10 by a user is generally managed through a control panel (not shown in FIG. 1) typically disposed on a top or front of door 12, and it will be appreciated that in different dishwasher designs, the control panel may include various types of input and/or output devices, including various knobs, buttons, lights, switches, textual and/or graphical displays, touch screens, etc. through which a user may configure one or more settings related to the various wash cycles (including, for example, start, stop, pause, etc. as well as various aspects of a wash cycle, e.g., heat, duration, water control, detergent control, and the like). Referring to FIG. 2, in general the dishwasher 10 may be utilized with and/or controlled by a controller 100 that receives inputs from a number of components, including but not limited to the control panel, and drives a number of components in response thereto. Controller 100 may, for example, include one or more processors and a memory (not shown) within which may be stored program code for execution by the one or more processors. The memory may be embedded in controller 100, but may also be considered to include volatile and/or non-volatile memories, cache memories, flash memories, programmable read-only memories, read-only memories, etc., as well as memory storage physically located elsewhere from controller 100, e.g., in a mass storage device or on a remote computer interfaced with controller 100.

In a dishwasher such as dishwasher 10, controller 100 may be interfaced with various components, including an inlet valve 102 that is coupled to a water source to introduce water into wash tub 16, which, when combined with detergent, rinse agent, and/or other additives, forms various wash fluids. Controller 100 may also be communicatively coupled to one or more of a heater 104 that heats fluids; a pump 106 that recirculates wash fluid within the wash tub by pumping fluid to the various wash arms and/or other spray devices in the dishwasher such as spray tubes 26; an air supply 108 that provides a source of pressurized air for use in drying dishware in the dishwasher; a drain valve 110 that is coupled to a drain to direct fluids out of the dishwasher; and a diverter 112 that controls the routing of pumped fluid to different tubular spray elements, spray arms and/or other sprayers such as spray tubes 26 during a wash cycle. In some embodiments, a single pump 106 may be used, and a drain valve 110 may be configured to direct pumped fluid either to a drain or to the diverter 112, such that pump 106 is used both to drain fluid from the dishwasher and to recirculate fluid throughout the dishwasher during a wash cycle. In other embodiments, separate pumps may be used for draining the dishwasher and recirculating fluid. As used herein, pump 106 is deemed to be descriptive of either scenario, whether there is only one pump or multiple pumps. Diverter 112 in some embodiments may be a passive diverter that automatically sequences between different outlets, while in other embodiments diverter 112 may be a powered diverter that is controllable to route fluid to specific outlets on demand. Air supply 108 may be implemented as an air pump or fan in different embodiments, and may include a heater and/or other air conditioning device to control the temperature and/or humidity of the pressurized air output by the air supply.

In the illustrated embodiment, pump 106 and air supply 108 collectively implement a fluid supply for dishwasher 10, 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 108 may be omitted in some instances. Moreover, in some instances, tubular spray elements such as spray tube 26 may be used solely for spraying wash fluid or spraying pressurized air, with other sprayers or spray arms used for other purposes, so the disclosure is not limited to the use of tubular spray elements for spraying both wash fluid and pressurized air.

Controller 100 may also be coupled to a dispenser 114 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 116 to determine a wash fluid temperature, a door switch 118 to determine when door 12 is latched, and a door lock 120 to prevent the door from being opened during a wash cycle. Moreover, controller 100 may be coupled to a user interface 122 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 100 may also be coupled to one or more network interfaces 124, 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 100, as will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill having the benefit of the instant disclosure. For example, one or more manifolds 30 may be provided in some embodiments to control one or more spray tubes 26 in dishwasher 10, as will be discussed in greater detail below.

Moreover, in some embodiments, at least a portion of controller 100 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 100 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 100 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 100 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 disclosure 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 10 illustrated in FIGS. 1-2 will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, as will become apparent from the description below. Therefore, the specific implementations discussed herein are not intended to limit the scope of the claims in any way.

Turning now to FIGS. 3 and 4, a sample manifold 30 is depicted in additional detail. In these embodiments, the manifold 30 includes an impeller 32, an inlet 34 for receiving fluid from a fluid source (such as fluid conduit 82), a gear drive system 40, an offset drive wheel 57 on transmission shaft 50, and a plurality of drive oscillators 60 configured to secure the spray tubes 26 within the manifold 30. In the embodiments described herein, the various components of the manifold 30 may be further secured within a manifold housing 31.

As depicted in FIG. 1B, pump 106 may pump a fluid, such as water, through fluid conduit 82 that is coupled (removably, in the preferred embodiment) to inlet 34 of the manifold 30. In these embodiments, the fluid entering the inlet 34 may further define a fluid pathway W, as illustrated in FIGS. 3, 3A, and 4. The fluid pathway W leads through the inlet 34 and into the impeller 32, after which the fluid may be dispensed within the wash tub 16, as will be described in additional detail below.

For example, in the embodiments described herein, the fluid that enters the manifold 30 via the inlet 34 flows through the impeller 32. The impeller 32, as a result of the flow of fluid onto the vanes of the impeller 32, rotates about a drive shaft 38 that is collinear with a longitudinal axis of the impeller 32. The drive shaft 38 of the impeller 32 may be mechanically coupled to the gear drive system 40, such that rotation of the impeller 32 similarly causes the various components of the gear drive system 40 to rotate. The various number, sizes, types, and configurations of the gears that make up the gear drive system 40 are a matter of design choice, dependent upon, among other things, the desired reduction in rotation speed needed at the output of the gear drive system 40 (described below); and the number of spray tubes 26 being driven by the manifold 30. The impeller 32, drive shaft 38, and gear drive system 40 are configured to translate the rotational motion of the impeller 32 to rotational motion of various gears that make up the gear drive system 40.

As stated, the number, type, size, and configuration of the gears making up the gear drive system 40 are subject to design choice based on the parameters needed for the manifold 30 to ultimately oscillate the one or more spray tubes 26 that couple to the manifold 30. The embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 depict a manifold 30 that drives two spray tubes 26. However, the manifold 30 could just as easily drive a single spray tube 26, or could drive more than two spray tubes 26. For these alternative embodiments, the number, type, location, and size of the various gears that make up the gear drive system 40 could change in each instance. As shown in the embodiments depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4, one of the gears may be coupled to the offset drive wheel 57 via a transmission shaft 50. The offset drive wheel 57 serves as a vehicle for translating rotational motion of the gear drive system 40 to rotational motion of the spray tubes 26, in any one of several manners. For example, if desired, the offset drive wheel 57 could simply be coupled to a spray tube 26 in such a way that the spray tube 26 rotates complementarily with the rotation of the transmission shaft 50. In this manner, the offset drive wheel 57 and transmission shaft 50 could cause the spray tube 26 to rotate a full 360 degrees as the transmission shaft 50 itself rotates 360 degrees. However, as described below, the preferred embodiments described herein and depicted in the figures include a range-limiting assembly 56 that is configured in such a way that that the transmission shaft 50 provides oscillatory (back-and-forth rotational) motion over a limited range of rotation of each spray tube 26 to which the transmission shaft 50 is connected.

In particular, in the preferred embodiments, the range-limiting assembly 56 generally includes the offset drive wheel 57, joint 58, one or more transmission shaft arms, one or more drive oscillators 60, and pin 61. With reference to FIGS. 3, 3A, and 6, the range-limiting assembly 56 includes offset drive wheel 57 that rotates about the transmission shaft 50, as well as a plurality of transmission shaft arms, such as a first transmission shaft arm 52 and a second transmission shaft arm 54. During operation of the preferred embodiment, the offset drive wheel 57 rotates at approximately 10 rpm, but obviously any desired rotational speed can be achieved with selective design of the gear drive system 40 and the size and shape of the offset drive wheel 57. Desirable speeds might range from approximately 5 rpm to approximately 20 rpm. The first transmission shaft arm 52 has a first end 52a and a second end 52b. Similarly, the second transmission shaft arm 54 has a first end 54a and a second end 54b. The first end 52a of the first transmission shaft arm 52 is coupled to the offset drive wheel 57 at a joint 58 located radially away from the axis of rotation of the offset drive wheel 57 (that is, the transmission shaft 50). Similarly, the first end 54a is coupled to the offset drive wheel 57 at a joint 58 located radially away from the axis of rotation of the offset drive wheel 57. The joints 58 can be the same joint, or can be different joints at different locations on the offset drive wheel 57. In the preferred embodiment shown herein, both ends 52a, 54a are connected to the offset drive wheel 57 at the same joint 58.

Each of the second ends 52b, 54b are coupled to a spray tube 26, respectively, at a drive oscillator 60. The drive oscillator 60 includes a rear retaining portion 60a, a front retaining portion 60b, and a retainer 62. The rear retaining portion 60a includes a pin 61. The second ends 52b, 54b connect to each respective rear retaining portion 60a at the pin 61. The front retaining portion 60b is configured to receive the proximal end 26a of the spray tube 26 therewithin, and to couple to the rear retaining portion 60a via retainer 62 in a manner that sandwiches the proximal end 26a of the spray tube 26 within the rear retaining portion 60a and the front retaining portion 60b. Once inserted into the front retaining portion 60b, the proximal end 26a of the spray tube 26 is mechanically coupled to the drive oscillator 60 via one or more spring tabs 63. Once assembled, the drive oscillator 60 couples the spray tube 26, via the range limiting assembly 56, to the offset drive wheel 57 within the manifold 30 in a way that limits the range of oscillation allowed for the spray tubes 26. In particular, as depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4, as the gear drive system 40 rotates the transmission shaft 50, the transmission shaft 50 rotates the offset drive wheel 57 of the range-limiting assembly 56. The offset drive wheel 57 can rotate a full 360 degrees as the transmission shaft 50 rotates 360 degrees. And, because each of the first transmission shaft arm 52 and second transmission shaft arm 54 is coupled to the offset drive wheel 57 at joint 58, each of the first end 52a of the first transmission shaft arm 52 and the first end 54a of the second transmission shaft arm 54 rotates around the offset drive wheel 57 a complete 360 degrees. However, because first transmission shaft arm 52 and second transmission shaft arm 54 are connected to the offset drive wheel 57 and to the drive oscillator 60 at radial distances away from the centers of rotation of the offset drive wheel 57 and drive oscillator 60, respectively, and due in part to the offset curvate shape of a portion of the first transmission shaft arm 52 and second transmission shaft arm 54, the drive oscillator 60 is prevented from making a full 360 rotation despite the offset drive wheel 57 making a full 360 degree rotation. Instead, the drive oscillator rotates in a first direction (e.g., clockwise) and then stops and rotates in a second, opposite direction (e.g., counterclockwise) as the first ends 52a, 54a continue to rotate around offset drive wheel 57 a full 360 degrees. In this manner, rather than rotating 360 degrees in a single direction, the drive oscillator 60 oscillates—that is, rotates in one direction to its limit, and then rotates in the opposite direction to its limit. This oscillation pattern repeats with every full rotation of the offset drive wheel 57. In practice, the range of rotation of the drive oscillator 60 (and, therefore, the spray tube 26 to which it is connected) is limited to an included cone angle of less than 180 degrees. This is true, of course, because if the drive oscillator 60 were allowed to rotate through an included cone angle of more than 180 degrees, the resulting motion would not be a back-and-forth oscillation, but rather would be an undesired full rotation in a single direction, because once 180 degrees is exceeded, the rotation would simply continue in the same direction. In the preferred embodiment, the range of oscillation of the drive oscillator 60 (and, therefore, also of the spray tube 26) is an included cone angle of between approximately 0 degrees and approximately 150 degrees. It should be appreciated that, in these embodiments, by limiting the oscillation of the spray tubes 26, it is possible to purposefully focus the flow of fluid exiting the spray tubes 26 on or at a particular region within the wash tub 16, for example, on or at a particular rack 18, 19, 20 (FIG. 1), at a particular location of one or more racks, and/or on particular dishware within the various racks 18, 19, 20 (FIG. 7).

FIG. 3A is similar to FIG. 3, but shows the internal wall 32 of manifold 30 that separates the fluid flow path W from the gear drive system 40. As fluid enters the manifold 30 and traverses the fluid pathway W through the impeller 32, the fluid is directed towards each drive oscillator 60. The fluid then flows into the proximal end 26a of each of the spray tubes 26 coupled to the manifold 30. Each spray tube 26 includes nozzles or other exit openings 27 spaced at various locations along the length of the spray tube 26. The exit openings 27 have a much smaller diameter than that of the spray tube 26 itself. Thus, as the fluid flows out of the spray tube 26 via the exit openings 27, the fluid exits the spray tube 26 at a high velocity. This high velocity of the exiting fluid can result in increased cleaning action of the fluid as it impacts the dishware to which it is directed.

Turning now to FIGS. 5 and 6, the manifold 30 is depicted coupled to two spray tubes 26. However, as stated above, it should be appreciated that the manifold 30 may alternatively be configured to receive any other number of spray tubes 26, including one spray tube, three spray tubes, or more, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, it should be understood that the dishwasher 10 may include a plurality of manifolds 30. As stated above, the manifolds 30 can be located on various walls within the wash tub 16 (for example, a rear wall), or can be located on one or more racks, including but not limited to lower rack 18, middle rack 19, and/or upper rack 20, depending on the design goals and the particular dishwasher 10 environment. The preferred embodiments have the one or more manifolds 30 coupled to or formed on the rear of the racks on which a manifold 30 is desired. In these preferred embodiments, the distal ends 26b of each spray tube 26 is coupled at or near a front of the rack in a with a bearing-like attachment 28 that allows the spray tube 26 to oscillate throughout its range of motion while still supporting the distal end 26b.

Referring now to FIG. 7, an exemplary schematic of a front view of a dishwashing environment of the dishwasher 10 is depicted. The wash tub 16 includes lower rack 18, middle rack 19, and upper rack 20. Dishware is depicted in the form of plates in lower rack 18 and middle rack 19 and in the form of smaller items, such as utensils 70 in upper rack 20 to be cleaned during a washing cycle. In the embodiment depicted, two manifolds 30 are shown coupled to the upper rack 20, and each manifold 30 is shown coupled to two spray tubes 26. By securing the manifolds 30 to the upper rack 20, the spray tubes 26 extend in a front-to-back direction at a bottom surface of the upper rack 20 and are secured to a front portion of the upper rack 20. As a result, it is possible to focus the fluid that is expelled from the exit openings 27 of the spray tubes 26 only on dishware that is positioned within the upper rack 20. As has been described herein with references to FIGS. 3-6, and further depicted in FIG. 7, oscillation of the spray tubes 26 may be limited to an included cone angle range of less than 180 degrees, and in the preferred embodiments, between approximately 0 degrees and approximately 150 degrees. The zone of spray provided by each spray tube 26 is depicted by the shaded zones of the upper rack spray tubes 26, and can be seen to be focused on the dishware 70. Accordingly, when the manifolds 30 and spray tubes 26 are disposed on the upper rack 20, the spray tubes 26 are limited in their rotation to approximately 150 degree cone angle, thus directing their focus directly onto dishware 70. In this manner, a focused wash on the upper rack 20 can occur that can result in more efficient cleaning. And because all the fluid from the recirculation pump 106 that flows into the manifolds 30 flows inline through the impeller 32 and ultimately out of the spray tubes 26, the drive mechanism for the spray tubes 26 is very efficient and does not waste fluid.

Further aspects of the embodiments described herein are provided by the subject matter of the following clauses:

Clause 1. A dishwasher comprising: a housing defining a washtub; a plurality of racks disposed within the washtub; a manifold in fluid communication with recirculation fluid within the washtub, the manifold further comprising: an impeller positioned in fluid communication with an inlet of the manifold; a drive gear system mechanically coupled to the impeller via a drive shaft; a transmission shaft mechanically coupled to the drive gear system; and a spray tube coupled to the transmission shaft and fluidly coupled to the inlet of the manifold, the spray tube being configured to oscillate to distribute fluid onto items positioned within the washtub.

Clause 2. The dishwasher of clause 1, wherein the manifold is coupled to at least one of the plurality of racks.

Clause 3. The dishwasher of clauses 1 or 2, wherein the impeller is axially aligned with the inlet of the manifold, such that fluid that enters the manifold traverses the impeller in a direction collinear with the axis of rotation of the impeller.

Clause 4. The dishwasher of any of clauses 1-3, further comprising a range-limiting assembly mechanically coupled to the transmission shaft.

Clause 5. The dishwasher of clause 4, wherein the range-limiting assembly is configured to limit rotational movement of the spray tube.

Clause 6. The dishwasher of clauses 4 or 5, wherein the spray tube is configured to oscillate within an included cone angle of between approximately 0 degrees and approximately 150 degrees.

Clause 7. The dishwasher of clauses 1 or 2, wherein the spray tube is coupled to a front portion of at least one of the plurality of racks via an attachment bracket.

Clause 8. The dishwasher of any of clauses 1-7, wherein the manifold includes more than one spray tube.

Clause 9. The dishwasher of any of clauses 1-8, wherein each of the plurality of racks includes at least one manifold.

Clause 10. A dishwasher comprising: a housing defining a washtub; at least one dishware rack slidably disposed within the washtub from a loading position to a wash position; at least one manifold coupled to a rear side of the at least one dishware rack, the manifold further comprising: an inline impeller in fluid communication with a fluid inlet of the manifold and having an axis of rotation collinear with a fluid path of fluid entering the fluid inlet; a drive gear system mechanically coupled to the impeller via a drive shaft; a transmission shaft mechanically coupled to the drive gear system; and at least one spray tube in fluid communication with the fluid inlet and mechanically coupled at one end to the transmission shaft via a drive oscillator and at the other end to a front side of the at least one dishware rack, the at least one spray tube being configured to oscillate to distribute fluid onto items positioned within the at least one dishware rack.

Clause 11. The dishwasher of clause 10, further comprising a range-limiting assembly mechanically coupled to the transmission shaft.

Clause 12. The dishwasher of clause 11, wherein the range-limiting assembly further comprises an offset drive wheel coupled to the transmission shaft and having a coupling joint disposed radially thereon a first distance from an axis of rotation of the disc.

Clause 13. The dishwasher of clause 12, wherein the drive oscillator further comprises a hollow cylindrical body having a pin located thereon at a distance radially disposed away from a central axis of the drive oscillator.

Clause 14. The dishwasher of any of clauses 11-13, wherein the range-limiting assembly further comprises a transmission shaft arm having a first end and a second end.

Clause 15. The dishwasher of clause 14, wherein the first end of the transmission shaft arm is coupled to the offset drive wheel at the coupling joint and the second end of the transmission shaft arm is coupled to the pin.

Clause 16. The dishwasher of any of clauses 11-15, wherein the at least one spray tube is configured to oscillate about its cylindrical axis between an included cone angle of approximately 0 and approximately 150 degrees.

Clause 17. A dishwasher comprising: a housing defining a washtub; at least one rack slidably disposed within the washtub; at least one manifold coupled to a rear side of at least one rack and having a fluid inlet in fluid communication with recirculated fluid within the washtub, the manifold further comprising: an impeller positioned in fluid communication with the fluid inlet and rotatable about an impeller axis that is collinear with a fluid path entering the fluid inlet; a drive gear system mechanically coupled to the impeller via a drive shaft that is also collinear with the fluid path entering the fluid inlet; a transmission shaft mechanically coupled to the drive gear system; at least one spray tube in fluid communication with the fluid inlet, the at least one spray tube having a first end and a second end, the first end mechanically coupled to the transmission shaft via a drive oscillator, the second end being coupled to the at least one rack so as to allow the at least one spray tube to rotate about its longitudinal axis; and a range-limiting assembly configured to limit the range of rotation of the at least one spray tube for targeted cleaning of dishware in the at least one rack.

Clause 18. The dishwasher of clause 17, wherein the range-limiting assembly further includes an offset drive wheel coupled to the transmission shaft, a transmission shaft arm having a first end and a second end, and a pin coupled to the drive oscillator.

Clause 19. The dishwasher of clause 18, wherein the first end is coupled to the offset drive wheel at a location radially disposed away from a center of the disc, and the second end is coupled to the drive oscillator at a location radially disposed away from a center of the drive oscillator.

Clause 20. The dishwasher of any of clauses 17-19, wherein the range-limiting assembly limits the range of possible rotation of the at least one spray tube to an included cone angle between approximately 0 degrees and approximately 150 degrees.

While several embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the teachings is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific embodiments described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, and/or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the scope of the present disclosure.

All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.

The indefinite articles “a” and “an,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.”

The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.

As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of” or “exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e. “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of.” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.

As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

It should also be understood that, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, in any methods claimed herein that include more than one step or act, the order of the steps or acts of the method is not necessarily limited to the order in which the steps or acts of the method are recited.

In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of” shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures, Section 2111.03.

It is to be understood that the embodiments are not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Unless limited otherwise, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” “in communication with,” and “mounted,” and variations thereof herein are used broadly and encompass direct and indirect connections, couplings, and mountings. In addition, the terms “connected” and “coupled” and variations thereof are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings.

The foregoing description of several embodiments of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise steps and/or forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.