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US 12,201,254 B2Granted
Dishwasher with liquid storage tank
AssigneeWhirlpool Corporation
InventorsMateusz Michal Wolowicz, Rafal Rejdych
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A dishwasher with a tub that defines a treatment chamber, a sump fluidly connected to the tub, sprayers within the treatment chamber, a drain pump fluidly connecting the sump to a discharge pipe, a water tank fluidly connected to the sump with a controllable valve, a softener, and a diverter valve fluidly connecting the sump and the sprayers.
Claims20
A dishwasher for treating dishes according to a cycle of operation, the dishwasher comprising:
- a tub at least partially defining a treating chamber;
- a sump fluidly connected to the tub;
- at least a first sprayer and a second sprayer emitting liquid into the treating chamber;
- a liquid recirculation circuit having a first branch fluidly coupled to the first sprayer and a second branch fluidly coupled to the second sprayer;
- a diverter valve selectively fluidly coupling to the first branch or the second branch;
- a recirculation wash pump arranged on a direct flow path between and fluidly coupling the sump and the diverter valve;
- and
- a water supply system comprising:
- a tank defining an interior and having a diverter inlet/outlet through which a flowpath is bi-directional, with a first flow direction from the interior of the tank to the diverter valve and a second flow direction from the diverter valve to the interior of the tank,
- a household water supply conduit fluidly coupled to the interior of the tank,
- a sump supply line fluidly coupling the interior of the tank to the sump,
- a diverter supply line, separate from the sump supply line, the diverter supply line fluidly coupling the diverter inlet/outlet of the tank to the diverter valve in the first flow direction, wherein the diverter valve is configured to selectively supply liquid from the interior of the tank to at least one of the first sprayer or the second sprayer through at least one of the first branch or the second branch, bypassing the sump and the recirculation wash pump, and
- the recirculation wash pump operable to supply re-use liquid from the diverter valve into the interior of the tank, in the second flow direction, via the diverter supply line and the diverter inlet/outlet of the tank.
10 more elements
A dishwasher for treating dishes according to a cycle of operation, the dishwasher comprising:
- a tub at least partially defining a treating chamber;
- a sump fluidly connected to the tub;
- at least a first sprayer and a second sprayer emitting liquid into the treating chamber;
- a liquid recirculation circuit having a first branch fluidly coupled to the first sprayer and a second branch fluidly coupled to the second sprayer;
- a diverter valve selectively fluidly coupling to the first branch or the second branch;
- a recirculation wash pump arranged on a direct flow path between and fluidly coupling the sump and the diverter valve;
- and
- a water supply system comprising:
- a tank defining a tank interior forming a tank chamber that is fluidly accessible by at least a diverter inlet/outlet,
- a household water supply conduit fluidly coupled to the tank interior,
- a sump supply line fluidly coupling the tank interior to the sump,
- a diverter supply line, different and separate from the sump supply line, the diverter supply line fluidly coupling the tank interior via the diverter inlet/outlet of the tank to the diverter valve in a first flow direction from the tank interior to the diverter valve, bypassing the sump and the recirculation wash pump,
- a tank valve selectively fluidly coupling the diverter supply line to the tank interior and configured to control a flow of liquid through the diverter supply line by selectively allowing or preventing the flow of liquid through the diverter inlet/outlet, and
- the recirculation wash pump operable to supply re-use liquid from the diverter valve into the tank interior in a second flow direction from the diverter valve to the tank interior, the second flow direction opposite the first flow direction, via the diverter supply line and the diverter inlet/outlet of the tank;
- wherein the tank interior is configured to be filled with both fresh water from the household water supply conduit and filled with re-use liquid within a single cycle of operation.
12 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.