Multichannel dispenser assembly
AssigneeHaier US Appliance Solutions, Inc.
InventorsRavi Patel, Reagan Murphy
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure is directed to a dispenser assembly for an appliance. The dispenser assembly includes a housing, a rotatable disk, and an actuator. The housing has a plurality of inlets and an outlet. The rotatable disk is positioned within the housing. The rotatable disk includes an aperture for being selectively aligned with one of the plurality of inlets to provide a flow path between one of the plurality of inlets and the outlet of the housing. Further, the actuator is mechanically coupled to the rotatable disk for driving rotation of the rotatable disk about an axis to align the aperture of the rotatable disk with one of the plurality of inlets.
Claims20
A dispenser assembly for an appliance, the dispenser assembly comprising:
- a housing comprising a plurality of inlets and an outlet;
- a rotatable disk positioned within the housing, the rotatable disk comprising an aperture for being selectively aligned with one of the plurality of inlets to provide a flow path between one of the plurality of inlets and the outlet;
- and
- an actuator mechanically coupled to the rotatable disk for driving rotation of the rotatable disk about an axis to align the aperture of the rotatable disk with one of the plurality of inlets.
A dishwashing appliance, comprising:
- a wash chamber for receipt of articles for washing;
- a door for selectively opening and closing the wash chamber;
- a fluid reservoir containing a plurality of different fluids;
- a pump for directing the plurality of fluids to flow from the fluid reservoir to the wash chamber;
- a dispenser assembly, the dispenser assembly comprising:
- a housing comprising a plurality of inlets and an outlet;
- a rotatable disk positioned within the housing, the rotatable disk comprising an aperture for being selectively aligned with one of the plurality of inlets to provide a flow path between one of the plurality of inlets and the outlet;
- and
- an actuator mechanically coupled to the rotatable disk for driving rotation of the rotatable disk about an axis to align the aperture of the rotatable disk with one of the plurality of inlets;
- and
- a dispenser connected to the outlet for dispensing one of the plurality of different fluids into the appliance at a time.
A method for operating a dishwashing appliance comprising a dispenser assembly, the dispenser assembly comprising a housing having a plurality of inlets and an outlet, a rotatable disk positioned within the housing, and an actuator mechanically coupled to the rotatable disk for driving rotation of the rotatable disk, the method comprising:
- rotating, via the actuator, the rotatable disk about an axis to align an aperture of the rotatable disk with an inlet of the plurality of inlets;
- directing a fluid of a plurality of fluids into the housing of the dispenser assembly, the dispenser assembly being fluidly coupled with a fluid reservoir containing a plurality of different fluids via a plurality of conduits coupled to the plurality of inlets;
- dispensing, via a dispenser of the dishwashing appliance, the fluid from the housing of the dispenser assembly into the dishwashing appliance, the outlet of the dispenser assembly being connected to the dispenser;
- and
- rotating, via the actuator, the rotatable disk about the axis to align the aperture of the rotatable disk with a different inlet of the plurality of inlets to dispense a different fluid of the plurality of fluids.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.